Chicken Coops for Sale in Copeville, Texas
Chicken Coops for Sale in Copeville, Texas
Preparing Your Coop/Flock For Winter – Part 1: Roof Structure
Last week I posted a list of items that you may want to consider doing to make sure you and your flock are ready for the colder winter months. I’m going to try address one or two of these topics every Wednesday so that if you are going to work on them over the weekend you have time to plan.
Again I know it’s hard to even think of winter when the temperatures are in the 90’s in many parts of the country, but the cold weather will be on us before you know. Its much easier to take the time now to button up any issues, then trying to do it in the dead of winter. Many of you will not deal with snow and ice (lucky you!) but many of these topics effect all of us backyard chicken keepers and have a detrimental effect on the overall health of your coop…As I always say if what I post pertains to you and helps, great, if not just forget about it and move on…
Coop Roof Structure:
The roof of your coop is the first line of defense against the elements. A sound roof will not only prevent water penetration but will help in keeping your coop warm during the winter. As we all know heat rises (check our second floor of the house out in the summer!) and a solid roof can help trap some of this heat keeping the inside of the coop warmer. The important thing to remember is that you do not want to trap all of the heat by cutting off ventilation. Heat develops moisture and condensation so it’s important to have a balance. Ventilation is an important aspect of the coop, without it moisture builds, ammonia fumes become overpowering and your birds health will suffer. There is a huge difference between ventilation and a draft, we will be discussing “drafts” in a later post.
Having controllable ventilation at the peak of the roof structure will help to maintain a healthy coop. This can easily be accomplished with some screen covered holes on the side walls of the peak and using a piece of plywood to control how much of an opening you want. There are some much more elaborate systems out there but they all accomplish the same thing, controllable ventilation. If you don’t have ventilation at the peak you may want to consider it. There is a reason why so many homes have ventilation at the eves and peaks, it helps to control moisture in the home during the winter as well keeping the home cooler in the summer months.
Ensuring that your roof is leak free is also very important. That little leak you have been dealing with all summer may become a big issue during the winter when you get the “freeze/thaw effects”. During the day as snow and ice melt, water can leak into the the roof structure. At night this water freezes and expands resulting in a larger and larger leak as the days go by. There are many products out there that can help seal up these leaks but be careful some have toxic fumes that could be harmful to your flock. Sometimes just using a new shingle on asphalt roofs does the trick. Metal roofs typically leak at the seams or nail heads, a good quality sealer should handle these areas. Just remember most of the time the leak you see dripping on the underside of the roof came from a hole or crack above where you see the dripping. When water leaks in, gravity causes the water to run to the lowest point. It may take some investigation to find where the leak is actually coming from but a good starting point is to start above the spot you see the leak dripping.
If the wood on your coop roof is rotted it should be replaced. Rotted wood normally contains a large amount of moisture. The moisture in this wood adds moisture to the coop (remember, it’s a bad thing). “Freeze/Thaw” effects can take place on this rotted wood causing it to deteriorate even quicker. Snow loads can add significant weight to the top of the coop and a unstable structure runs the risk of collapse. I can only imagine how difficult it would be dealing with a roof collapse in the dead of winter! If the snow and ice get to heavy for the roof on your coop, you should remove it. When removing it be careful not to damage the roof shingles or other covering! Stand on a steady surface with both feet firmly planted on the ground or step when attempting to remove snow and ice.
A roof leak also adds unwanted moisture to you coop by letting water in and keeping the litter wet. The interior of a coop has enough moisture from bird droppings and the moisture a chicken itself gives off by breathing, you don’t need or want the added moisture from a leak. If the litter in the coop becomes wet from any source during the winter you should remove it and replace it with fresh as quickly as possible. Placing a bucket under the leak to catch the drip is not a good fix. When water drips into the bucket it can splash a fine mist a considerable distance. This mist keeps the litter wet and the air inside the coop too moist.
A well ventilated, leak free, structurally sound roof on your coop is a extremely important part in maintaining the overall health of your coop. This is not an area that you want to just “make do” and cut corners. There are many materials that you can use for a roof. Some, like scrap metal roofing or end cut pieces of tar paper and shingles can be found at a local building site (ask first, you don’t want the end up in jail!) or a recycling center. I would avoid using a tarp, although these are good in an emergency should you find a leak. And never use pressure treated wood which can give off toxic fumes in a enclosed area like a coop. If your roof membrane is water tight there is no need for pressure treated plywood or lumber as a deck surface.
By addressing the coops roof now you can prevent dealing with the effects of a wet environment in the dead cold of the winter months…Hope this helps….
FrankThe Chicken Fountain™
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Baby Chick Incubator in Copeville, Texas
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Copeville Texas" 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 Copeville Texas chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Copeville, Texas With the substantial increase in poultry maintaining there has been a similarly big rise in the range of chicken stuff for sale. Chicken housing is a case in factor. It's also a timeless instance of the excellent old bandwagon being got on as various would-be fowl real estate specialists pitch a variety of cottage asserting to be the ideal solution to your chicken real estate requirements. Usually the cost looks eye-catching, your house looks eye-catching, heck also the clean-cut family members standing there feeding the chickens look eye-catching. Definitely they know a high quality chicken house when they see one? There are many cheap and also awful cages flooding the market. I recognize this as I've tested a number of them in the field, and also seen a ewe run straight via one when the feed container showed up. The outcome was just a costly pile of firewood as well as a little group of bemused and also currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Plans Free in Copeville, Texas
Typically these standardized models are built of fast grown wood - come the first decrease of rainfall they swell, leaving you either defending a door that won't close, or ripping the doorway furnishings off in a vain effort to launch the squawking citizens. The first warm and comfortable day means the lumber dries and also splits, the really felt roof bubbles and boils, and come nightfall the hens choose not to enter. This is not because of their disappointment at the decline of their when eye-catching building yet considering that the hovel is now a haven for, as well as probably abounding, the poultry keeper's nemesis, red mite. Add on that it claimed on the blurb that it would certainly match 4 large chickens when that stocking density was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as just what are you entrusted? A few joints and also some kindling. A good coop for thee to 4 birds should cost you approximately ₤ 300 though this can depend upon whether you choose for a totally free standing house or one with a run connected. Presuming you are ranging your birds in a large area as well as the pop opening door allows enough for the type you maintain, after that the major demands of housing come down to three factors which will specify the variety of birds your home will hold; perches, nest boxes and also air flow. The majority of types of chicken will certainly perch when they go to roost in the evening, this perch must ideally be 5-8cm broad with smoothed off sides so the foot rests easily on it. The perch ought to be higher than the nest box access as chickens will additionally normally look for the highest point to perch. A perch below that will have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is incidentally when they produce the most poo) bring about soiled eggs the following day. They should not however be so high off the flooring of the house that leg injuries could take place when the bird gets down in the early morning. Chickens require concerning 20cm of perch each (in small types this is clearly much less), plus if more than one perch is set up in the house they should be greater than 30cm apart. They will certainly 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 least one nest box for each 3 birds and also these need to be off the ground and in the darkest location of your house. The house should have ample ventilation: without it after that condensation will certainly build up every night, also in the coldest of weather. Know, ventilation works on the principle of cozy air leaving via a high gap attracting cooler air in from a lower gap - it's not a set of openings on other wall surfaces of your house and at the exact same degree, this is exactly what's called a draft. If you have a house with a run attached then the factors above are still real, however you ought to likewise take into consideration the run dimension. The EU optimum lawful stocking density for a totally free variety bird is (and let's encounter it, one of the motivations for maintaining some hens at home is potentially enhanced or far better welfare) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's maximum one bird each 4m made even. Take a close take a look at a few of the deal homes - it could well be your home has the appropriate perches, proper ventilation and also sufficient nest boxes for a reasonable number of birds, yet will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized piece of ground to invest the day on? Therefore as the claiming goes, "you obtain exactly what you pay for". You could believe you've got hold of a bargain, but you and your group might rue the day you did. Purchase the appropriate house and it will last for a couple of years, otherwise longer given the appropriate therapy. In the end your fowl and also your poultry keeping encounter will be much the far better for it.chicken chickens
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