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Chicken Coops for Sale in Harrison, South Dakota

Chicken Coops for Sale in Harrison, South Dakota

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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I’m Paula - like many of you I wear a lot of hats. Child of God, wife of 19 years, mother of 5 earthly children (and another on the way), reluctant cook, chocolate-snatcher, and health and fitness coach at . Various family health issues including Lyme disease and candida has turned me into a 'researcher' with a passion for understanding how our God-created bodies thrive or deteriorate based on what we put in it.

Latest posts by Paula ()

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Chicken coops for sale in Harrison South Dakota can be found in agricultural newspapers and community newspapers. The coops are designed for housing for chickens in a safe and secure environment. They generally consist of a small building or large box that is then sectioned off to smaller boxes where the chickens go to roost (or sleep). Chicken coops are a must for raising chickens. Harrison South Dakota chicken coops are commonly constructed from wood products. They are not very stable buildings and provide only minimal protection from the elements. Now chicken houses used for large production facilities are a entirely different structure, they are huge and can hold up to 10000 chickens. The coops are typically used for backyard operations, or small family farms. They vary in size depending on the number of residents they house. chicken-coops-in-Harrison-SDFinding chicken coops for sale in Harrison South Dakota is probably not one of the easiest of items to find. There are manufacturers of chicken houses and coops that sell them out right and Harrison South Dakota farm supply stores that they can also be purchased through, but generally speaking it will take some effort to find a chicken coop for sale in Harrison South Dakota, especially if your location is not a typically rural location. In rural locations that are much more abundant and easily had. Chicken Coops for sale in Harrison SD

Chicken Coop And Run in Harrison, South Dakota

A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Harrison 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 Harrison South Dakota chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Harrison, South Dakota With the significant increase in poultry keeping there has been a just as large increase in the array of poultry stuff on sale. Poultry housing is a proceedings in factor. It's additionally a timeless example of the excellent old bandwagon being jumped on as different would-be fowl real estate specialists pitch a variety of holiday accommodation asserting to be the ideal solution to your chicken housing needs. Frequently the price looks attractive, your house looks appealing, heck even the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look appealing. Surely they recognize a professional chicken house when they see one? There are many economical and horrible coops flooding the market. I know this as I've checked a number of them in the field, and also seen a ewe run straight through one when the feed container showed up. The result was only a pricey heap of fire wood as well as a little flock of bemused and also now homeless bantams. Chickens for sale in Harrison SD

Baby Chicks in Harrison, South Dakota

Usually these mass produced models are built of quick grown up hardwood - come the first decline of rainfall they swell, leaving you either fortifying a doorway that will not close, or tearing the doorway furniture off in a vain effort to release the squawking occupants. The first warm day suggests the hardwood dries as well as splits, the felt roof covering bubbles and also boils, and also come nightfall the chickens choose not to go in. This is not due to their disappointment at the decline of their as soon as eye-catching building however considering that the hovel is now a sanctuary for, as well as probably abounding, the poultry caretaker's bane, red mite. Add the fact that it claimed on the blurb that it would certainly fit 4 big chickens when that equipping thickness was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and 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 upon whether you choose for a free standing house or one with a run attached. Assuming you are ranging your birds in a big space as well as the pop hole doorway allows enough for the breed you keep, after that the main needs of housing come down to three factors which will define the variety of birds your house will hold; perches, nest boxes and also air flow. Many breeds of chicken will certainly perch when they visit roost in the evening, this perch ought to ideally be 5-8cm vast with smoothed off edges so the foot sits comfortably on it. The perch should be above the nest box access as chickens will certainly likewise normally try to find the highest point to perch. A perch lower than that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is by the way when they generate the most poo) bring about stained eggs the following day. They should not nevertheless be so high off the flooring of your home that leg injuries can happen when the bird gets down in the early morning. Chickens require concerning 20cm of perch each (in little types this is obviously much less), plus if more than one perch is mounted in the house they ought to be more 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. Preferably the house ought to have a the very least one nest box for each 3 birds and these ought to be off the ground and also in the darkest area of your home. Your home ought to have adequate ventilation: without it then condensation will develop every night, even in the coldest of weather. Realize, ventilation works on the principle of warm air leaving via a high gap attracting cooler air in from a reduced space - it's not a collection of openings on opposite wall surfaces of your house as well as at the very same degree, this is exactly what's called a draught. If you have a house with a run attached then the points above are still true, yet you need to additionally take into consideration the run dimension. The EU optimum lawful equipping thickness for a free variety bird is (and allow's encounter it, one of the inspirations for maintaining some chickens in your home is possibly enhanced or much better welfare) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's optimal one bird per 4m made even. Take a close check out a few of the bargain houses - it could well be the house has the appropriate perches, proper ventilation and also enough nest boxes for an affordable variety of birds, but will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized item of ground to spend the day on? Therefore as the stating goes, "you obtain what you pay for". You might believe you've grabbed a bargain, but you as well as your flock could rue the day you did. Acquisition the right house and also it will last for a couple of decades, if not longer given the right treatment. In the end your poultry and your chicken maintaining encounter will certainly be a lot the far better for it.
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