Chicken Coops for Sale in Riddlesburg, Pennsylvania
Chicken Coops for Sale in Riddlesburg, 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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Chicken Coop Ideas in Riddlesburg, Pennsylvania
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Riddlesburg 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 Riddlesburg Pennsylvania chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Riddlesburg, Pennsylvania With the significant increase in poultry keeping there has actually been an equally huge increase in the array of chicken materiel for sale. Chicken housing is a proceedings in factor. It's additionally a traditional example of the excellent old bandwagon being jumped on as different prospective chicken housing professionals market an array of lodging declaring to be the perfect option to your chicken real estate requirements. Typically the price looks eye-catching, your diy-chicken-coop-planshome looks attractive, heck even the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look appealing. Certainly they understand a top quality chicken house when they see one? There are lots of affordable as well as horrible coops swamping the marketplace. I know this as I've tested a number of them in the field, as well as seen a ewe run directly via one when the feed container appeared. The result was only a costly heap of firewood as well as a little group of bemused and currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Cheap in Riddlesburg, Pennsylvania
Generally these standardized designs are constructed of fast grown up wood - come the very first decline of rainfall they swell, leaving you either blockading a doorway that will not close, or tearing the doorway furniture off in a vain effort to launch the squawking inhabitants. The first warm and comfortable day indicates the wood dries as well as splits, the really felt roof bubbles and also boils, and come nightfall the hens refuse to go in. This is not due to their disappointment at the decline of their as soon as attractive home however due to the fact that the hovel is now a haven for, and also possibly abounding, the poultry keeper's bane, red mite. Add that it claimed on the blurb that it would suit four huge hens when that stocking thickness was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as just what are you left with? A couple of hinges and also some kindling. A respectable coop for thee to four birds need to cost you in the region of ₤ 300 though this could rely on whether you choose for a complimentary standing house or one with a run connected. Assuming you are ranging your birds in a large room and also the pop hole door is big enough for the type you maintain, after that the primary needs of housing boil down to 3 factors which will certainly specify the number of birds your house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and ventilation. The majority of breeds of chicken will perch when they go to roost in the evening, this perch must ideally be 5-8cm large with smoothed off sides so the foot sits comfortably on it. The perch should be higher than the nest box access as chickens will certainly likewise normally seek the highest point to perch. A perch lower than that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is incidentally when they create one of the most poo) bring about soiled eggs the following day. They should not nonetheless be so high off the floor of your house that leg injuries can occur when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens require about 20cm of perch each (in little types this is clearly much less), plus if more than one perch is set up in your home they need to be greater than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their next-door neighbors but are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Preferably your home needs to have a the very least one nest box for each three birds and also these should be off the ground as well as in the darkest location of the house. Your home needs to have ample air flow: without it after that condensation will certainly develop every evening, even in the chilliest of weather. Realize, air flow works on the concept of cozy air leaving through a high space attracting cooler air in from a lower gap - it's not a set of openings on contrary walls of your house and at the same degree, this is what's called a draft. If you have a house with a run attached after that the factors above are still true, however you must additionally take into consideration the run dimension. The EU maximum legal stocking thickness for a free range bird is (and also let's encounter it, among the motivations for keeping some hens at home is potentially boosted or better welfare) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's maximum one bird each 4m settled. Take a close take a look at some of the deal homes - it could well be your home has the right perches, appropriate air flow and also sufficient nest boxes for a reasonable variety of birds, however will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized item of ground to spend the day on? And so as the claiming goes, "you obtain just what you spend for". You may believe you've got hold of a bargain, however you and your flock could rue the day you did. Acquisition the ideal house and also it will last for a couple of decades, otherwise longer given the proper treatment. Eventually your poultry and also your chicken maintaining experience will certainly be much the better for it.plans for sale
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