Chicken Coops for Sale in Harleigh, Pennsylvania
Chicken Coops for Sale in Harleigh, 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™
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Baby Chick Incubator in Harleigh, Pennsylvania
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Harleigh 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 Harleigh Pennsylvania chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Harleigh, Pennsylvania With the significant increase in poultry keeping there has been an equally huge increase in the variety of fowl paraphernalia for sale. Chicken real estate is an instance in factor. It's additionally a timeless instance of the great old bandwagon being got on as numerous prospective poultry housing specialists peddle a selection of cottage declaring to be the suitable option to your chicken real estate demands. Frequently the price looks attractive, the house looks eye-catching, hell even the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look eye-catching. Undoubtedly they know a professional chicken house when they see one? There are lots of economical and also nasty coops flooding the marketplace. I know this as I've tested a number of them in the field, and seen a ewe run straight via one when the feed pail showed up. The result was only an expensive heap of firewood and also a little flock of bemused and also now homeless bantams.
Chicken Coops For Sale in Harleigh, Pennsylvania
Typically these mass produced versions are created of rapid grown wood - come the very first decline of rainfall they swell, leaving you either blockading a door that will not shut, or ripping the doorway furnishings off in a vain attempt to launch the squawking inhabitants. The very first cozy day indicates the lumber dries and cracks, the felt roofing system bubbles and also boils, as well as come nightfall the hens choose not to go in. This is not because of their dissatisfaction at the decline of their once attractive property but considering that the hovel is now a sanctuary for, as well as possibly crawling with, the chicken keeper's nemesis, red mite. Add the fact that it said on the blurb that it would certainly match four large chickens when that equipping density was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also just what are you left with? A couple of joints and also some kindling. A decent coop for thee to 4 birds should cost you around ₤ 300 though this could rely on whether you elect for a complimentary standing house or one with a run attached. Assuming you are ranging your birds in a large space as well as the pop hole doorway allows sufficient for the breed you keep, after that the main requirements of real estate come down to 3 points which will define the variety of birds your home will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes as well as air flow. A lot of breeds of chicken will certainly perch when they visit roost in the evening, this perch needs to preferably be 5-8cm wide with smoothed off sides so the foot rests conveniently on it. The perch ought to be more than the nest box access as chickens will also normally search for the acme to perch. A perch lower than that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is incidentally when they create the most poo) resulting in soiled eggs the following day. They should not however be so high off the flooring of your home that leg injuries could take place when the bird comes down in the morning. Chickens need regarding 20cm of perch each (in small breeds this is certainly less), plus if more than one perch is set up in the house they need to be more than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their neighbors but are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Ideally your house must have a the very least one nest box for every single three birds as well as these need to be off the ground and also in the darkest location of the house. The house needs to have adequate air flow: without it after that condensation will certainly accumulate every night, even in the coldest of weather. Realize, ventilation works with the principle of warm and comfortable air leaving through a high gap attracting cooler air in from a reduced gap - it's not a collection of openings on contrary wall surfaces of your house and also at the very same level, this is just what's known as a draught. If you have a house with a run connected after that the points above are still real, yet you must likewise take into consideration the run dimension. The EU optimum legal stocking thickness for a free array bird is (and allow's face it, one of the motivations for keeping some chickens in your home is perhaps boosted or far better well-being) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's maximum one bird each 4m settled. Take a close check out several of the bargain homes - it could well be your house has the best perches, proper air flow and ample nest boxes for a sensible variety of birds, however will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized piece of ground to invest the day on? And so as the stating goes, "you obtain just what you pay for". You might believe you've got hold of a bargain, however you and your flock might rue the day you did. Purchase the ideal house as well as it will last for a few years, if not longer offered the appropriate therapy. In the end your chicken as well as your chicken keeping encounter will certainly be a lot the better for it.chicken chickens
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