Chicken Coops for Sale in Harwick, Pennsylvania
Chicken Coops for Sale in Harwick, Pennsylvania
Sand Litter Bed In The Chicken Coop: An Experiment
We’ve been managing our chicken coop through a . This hybrid system has worked extremely well in . Briefly, how that system works is, the chickens roost over the sand, which acts like kitty litter to dry out their overnight poop, and in the morning the poop is raked to the lower area, where it composts-in-place with lots of straw and other high-carbon bedding.
Last year, fed up with the very real problems involved when you combine chickens and vegetable gardening, we decided to stop attempting to free-range our birds and instead fenced in a large, outdoor area adjacent to the coop. We confined the hens to this area (the ducks, less destructive, still get to free range) and this solved many of our chickens-scratching up-my-seedlings problems.
Too Much Of A Good Thing?
However, this confined run area led to another problem. This is a good problem, a problem I cannot believe I have, but it’s a problem nonetheless. In order to accommodate our flock in this confined area, we piled on the straw and woodchips in both the coop’s lower area, and the outdoor run.
This has led to, basically, more compost than I can use. Yeah, I have too much compost. Crazy, right? I didn’t know there was such thing as too much compost.
When I hauled out all the deep litter and piled it up, it looked like this.
And it’s not just dealing with storing Mount Compost Heap up there. The bedding was building up so deeply in both the coop and the run that we started to have problems just opening the door to the coop. The chickens weren’t super effective at scratching down to the lowest levels, and I’m embarrassed to say that some anaerobic ickiness was starting to take place in the deeper levels of the bedding.
Something needed to change.
Trying something new.
Is Sand A Solution?
In order to manage these drawbacks, we are experimenting with a sand bed in the run area of the coop. The fenced outdoor chicken area will still be managed as a deep litter system, with arborists woodchips and straw added as needed for carbon.
But inside the coop itself, I’m trying sand.
I had help raking out the new sand.
I see several potential upsides to a sand bed, and a few downsides as well.
Pros:
- Sand bed is lower profile, so we’re able to open the door without hassle.
- Seems drier in winter due to superior drainage.
- Spilled chicken food is less likely to get “lost” in the bedding. I’ve observed chickens pecking at the food that falls on the sand. Less food waste = less feed expense.
- Sand adds natural grit to a chicken’s diet and sharpens nails
- Probably less expensive in the long-term, since sand doesn’t require frequent additions or “top-ups” like a deep litter system.
- May allow for indoor dust-bathing. I have not observed my hens using the sand to dust bathe, but I’ve read that they will.
- May cut down on opportunities for Coccidiosis in chickens by providing an inhospitable environment for the protozoa.
- Easy collection of poop allows for a more dedicated manure-composting system, which might be of use to people looking at black soldier fly farming (hem hem, me) or related endeavors.
When the hens spill feed, they can pick it up now.
Cons:
- Cold. The sand does not add to the warmth of the coop like the composting bedding. The sand feels noticeably colder to me when I touch it, and I’m not even walking around barefoot like my chooks. Cold is a drawback here in January. However, to chicken keepers in hot weather climates, perhaps a non-heat generating litter option would be a benefit?
- Requires more regular dedicated maintenance. We’re already in the daily habit of scooping the poop from the sand covered upper coop area, so this doesn’t add a huge amount of work to that chore, but it’s definitely not the kind of job you can ignore for several
weeksdays. - Does not break down into compost. Unless your chickens already make more compost than you can use, less compost is a bad thing.
- The ducks don’t seem happy about the sand, but then ducks don’t like change, so I don’t read too much into this yet.
- Duck poop doesn’t scoop well. The front runner of Reasons I May Go Back To Deep Litter is wet duck poop on sand. Ewww.
- The poop has to go somewhere. In the prior system we just scrapped the upper poop onto the composting bedding. Now the upper and lower poop have to go somewhere. At the moment we’re scraping the poop out the door into the outdoor run area, but this experiment of sand-bedding the indoor run has triggered a re-evaluation of all my manure and compost management practices. So, simple change.
As of now, I have more questions than answers. I’ll let you know how the sand bed works out going forward.
Chicken Coop Run Plans in Harwick, Pennsylvania
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Harwick 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 Harwick Pennsylvania chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Harwick, Pennsylvania With the significant rise in poultry keeping there has been a just as huge increase in the array of poultry paraphernalia for sale. Poultry real estate is an instance in point. It's additionally a timeless instance of the good old bandwagon being got on as numerous prospective fowl housing experts market an array of lodging asserting to be the ideal option to your chicken housing demands. Typically the rate looks attractive, your house looks desirable, hell also the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look desirable. Definitely they know a high quality chicken house when they see one? There are numerous affordable and unpleasant coops flooding the marketplace. I know this as I've checked a variety of them in the area, and also seen a ewe run directly through one when the feed pail showed up. The result was only a costly pile of firewood as well as a little group of bemused and currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop On Wheels in Harwick, Pennsylvania
Generally these mass produced designs are constructed of quick grown up lumber - come the initial decrease of rain they swell, leaving you either barricading a door that will not shut, or ripping the doorway furniture off in a vain attempt to release the squawking citizens. The first warm and comfortable day means the timber dries and cracks, the really felt roof covering bubbles as well as boils, and come nightfall the hens refuse to go in. This is not due to their disappointment at the decrease of their once eye-catching building but considering that the hovel is currently a haven for, and also most likely crawling with, the fowl keeper's bane, red mite. Add the fact that it said on the blurb that it would certainly match 4 huge hens when that equipping thickness was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and what are you left with? A few hinges as well as some kindling. A good coop for thee to four birds ought to cost you in the region of ₤ 300 though this can depend upon whether you choose for a cost-free standing house or one with a run connected. Assuming you are varying your birds in a huge area and the pop opening door is big enough for the breed you maintain, then the primary demands of real estate come down to three factors which will certainly define the number of birds the house will hold; perches, nest boxes and also ventilation. Many breeds of chicken will perch when they visit roost in the evening, this perch should preferably be 5-8cm large with smoothed off edges so the foot rests easily on it. The perch needs to be above the nest box entrance as chickens will likewise normally look for the acme to perch. A perch below that will have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is incidentally when they produce the most poo) causing stained eggs the list below day. They shouldn't however be so high off the flooring of the house that leg injuries could possibly occur when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens need about 20cm of perch each (in small breeds this is undoubtedly much less), plus if greater than one perch is set up in the house they must be more than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their next-door neighbors however are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Ideally the house should have a the very least one nest box for every single three birds and also these should be off the ground as well as in the darkest location of your house. The house should have adequate air flow: without it after that condensation will develop every night, also in the coldest of climate. Realize, air flow works on the principle of warm air leaving through a high gap drawing cooler air in from a reduced void - it's not a set of openings on contrary walls of your home and at the very same level, this is just what's called a draught. If you have a house with a run affixed after that the factors above are still real, however you ought to also take into consideration the run size. The EU optimum legal equipping density for a free variety bird is (and let's encounter it, among the motivations for maintaining some chickens in the house is perhaps boosted or far better well-being) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's optimal one bird per 4m made even. Take a close look at several of the deal homes - it could well be the house has the best perches, proper ventilation and also sufficient nest boxes for an affordable variety of birds, however will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized piece of ground to invest the day on? Therefore as the saying goes, "you obtain just what you spend for". You might think you've grabbed a deal, however you and your flock could rue the day you did. Acquisition the appropriate house and also it will last for a couple of years, otherwise longer provided the correct therapy. Eventually your fowl and your poultry keeping experience will be much the far better for it.plan build
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