Chicken Coops for Sale in Jefferson, South Carolina
Chicken Coops for Sale in Jefferson, South Carolina
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 Easy To Clean in Jefferson, South Carolina
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Jefferson South Carolina" 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 Jefferson South Carolina chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Jefferson, South Carolina With the huge rise in chicken keeping there has actually been a just as large rise in the range of fowl paraphernalia on sale. Fowl real estate is a case in point. It's additionally a timeless example of the good old bandwagon being jumped on as numerous would-be chicken housing experts pitch a selection of holiday accommodation declaring to be the optimal solution to your chicken housing needs. Often the cost looks eye-catching, your house looks eye-catching, hell even the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look desirable. Certainly they know a quality chicken house when they see one? There are several low-cost as well as unpleasant cages flooding the marketplace. I know this as I've tested a variety of them in the field, as well as seen a ewe run directly with one when the feed pail showed up. The outcome was nothing but a pricey heap of firewood as well as a little flock of bemused and currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Guides in Jefferson, South Carolina
More often than not these mass produced models are constructed of quick grown timber - come the initial drop of rainfall they swell, leaving you either blockading a door that won't shut, or ripping the door furnishings off in a vain attempt to launch the squawking citizens. The first warm and comfortable day means the hardwood dries out as well as fractures, the felt roofing bubbles and also boils, as well as come nightfall the chickens choose not to go in. This is not because of their frustration at the decrease of their as soon as eye-catching apartment however since the hovel is now a place for, as well as most likely crawling with, the fowl caretaker's bane, red mite. Add on the fact that it said on the blurb that it would certainly match 4 big hens when that equipping thickness was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as exactly what are you left with? A couple of hinges and some kindling. A suitable coop for thee to four birds ought to cost you around ₤ 300 though this could depend on whether you choose for a totally free standing house or one with a run connected. Assuming you are ranging your birds in a big room and also the pop hole doorway is big enough for the breed you keep, then the major demands of housing come down to three points which will certainly define the number of birds the house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and also ventilation. The majority of breeds of chicken will perch when they go to roost during the night, this perch should ideally be 5-8cm broad with smoothed off edges so the foot sits comfortably on it. The perch must be higher than the nest box access as chickens will certainly also normally search for the highest point to perch. A perch lower than that will have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is by the way when they create the most poo) causing stained eggs the following day. They should not nonetheless be so high off the floor of the house that leg injuries could possibly take place when the bird gets down in the early morning. Chickens require 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 crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Preferably your home must have a least one nest box for every 3 birds and these must be off the ground as well as in the darkest area of the house. The house ought to have sufficient air flow: without it after that condensation will certainly accumulate every evening, also in the coldest of weather. Be aware, ventilation deals with the concept of warm and comfortable air leaving via a high space drawing cooler air in from a reduced gap - it's not a set of holes on other walls of your home and at the very same degree, this is just what's referred to as a draught. If you have a house with a run connected then the points above are still real, however you need to likewise take into consideration the run size. The EU optimum legal stocking density for a cost-free range bird is (and let's face it, among the inspirations for maintaining some chickens in the house is potentially boosted or better welfare) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's optimal one bird per 4m squared. Take a close take a look at some of the deal houses - it could well be the house has the appropriate perches, correct ventilation and also adequate nest boxes for a sensible variety of birds, yet 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 just what you spend for". You might think you've got a deal, however you and your flock might rue the day you did. Acquisition the ideal house as well as it will last for a few years, otherwise longer offered the correct therapy. In the end your poultry as well as your chicken maintaining encounter will certainly be considerably the better for it.coops chicken
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