Chicken Coops for Sale in Robinson, Pennsylvania
Chicken Coops for Sale in Robinson, 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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Chicken Coop Kits Ebay in Robinson, Pennsylvania
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Robinson 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 Robinson Pennsylvania chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Robinson, Pennsylvania With the big rise in poultry maintaining there has actually been a similarly big increase in the array of fowl stuff on sale. Chicken housing is a situation in point. It's likewise a timeless example of the great old bandwagon being got on as different potential chicken real estate specialists market a range of accommodation declaring to be the suitable option to your chicken real estate demands. Often the cost looks desirable, your diy-chicken-coop-planshome looks eye-catching, heck also the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look desirable. Surely they recognize a quality chicken house when they see one? There are several affordable and unpleasant coops flooding the market. I recognize this as I've tested a variety of them in the field, and seen a ewe run directly via one when the feed bucket appeared. The outcome was nothing but a pricey heap of fire wood and also a small group of bemused and currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Amazon in Robinson, Pennsylvania
More often than not these standardized designs are constructed of rapid grown timber - come the very first decline of rain they swell, leaving you either defending a door that will not close, or ripping the door furniture off in a vain attempt to launch the squawking residents. The very first cozy day indicates the lumber dries out as well as splits, the really felt roofing bubbles and boils, and come nightfall the hens choose not to enter. This is not due to their disappointment at the decrease of their once desirable residential property however due to the fact that the hovel is now a haven for, and possibly crawling with, the poultry keeper's bane, red mite. Add the fact that it stated on the blurb that it would match four large hens when that equipping density was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as what are you left with? A number of joints and also some kindling. A respectable coop for thee to 4 birds must cost you around ₤ 300 though this can depend on whether you choose for a free standing house or one with a run affixed. Thinking you are varying your birds in a large room and the pop opening door allows enough for the type you keep, after that the major requirements of housing boil down to 3 points which will specify the variety of birds the house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and also ventilation. Many breeds of chicken will certainly perch when they go to roost at night, this perch must ideally be 5-8cm large with smoothed off sides so the foot sits pleasantly on it. The perch needs to be above the nest box entry as chickens will certainly also normally look for the highest point to perch. A perch less than that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is incidentally when they produce the most poo) leading to dirtied eggs the following day. They should not however be so high off the floor of your house that leg injuries might happen when the bird comes down in the morning. Chickens need concerning 20cm of perch each (in tiny breeds this is clearly less), plus if more than one perch is set up in your home they ought to be greater than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their next-door neighbors but are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Preferably the house needs to have a least one nest box for each three birds and also these should be off the ground and in the darkest area of the house. The house needs to have adequate air flow: without it after that condensation will certainly build up every evening, also in the coldest of weather. Realize, air flow works with the concept of warm air leaving through a high gap drawing cooler air in from a lower void - it's not a set of openings on other walls of your home and also at the same level, this is exactly what's known as a draft. If you have a house with a run affixed after that the points above are still true, however you must additionally consider the run dimension. The EU optimum lawful equipping thickness for a cost-free variety bird is (as well as allow's face it, one of the inspirations for maintaining some chickens at home is possibly enhanced or far better welfare) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's maximum one bird each 4m made even. Take a close take a look at some of the bargain residences - it could well be your house has the right perches, appropriate air flow as well as enough nest boxes for a reasonable number of birds, but will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized item of ground to invest the day on? Therefore as the claiming goes, "you obtain exactly what you spend for". You may believe you've grabbed a deal, however you and also your group can rue the day you did. Purchase the ideal house as well as it will certainly last for a couple of decades, if not longer provided the correct treatment. Eventually your poultry and also your chicken keeping encounter will be a lot the much better for it.for sale chick
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