Chicken Coops for Sale in Somerville, Tennessee
Chicken Coops for Sale in Somerville, Tennessee
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 Building Plans in Somerville, Tennessee
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Somerville Tennessee" 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 Somerville Tennessee chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Somerville, Tennessee With the substantial rise in poultry maintaining there has actually been an equally large surge in the array of chicken paraphernalia on sale. Chicken housing is a case in point. It's likewise a classic example of the great old bandwagon being got on as numerous would-be chicken real estate experts market a range of lodging asserting to be the ideal remedy to your chicken housing requirements. Often the price looks attractive, your house looks eye-catching, hell also the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look desirable. Certainly they know a quality chicken house when they see one? There are many affordable and also awful cages flooding the market. I know this as I've examined a number of them in the area, as well as seen a ewe run directly with one when the feed bucket showed up. The result was just an expensive heap of firewood as well as a little flock of bemused and also currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Necessities in Somerville, Tennessee
Generally these standardized models are created of rapid grown lumber - come the very first decline of rainfall they swell, leaving you either fortifying a door that won't shut, or ripping the doorway furniture off in a vain attempt to release the squawking inhabitants. The first warm day implies the hardwood dries out and also cracks, the felt roof bubbles and boils, and come nightfall the hens refuse to enter. This is not as a result of their disappointment at the decrease of their as soon as eye-catching home yet considering that the hovel is now a haven for, and also possibly abounding, the chicken caretaker's bane, red mite. Add on that it said on the blurb that it would certainly fit four big chickens when that stocking density was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and just what are you left with? A few hinges and also some kindling. A good coop for thee to 4 birds should cost you around ₤ 300 though this could depend on whether you elect for a totally free standing house or one with a run affixed. Assuming you are ranging your birds in a large room as well as the pop opening doorway allows enough for the type you keep, then the main demands of real estate boil down to three points which will certainly define the number of birds the house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes as well as ventilation. The majority of types of chicken will certainly perch when they visit roost at night, this perch should ideally be 5-8cm vast with smoothed off sides so the foot rests pleasantly on it. The perch should be above the nest box entrance as chickens will also naturally look for the highest point to perch. A perch below that will have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is by the way when they create one of the most poo) bring about soiled eggs the list below day. They should not nonetheless be so high off the flooring of the house that leg injuries might happen when the bird gets down in the early morning. Chickens require concerning 20cm of perch each (in small breeds this is obviously much less), plus if more than one perch is mounted in the house they need to be more than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their neighbors yet are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Ideally the house needs to have a least one nest box for every single 3 birds as well as these should be off the ground and also in the darkest area of the house. Your home needs to have sufficient ventilation: without it after that condensation will build up every night, even in the chilliest of climate. Realize, ventilation deals with the principle of warm air leaving with a high gap drawing cooler air in from a lower gap - it's not a collection of holes on other walls of your house and at the exact same degree, this is what's referred to as a draft. If you have a house with a run connected after that the points above are still real, but you should likewise think about the run dimension. The EU maximum legal equipping density for a cost-free range bird is (as well as let's face it, among the inspirations for maintaining some chickens at home is perhaps improved or far better welfare) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's maximum one bird each 4m squared. Take a close check out several of the bargain homes - it could well be your home has the ideal perches, right air flow and also sufficient nest boxes for a reasonable number 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 may believe you've got a deal, but you and also your group might rue the day you did. Acquisition the appropriate house as well as it will certainly last for a few years, otherwise longer given the right treatment. In the long run your chicken and also your fowl maintaining experience will be much the much better for it.coops build
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