Chicken Coops for Sale in Summerdale, Pennsylvania
Chicken Coops for Sale in Summerdale, Pennsylvania
Cleaning the Chicken Coop; Fall Chores
Pallets leaned against Coop act as a wind break in Winter.
One of the chores I like to save for beautiful Fall weather is cleaning out the coop. I know that before I got chickens, I really wanted to see other people’s coops and how exactly they did things. So here is a look at my coop and the regular maintenance I have to do to keep my girls happy.
My coop is basically a chicken tractor made permanent. See how I built my chicken coop . It is only good to protect my egg laying divas during the night. I have to get up in the morning to let them out. Trust me they let me know if I am late. Late is after 8 am, so it is not like they start wailing at 5 o’clock in the morning or anything. They have a kind of wail that they only make when they want out. It is the strangest sound, kind of like a long drawn out moooooom , where are youuuuuuu? You have to hear it to understand.
Shoveling out the “raised bed” that my coop rests on.
To clean out my coop I have get someone to help me lift the coop off of the raised bed it is resting on. I have handles on either end, but it is too heavy for me to lift by myself. Thankfully my strong boys help me. Shoveling out all the old bedding and putting in new wood shavings is not too hard of a task, considering you only have to do it about 3 times per year. I empty out the nest boxes and add new hay to freshen things up. I heard for the first time the other day that it is a good idea to add crushed dried herbs to the nest boxes to make them more appealing to your hens. I tried crushed basil this time. Yes, hens are a constant source of amusement. They always want to lay eggs where everyone else is laying. I just have 2 nest boxes for my 10 hens. I call them nest boxes but they are a little unconventional. One is an old basket, the other is an old drawer. This time of year as we transition into winter the light wanes as the days grow shorter. You will notice your egg production reducing quite a bit. This is why commercial growers put a light on their chickens 24 hours a day; to keep their egg production up. Here at the homestead we try to work with nature instead of against it. That means more kale, less eggs. This is also the time that the rabbits really start producing well. While one thing lessens another takes it’s place. This probably wouldn’t work up north but I lean pallets against the coop to provide a wind break. A lot of people ask me if I need to provide a heat source for my girls when temps fall below freezing. The answer is no. It is important to make sure their water is unfrozen. Other than that chickens really do better in the Winter here than the heat of the Summer.
My hens checking out the new fresh nest box.
After the coop is all cleaned out it is time to add new wood chips. I get what is called a “Country Boy” which is farmer speak for a big packed bag of wood shavings. I get mine from my local feed store in Garland. When I first started chickens I used Fall leaves gathered from the curb. I like the shavings better because the compost turns out better, but oak leaves work out well as chicken bedding too. It is hard to see in the picture but the bottom of the coop against the ground is wire screen(yard cloth) to keep digging critters out.
My hens get very curious about all the changes taking place and come to check it all out. I put the old bedding into a bin and drag it to my compost. Thankfully I don’t have to go too far. I keep my compost in my chicken yard so that my hens can stir my compost and so that they can get the minerals they need to keep their egg shells hard. I put the cracked egg shells in the compost where my hens can gobble them up therefore getting the calcium they need to keep their egg shells firm. I also put other left over kitchen scraps in the compost for them to enjoy. Speaking of compost, a lot of people ask me about mine. Let me just say that trying to heat up a compost pile without manure of some sort is NOT easy. To heat up a compost pile without manure add fresh grass clippings. However right about the time fall leaves are readily abundant, grass clippings are NOT readily available. If you have read my posts at all you are probably sensing a theme; get an animal or a source of manure for your garden. Chickens or rabbits, even worms; your garden will thank you with beautiful veggies.
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Chicken Coop Easy To Clean in Summerdale, Pennsylvania
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Summerdale 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 Summerdale Pennsylvania chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Summerdale, Pennsylvania With the massive rise in poultry keeping there has actually been an equally big surge in the array of fowl stuff on sale. Chicken housing is a situation in point. It's additionally a timeless example of the great old bandwagon being got on as various potential fowl housing experts peddle a range of cottage claiming to be the ideal option to your chicken real estate demands. Commonly the price looks appealing, your diy-chicken-coop-planshome looks eye-catching, heck also the clean-cut family standing there feeding the chickens look desirable. Definitely they understand a professional chicken house when they see one? There are many low-cost as well as awful coops flooding the marketplace. I know this as I've examined a variety of them in the field, and seen a ewe run directly with one when the feed pail showed up. The outcome was just an expensive pile of firewood as well as a little group of bemused as well as now homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Easy in Summerdale, Pennsylvania
Typically these standardized designs are created of rapid grown hardwood - come the initial decline of rain they swell, leaving you either defending a doorway that won't close, or tearing the doorway furniture off in a vain attempt to release the squawking residents. The first warm and comfortable day indicates the hardwood dries out as well as fractures, the really felt roof bubbles and also boils, and also come nightfall the chickens choose not to enter. This is not because of their dissatisfaction at the decline of their once appealing building yet due to the fact that the hovel is now a haven for, and also probably abounding, the fowl caretaker's bane, red mite. Add the fact that it said on the blurb that it would certainly fit four large chickens when that equipping thickness was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also exactly what are you entrusted? A number of joints and also some kindling. A good coop for thee to 4 birds should cost you around ₤ 300 though this could depend on whether you choose for a cost-free standing house or one with a run affixed. Presuming you are varying your birds in a large space and the pop hole doorway is big enough for the breed you maintain, after that the primary needs of real estate boil down to three points which will specify the number of birds the house will hold; perches, nest boxes and also air flow. A lot of breeds of chicken will perch when they visit roost at night, this perch must preferably be 5-8cm large with smoothed off edges so the foot sits comfortably on it. The perch needs to be higher than the nest box entry as chickens will likewise naturally 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 generate one of the most poo) resulting in soiled eggs the list below day. They should not nonetheless be so high off the flooring of the house that leg injuries could happen when the bird comes down in the early morning. Chickens need regarding 20cm of perch each (in tiny breeds this is clearly much less), plus if more than one perch is mounted in your house they must be greater than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their neighbors however are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Preferably your house needs to have a least one nest box for every 3 birds and these should be off the ground and in the darkest area of your house. Your home ought to have ample ventilation: without it after that condensation will accumulate every evening, also in the coldest of climate. Understand, air flow works with the principle of cozy air leaving with a high gap attracting cooler air in from a reduced gap - it's not a collection of holes on contrary walls of your house as well as at the very same degree, this is what's referred to as a draught. If you have a house with a run affixed then the points above are still true, but you need to likewise consider the run dimension. The EU maximum legal equipping thickness for a cost-free range bird is (and let's encounter it, among the motivations for keeping some chickens in the house is potentially enhanced or far better well-being) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's maximum one bird per 4m squared. Take a close consider some of the bargain houses - it could well be the house has the ideal perches, right air flow and also sufficient nest boxes for a sensible variety of birds, however will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized item of ground to invest the day on? And so as the claiming goes, "you get what you pay for". You could assume you've got hold of a bargain, but you and also your flock can rue the day you did. Purchase the right house as well as it will last for a couple of years, otherwise longer given the proper treatment. In the end your fowl as well as your poultry keeping experience will certainly be a lot the much better for it.chicken chick
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