Chicken Coops for Sale in Colmar, Pennsylvania
Chicken Coops for Sale in Colmar, Pennsylvania
Preparing Your Coop/Flock For Winter – Part 1: Roof Structure
Last week I posted a list of items that you may want to consider doing to make sure you and your flock are ready for the colder winter months. I’m going to try address one or two of these topics every Wednesday so that if you are going to work on them over the weekend you have time to plan.
Again I know it’s hard to even think of winter when the temperatures are in the 90’s in many parts of the country, but the cold weather will be on us before you know. Its much easier to take the time now to button up any issues, then trying to do it in the dead of winter. Many of you will not deal with snow and ice (lucky you!) but many of these topics effect all of us backyard chicken keepers and have a detrimental effect on the overall health of your coop…As I always say if what I post pertains to you and helps, great, if not just forget about it and move on…
Coop Roof Structure:
The roof of your coop is the first line of defense against the elements. A sound roof will not only prevent water penetration but will help in keeping your coop warm during the winter. As we all know heat rises (check our second floor of the house out in the summer!) and a solid roof can help trap some of this heat keeping the inside of the coop warmer. The important thing to remember is that you do not want to trap all of the heat by cutting off ventilation. Heat develops moisture and condensation so it’s important to have a balance. Ventilation is an important aspect of the coop, without it moisture builds, ammonia fumes become overpowering and your birds health will suffer. There is a huge difference between ventilation and a draft, we will be discussing “drafts” in a later post.
Having controllable ventilation at the peak of the roof structure will help to maintain a healthy coop. This can easily be accomplished with some screen covered holes on the side walls of the peak and using a piece of plywood to control how much of an opening you want. There are some much more elaborate systems out there but they all accomplish the same thing, controllable ventilation. If you don’t have ventilation at the peak you may want to consider it. There is a reason why so many homes have ventilation at the eves and peaks, it helps to control moisture in the home during the winter as well keeping the home cooler in the summer months.
Ensuring that your roof is leak free is also very important. That little leak you have been dealing with all summer may become a big issue during the winter when you get the “freeze/thaw effects”. During the day as snow and ice melt, water can leak into the the roof structure. At night this water freezes and expands resulting in a larger and larger leak as the days go by. There are many products out there that can help seal up these leaks but be careful some have toxic fumes that could be harmful to your flock. Sometimes just using a new shingle on asphalt roofs does the trick. Metal roofs typically leak at the seams or nail heads, a good quality sealer should handle these areas. Just remember most of the time the leak you see dripping on the underside of the roof came from a hole or crack above where you see the dripping. When water leaks in, gravity causes the water to run to the lowest point. It may take some investigation to find where the leak is actually coming from but a good starting point is to start above the spot you see the leak dripping.
If the wood on your coop roof is rotted it should be replaced. Rotted wood normally contains a large amount of moisture. The moisture in this wood adds moisture to the coop (remember, it’s a bad thing). “Freeze/Thaw” effects can take place on this rotted wood causing it to deteriorate even quicker. Snow loads can add significant weight to the top of the coop and a unstable structure runs the risk of collapse. I can only imagine how difficult it would be dealing with a roof collapse in the dead of winter! If the snow and ice get to heavy for the roof on your coop, you should remove it. When removing it be careful not to damage the roof shingles or other covering! Stand on a steady surface with both feet firmly planted on the ground or step when attempting to remove snow and ice.
A roof leak also adds unwanted moisture to you coop by letting water in and keeping the litter wet. The interior of a coop has enough moisture from bird droppings and the moisture a chicken itself gives off by breathing, you don’t need or want the added moisture from a leak. If the litter in the coop becomes wet from any source during the winter you should remove it and replace it with fresh as quickly as possible. Placing a bucket under the leak to catch the drip is not a good fix. When water drips into the bucket it can splash a fine mist a considerable distance. This mist keeps the litter wet and the air inside the coop too moist.
A well ventilated, leak free, structurally sound roof on your coop is a extremely important part in maintaining the overall health of your coop. This is not an area that you want to just “make do” and cut corners. There are many materials that you can use for a roof. Some, like scrap metal roofing or end cut pieces of tar paper and shingles can be found at a local building site (ask first, you don’t want the end up in jail!) or a recycling center. I would avoid using a tarp, although these are good in an emergency should you find a leak. And never use pressure treated wood which can give off toxic fumes in a enclosed area like a coop. If your roof membrane is water tight there is no need for pressure treated plywood or lumber as a deck surface.
By addressing the coops roof now you can prevent dealing with the effects of a wet environment in the dead cold of the winter months…Hope this helps….
FrankThe Chicken Fountain™
Share this:
Like this:
Baby Chick House in Colmar, Pennsylvania
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Colmar Pennsylvania" into any one of the numerous search engines and a wealth of information will pop up. This information will provide links to other websites that will be informative and will provide the right direction for finding Colmar Pennsylvania chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Colmar, Pennsylvania With the substantial increase in chicken keeping there has actually been a similarly huge rise in the range of poultry paraphernalia on sale. Poultry housing is a case in point. It's also a traditional instance of the great old bandwagon being got on as various prospective fowl real estate specialists pitch an array of accommodation claiming to be the optimal remedy to your chicken housing needs. Frequently the price looks attractive, your house looks appealing, hell even the clean-cut family members standing there feeding the chickens look eye-catching. Undoubtedly they understand a top quality chicken house when they see one? There are lots of economical and horrible cages swamping the market. I recognize this as I've checked a number of them in the field, and seen a ewe run straight with one when the feed container appeared. The result was only a pricey pile of fire wood and also a tiny group of bemused and also now homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Cheap in Colmar, Pennsylvania
Usually these standardized versions are constructed of fast grown wood - come the initial drop of rain they swell, leaving you either fortifying a door that will not shut, or tearing the door furnishings off in a vain effort to release the squawking occupants. The very first warm and comfortable day indicates the lumber dries and also splits, the felt roof covering bubbles and also boils, and also come nightfall the chickens choose not to enter. This is not as a result of their frustration at the decline of their when eye-catching building yet since the hovel is currently a haven for, as well as probably crawling with, the fowl caretaker's bane, red mite. Add on the fact that it said on the blurb that it would certainly fit 4 large chickens when that equipping density was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also exactly what are you entrusted? A few joints as well as some kindling. A suitable coop for thee to 4 birds must cost you in the region of ₤ 300 though this could rely on whether you choose for a free standing house or one with a run connected. Presuming you are varying your birds in a huge area as well as the pop hole doorway is big sufficient for the type you keep, then the main requirements of housing boil down to 3 factors which will define the number of birds your house will hold; perches, nest boxes as well as ventilation. Many types of chicken will perch when they visit roost in the evening, this perch needs to ideally be 5-8cm large with smoothed off edges so the foot sits easily on it. The perch must be higher than the nest box access as chickens will certainly likewise normally try to find the acme to perch. A perch less than that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is by the way when they produce the most poo) bring about soiled eggs the list below day. They should not nevertheless be so high off the flooring of your house that leg injuries can take place when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens need concerning 20cm of perch each (in tiny types this is obviously less), plus if greater than one perch is installed in the house they need to be more than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their next-door neighbors yet are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Ideally your home ought to have a the very least one nest box for every single 3 birds as well as these must be off the ground and in the darkest area of your house. The house must have appropriate ventilation: without it then condensation will build up every night, even in the chilliest of climate. Understand, air flow works with the principle of cozy air leaving through a high space attracting cooler air in from a lower gap - it's not a set of openings on opposite wall surfaces of your house and also at the exact same degree, this is what's called a draft. If you have a house with a run affixed then the factors above are still real, yet you should additionally think about the run size. The EU optimum legal stocking density for a totally free variety bird is (as well as allow's face it, one of the inspirations for keeping some chickens in the house is possibly boosted or better well-being) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's optimal one bird each 4m squared. Take a close check out several of the deal houses - it could well be your home has the appropriate perches, correct ventilation and also adequate nest boxes for a practical variety of birds, yet will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized item of ground to spend the day on? Therefore as the saying goes, "you get just what you pay for". You may assume you've got a bargain, but you as well as your flock might rue the day you did. Purchase the ideal house as well as it will last for a couple of decades, otherwise longer offered the proper treatment. In the long run your chicken and also your fowl maintaining encounter will be considerably the better for it.plans plans
More Posts
Chicken Coops for Sale in Benezett, Pennsylvania
Chicken Coops for Sale in Brockway, Pennsylvania
Chicken Coops for Sale in Buck Hill Falls, Pennsylvania
Chicken Coops for Sale in Bath, Pennsylvania
Chicken Coops for Sale in Bradfordwoods, Pennsylvania