Chicken Coops for Sale in Grover, Pennsylvania
Chicken Coops for Sale in Grover, Pennsylvania
Our Finished Chicken Coop
These past few days had us outside enjoying the beautiful weather. One of the jobs I crossed off the list was to clean out our new chicken coop.
Because of our over the past year or so, our family was going through several dozen eggs a week. (I can’t help it – I’m hooked on !)
So last summer we quit “planning” to get our own chickens, and actually did it. The whole family pitched in to build a little abode for our egg-laying beauties. And because we were first-time chicken owners and newbies in all chicken-related topics, we joined and gleaned months worth of ideas, do’s and don’ts, and building plans. (I can’t recommend this site highly enough! If you have the slightest inclination of doing chicken anything, go here and read to your heart’s content.)
It was so helpful to see photos and designs when we were in the planning stages, I thought I’d share pictures of our coop and the hows and whys of what we did.
The chicken coop
Instead of starting from scratch, we bought a small granary from my brother-in-law; about 9’x7′ inside measurements. This gave us about 3 sq. ft. per bird. The coop is nothing fancy really. It isn’t visible from the road and we don’t live in town with neighbors to care about the view from their back window, so we used as much scrap material as possible. Plus we didn’t think the chickens would mind.
So far they haven’t rebelled.
We re-tinned the roof (that’s my honey!) and I got to use the saw sawl to make holes for the windows and vents. You can call me Mrs. Handyman. . .
Inside the chicken coop
Framing the windows and vents was the most time consuming part since the building wasn’t square. We used insulation and vapor barrier for the walls for added moisture protection and warmth because the windchill can get -40 below or more in the winter.
We made the roosting boards parallel and the same height because apparently hens will act like old biddies and fight for the top most board. (Some people’s kids. . .)
We rounded the edges of the roosting boards so it’s easier on the hens’ feet. The boards can be removed for ease of cleaning the poop boards underneath.
Poop boards seemed quite popular among chicken peoples and we’ve quickly learned why. First, chickens poop more when roosting, so the roosting boards are placed above the poop board. This makes clean up as simple as buying a wide sheetrock mudding tool and scraping the droppings into a bucket each day. We then add the droppings to our compost pile.
We originally built a rollaway community nesting box directly underneath the poop board, but the chickens ended up laying eggs everywhere but there. Eventually we added a ‘normal’ set of 12″x12″x12″ nesting boxes and they’re happy campers again.
We decided to use the deep litter method. We spread a bag of wood chips on the floor and because the hens leave most of their droppings on the poop boards, there’s minimal waste on the floor. The chickens like to scratch and fluff the wood chips so it gets stirred up and aerated. This means the coop is less smelly, and there’s only a few minutes of daily cleaning of the boards. If needed, you can add more wood chips throughout the year.
We clean the coop out fully in the spring and fall. So far it’s worked wonderfully.
We nailed a board across the doorway to prevent the rising litter from falling out every time we opened the door.
The feeders are gravity fed. They’re made of PVC pipe with a 90 degree corner and a cap at the end. We like that we can leave for several days at a time and don’t have to worry about having someone come out to do chicken chores for us.
This water stand was Travis’s idea. The hens have a platform to stand on so no matter how high the litter gets, they can reach the water comfortably.
The chicken nipples underneath are another idea shared by BYC that I LOVE. The water doesn’t drip, there is no poop or mud to worry about, and our full grown hens figured it out within 24 hrs. The pails are covered with lids to prevent the water from getting dirty and it lasts for at least a week (we add apple cider vinegar).
When we’re home, we clean them out and give them fresh water every few days.
There’s electricity on the wall above the waterers with a timed light switch. We use bird bath heaters to keep the water from freezing during the winter. We had to add the slanted plywood because the hens were roosting on the pails. (I told you they fought for highest roosting privileges.)
The pop door is a simple design, and it works great. It slides up and down, held in by L shaped boards.
When in the closed position, the hook and eye on the right prevent racoons (or children!) from trying to lift the door from the outside.
We used 1/2″ x 1/2″ hardware cloth to cover the insides of the windows and vents. . .
. . .and plexiglass for the actual windows.
We made sure to have plenty of vents (thanks to sage advice from Pat’s Ventilation Page) and used eyes and rope to open and close them at different heights.
Finally, we added a small lean-to to the side so the hens could come out in the winter. This helps block snow drifts right in front of the pop door, and they can still come out for fresh air and sunshine when they get cabin fever.
It might not win a beauty contest – but there’s something to be said for function-ability Hope this gave you some ideas!
What have you done to your chicken coop? We’d love to hear your ideas and suggestions!
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Baby Chickens For Sale in Grover, Pennsylvania
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Grover 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 Grover Pennsylvania chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Grover, Pennsylvania With the big rise in poultry maintaining there has actually been an equally huge surge in the range of chicken materiel on sale. Fowl housing is a case in factor. It's likewise a classic example of the excellent old bandwagon being got on as numerous potential fowl real estate professionals pitch a selection of accommodation claiming to be the perfect remedy to your chicken housing demands. Commonly the rate looks eye-catching, your diy-chicken-coop-planshome looks desirable, hell also the clean-cut family standing there feeding the chickens look eye-catching. Undoubtedly they understand a professional chicken house when they see one? There are numerous low-cost as well as awful cages swamping the market. I understand this as I've tested a variety of them in the area, and also seen a ewe run straight through one when the feed pail showed up. The result was nothing but a pricey pile of fire wood and also a little flock of bemused and now homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Supplies in Grover, Pennsylvania
Generally these standardized models are created of quick grown wood - come the very first decrease of rain they swell, leaving you either defending a door that will not shut, or ripping the doorway furnishings off in a vain effort to launch the squawking residents. The initial warm and comfortable day indicates the timber dries out and fractures, the felt roofing bubbles as well as boils, and also come nightfall the hens choose not to go in. This is not because of their frustration at the decrease of their as soon as eye-catching property but because the hovel is now a place for, as well as most likely abounding, the fowl keeper's nemesis, red mite. Add that it stated on the blurb that it would certainly fit 4 big chickens when that stocking density was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and what are you entrusted? A number of hinges as well as some kindling. A decent coop for thee to four birds ought to cost you approximately ₤ 300 though this could depend upon whether you choose for a cost-free standing house or one with a run affixed. Assuming you are ranging your birds in a big area as well as the pop opening doorway is big sufficient for the type you maintain, after that the primary requirements of housing come down to three points which will certainly specify the variety of birds your home will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and also ventilation. Many breeds of chicken will certainly perch when they visit roost in the evening, this perch needs to ideally be 5-8cm wide with smoothed off edges so the foot sits pleasantly on it. The perch ought to be more than the nest box access as chickens will certainly additionally naturally look for the highest point 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 generate one of the most poo) causing soiled eggs the list below day. They shouldn't nonetheless be so high off the flooring of your home that leg injuries can take place when the bird comes down in the early morning. Chickens need regarding 20cm of perch each (in little types this is obviously much less), plus if more than one perch is installed in your home they need to be more than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their neighbors yet are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Ideally your house must have a least one nest box for each 3 birds as well as these ought to be off the ground as well as in the darkest area of your home. The house ought to have sufficient air flow: without it after that condensation will certainly accumulate every evening, even in the chilliest of weather condition. Realize, ventilation deals with the concept of warm air leaving through a high void drawing cooler air in from a lower gap - it's not a collection of holes on other wall surfaces of your house and at the very same degree, this is exactly what's called a draft. If you have a house with a run connected after that the factors above are still real, but you should likewise consider the run dimension. The EU optimum legal stocking thickness for a free array bird is (and also allow's face it, among the motivations for keeping some chickens in the house is possibly boosted or much better well-being) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's maximum one bird per 4m settled. Take a close consider a few of the bargain houses - it could well be your house has the appropriate perches, right ventilation and sufficient nest boxes for an affordable number of birds, yet will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized piece of ground to invest the day on? And so as the claiming goes, "you get exactly what you pay for". You could assume you've got hold of a deal, however you and also your flock might rue the day you did. Purchase the ideal house and also it will certainly last for a few years, if not longer offered the proper therapy. In the end your poultry and your poultry maintaining encounter will certainly be much the far better for it.build for sale
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