Chicken Coops for Sale in Iowa Park, Texas
Chicken Coops for Sale in Iowa Park, Texas
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 Reviews in Iowa Park, Texas
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Iowa Park 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 Iowa Park Texas chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Iowa Park, Texas With the massive increase in chicken keeping there has actually been a similarly big increase in the range of fowl paraphernalia on sale. Fowl housing is a situation in point. It's also a traditional example of the excellent old bandwagon being jumped on as numerous would-be poultry housing professionals pitch a selection of accommodation declaring to be the suitable remedy to your chicken real estate requirements. Usually the rate looks attractive, your house looks desirable, hell even the clean-cut family members standing there feeding the chickens look appealing. Definitely they understand a high quality chicken house when they see one? There are several economical as well as unpleasant coops swamping the market. I recognize this as I've checked a number of them in the area, and seen a ewe run directly via one when the feed pail showed up. The outcome was just a costly pile of firewood and also a small flock of bemused and now homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop On Wheels Designs in Iowa Park, Texas
Usually these mass produced versions are constructed of rapid grown up wood - come the first decrease of rain they swell, leaving you either fortifying a doorway that will not close, or tearing the door furnishings off in a vain attempt to launch the squawking inhabitants. The initial cozy day means the lumber dries out and also splits, the really felt roofing system bubbles as well as boils, as well as come nightfall the hens choose not to enter. This is not as a result of their frustration at the decrease of their when appealing property yet due to the fact that the hovel is currently a haven for, and also probably crawling with, the chicken caretaker's bane, red mite. Add on the fact that it claimed on the blurb that it would match four large hens when that equipping thickness was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as just what are you left with? A couple of hinges and some kindling. A good coop for thee to four birds should cost you in the region of ₤ 300 though this can depend upon whether you choose for a totally free standing house or one with a run connected. Thinking you are varying your birds in a large area and also the pop opening door allows sufficient for the type you maintain, then the primary needs of real estate boil down to three factors which will define the number of birds your home will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and also air flow. A lot of types of chicken will certainly perch when they visit roost at night, this perch needs to preferably be 5-8cm broad with smoothed off sides so the foot sits comfortably on it. The perch ought to be more than the nest box entrance as chickens will certainly likewise naturally seek the acme 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 create one of the most poo) leading to stained eggs the following day. They should not nevertheless be so high off the floor of the house that leg injuries could possibly occur when the bird comes down in the early morning. Chickens require about 20cm of perch each (in little types this is clearly less), plus if greater than one perch is installed in the house they should be more 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 house must have a the very least one nest box for each three birds as well as these should be off the ground and in the darkest location of your home. Your house needs to have adequate ventilation: without it after that condensation will certainly accumulate every evening, even in the chilliest of weather. Realize, ventilation deals with the principle of warm air leaving through a high void drawing cooler air in from a lower void - it's not a set of openings on other wall surfaces of your home as well as at the same degree, this is what's referred to as a draught. If you have a house with a run affixed after that the points above are still true, yet you should likewise think about the run size. The EU optimum lawful equipping density for a free array bird is (and also allow's face it, one of the motivations for keeping some hens at home is perhaps enhanced or far better welfare) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's optimal one bird per 4m settled. Take a close consider several of the bargain homes - it could well be the house has the best perches, right ventilation and also ample nest boxes for an affordable variety of birds, yet 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 get what you pay for". You might think you've grabbed a deal, however you and your flock could possibly rue the day you did. Acquisition the best house and it will certainly last for a couple of decades, if not longer provided the correct therapy. Eventually your chicken and your poultry maintaining encounter will be considerably the better for it.build coops
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