Chicken Coops for Sale in De Smet, South Dakota
Chicken Coops for Sale in De Smet, South Dakota
How To Set Up Your Chicken Coop
Often when people buy chickens from us they’ve never owned poultry before therefore I usually find myself explaining the basics of operating a healthy and effective coop. As I grew up on a farm much of it is second nature but many city folk are unsure of just whats involved. The easiest and quickest way to get the message across is to take them on a tour of our back section to see how everything in our coop has be arranged.
The important aspects I talk about are:
Feed …
Because chickens grow so fast I use larger feeders as soon as possible. If you are raising them from day one there are feeders available that have been designed to cover the first couple of weeks. After that one on an adjustable rope works well as its just a matter of raising the height from time to time as the chickens grow. To get the best results it needs to be kept high enough to be accessible but not too low as to allow litter and droppings to be scratched into it. As can be seen in the photo above an off cut of PVC down pipe with holes drilled through it works well as a cheap grit feeder. Commercial feeds normally have grit added however I wonder if its sufficient as our hens regularly go through a 2 kilo bag of crushed oyster shell.
Feeding guide …
Day old to 6 -8 weeks … chick starter crumbles. 8 – 14 weeks … pullet grower or similar. 14 weeks onward … regular chook feed. 18 – 20 weeks or just prior to the commencement of laying … oyster shell grit.
Don’t over do the kitchen scraps as the nutritional value from these is fairly low. If they are fed as a substitute for a properly balance diet egg production will suffer.
Water …
Its important to have a plentiful supply of good clean water at all times. Hens don’t drink much at anyone time but they do drink often and even more so during spring and summer when air temperatures increase. I always leave the coop door open when our hens free range as they can get cool water whenever they need it. Hens drinking dirty contaminated water from containers and puddles is a recipe for disease.
If its not clean enough for you to drink you shouldn’t give it to your hens.
As shown above I prefer to used a fixed water container as the hanging versions leak and spill water when knocked. Its easily removed for cleaning and is installed in such a way to prevent debris getting into it.
Perches …
Chickens have a natural instinct to perch therefore it important to provide good sturdy perches. The ones in our coup are about 5cm square and have the sharp edges taken off to make them more chicken friendly. Tree branches of a similar diameter also work well if they are reasonably straight. The perches shown above are approximately 50cm and 80cm above the floor however I set them at lower levels when I first introduce 3 to 4 week old chicks. They should be fixed securely to the coop walls whilst being easily removable for cleaning.
Even when I have day old chicks under lights I provide perches as its a habit that I want them to learn as soon as possible because it makes my job so much easier. There’s no space on my daily to do list for cleaning dirty nesting boxes and eggs. Perch space per bird should be about 20cm.
Without suitable perches hens will perch on what ever is handy namely nesting boxes, feeders and the like or they will crowd into a corner of a coop. The end result will be a hard mound of droppings which will ultimately end up in feathers on claws then into nesting boxes and subsequently onto eggs. Correctly positioned perches eliminates crowding, flighty hens, dirty eggs and ensures your hens will be more relaxed and manageable.
Like all females of the species they need to be pampered. My other half constantly reminds me that I pay more attention to our Flora’s that I do to her. Its not true of course !!
Nesting boxes …
For me keeping hens is all about egg production therefore when we I invested extra time and effort into creating workable nesting boxes.
- One nesting box for every 4 hens, wonder why sometimes as they all seem to lay in the same box.
- Easily accessible for me from the outside.
- Easily accessible for the hens from the inside.
- Removable for easy cleaning.
- Spacious … 40cm height x 40cm width x 40cm depth or thereabouts.
- Weather proof.
- 10cm lip at the front to keep shavings and eggs in.
When introducing young chickens I keep the boxes closed off until near the time when they will start laying. This is to ensure that they use the perches rather than sleeping in and fouling the boxes. As mentioned previously this means only one thing, dirty eggs.
Deep litter …
We use a deep litter system as it makes for easy maintenance and reduces the need to be continually cleaning chicken manure out of the coop. Simply put the floor is covered with a 10cm layer of untreated wood shavings which is raked over every few days. A more detailed explanation of this concept can be .
Access – easy and straight forward …
- Human sized entry, applicable if you need a large coop.
- Removing old litter is almost effortless, especially when I have to work the camera !
- Predator proof entry- exit.
A user friendly coop ensures that keeping hens doesn’t become just another unwanted chore so build or buy wisely.
Chicken Coop House in De Smet, South Dakota
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in De Smet South Dakota" 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 De Smet South Dakota chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in De Smet, South Dakota With the significant boost in chicken keeping there has actually been a just as big surge in the variety of poultry paraphernalia on sale. Poultry real estate is an instance in factor. It's additionally a timeless instance of the excellent old bandwagon being jumped on as various potential poultry housing specialists pitch a selection of holiday accommodation claiming to be the optimal solution to your chicken real estate requirements. Commonly the cost looks attractive, your house looks appealing, heck also the clean-cut family standing there feeding the chickens look attractive. Certainly they understand a high quality chicken house when they see one? There are numerous cheap as well as awful cages swamping the marketplace. I understand this as I've tested a variety of them in the area, as well as seen a ewe run directly with one when the feed bucket showed up. The outcome was only a pricey stack of fire wood as well as a little flock of bemused and also now homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Easy in De Smet, South Dakota
Most of the time these standardized versions are created of quick grown wood - come the first drop of rainfall they swell, leaving you either blockading a door that will not shut, or ripping the doorway furniture off in a vain attempt to launch the squawking inhabitants. The initial warm and comfortable day means the hardwood dries and splits, the felt roof bubbles as well as boils, and come nightfall the hens refuse to enter. This is not because of their disappointment at the decrease of their once attractive building but considering that the hovel is now a haven for, and also possibly crawling with, the poultry caretaker's bane, red mite. Add on that it stated 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, and also what are you left with? A couple of hinges and also some kindling. A decent coop for thee to four birds need to cost you in the region of ₤ 300 though this can rely on whether you elect for a complimentary standing house or one with a run connected. Thinking you are varying your birds in a huge room and the pop opening door is big enough for the type you maintain, then the major demands of housing boil down to three points which will specify the number of birds your house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes as well as ventilation. The majority of breeds of chicken will certainly perch when they visit roost during the night, this perch ought to preferably be 5-8cm broad with smoothed off sides so the foot rests easily on it. The perch must be higher than the nest box access as chickens will additionally normally look for the acme to perch. A perch less than that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is by the way when they produce the most poo) bring about soiled eggs the list below day. They shouldn't however be so high off the flooring of the house that leg injuries might occur when the bird gets down in the early morning. Chickens require about 20cm of perch each (in tiny breeds this is clearly less), plus if greater than one perch is mounted in the house they must be greater than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their neighbors but are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Ideally your home should have a the very least one nest box for every 3 birds as well as these should be off the ground and in the darkest area of the house. Your home needs to have appropriate ventilation: without it after that condensation will develop every evening, even in the coldest of climate. Be aware, air flow works with the concept of warm and comfortable air leaving through a high void attracting cooler air in from a reduced void - it's not a collection of holes on other walls of your home as well as at the exact same level, this is just what's referred to as a draft. If you have a house with a run affixed after that the points above are still real, however you must also take into consideration the run dimension. The EU optimum lawful stocking thickness for a complimentary variety bird is (and also allow's encounter it, one of the motivations for maintaining some hens at home is potentially enhanced or far better well-being) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's optimal one bird each 4m made even. Take a close check out some of the deal houses - it could well be your house has the ideal perches, right ventilation as well as 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? Therefore as the stating goes, "you obtain exactly what you pay for". You could assume you've got a bargain, yet you and also your group might rue the day you did. Purchase the ideal house and it will certainly last for a couple of decades, if not longer offered the correct therapy. In the end your chicken and also your chicken keeping encounter will be considerably the far better for it.diy chickens
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