Chicken Coops for Sale in New Braunfels, Texas
Chicken Coops for Sale in New Braunfels, Texas
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.
Baby Chickens For Sale in New Braunfels, Texas
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in New Braunfels 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 New Braunfels Texas chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in New Braunfels, Texas With the substantial rise in poultry maintaining there has been a just as big increase in the variety of poultry stuff on sale. Fowl real estate is an instance in point. It's likewise a classic example of the good old bandwagon being jumped on as numerous potential fowl real estate experts peddle a selection of accommodation claiming to be the optimal option to your chicken real estate requirements. Typically the cost looks eye-catching, your diy-chicken-coop-planshome looks desirable, heck also the clean-cut family standing there feeding the chickens look desirable. Certainly they understand a quality chicken house when they see one? There are several affordable and unpleasant coops swamping the marketplace. I know this as I've examined a variety of them in the field, as well as seen a ewe run straight via one when the feed container appeared. The result was just a pricey pile of firewood and a tiny group of bemused and now homeless bantams.
Baby Chick Hatching in New Braunfels, Texas
Usually these standardized models are created of fast grown up lumber - come the very first decrease of rain they swell, leaving you either barricading a doorway that won't close, or ripping the doorway furniture off in a vain attempt to release the squawking inhabitants. The very first warm and comfortable day suggests the wood dries out and splits, the felt roof covering bubbles and also boils, as well as come nightfall the chickens refuse to enter. This is not because of their frustration at the decrease of their as soon as attractive apartment however due to the fact that the hovel is currently a sanctuary for, as well as most likely crawling with, the fowl caretaker's bane, red mite. Add the fact that it claimed on the blurb that it would suit 4 large hens when that stocking thickness was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also just what are you entrusted? A couple of hinges as well as some kindling. A respectable coop for thee to four birds need to cost you in the region of ₤ 300 though this can depend on whether you choose for a totally free standing house or one with a run attached. Presuming you are varying your birds in a huge room as well as the pop opening door is big enough for the breed you maintain, then the main requirements of real estate come down to 3 factors which will certainly define the number of birds your home will hold; perches, nest boxes and also air flow. Many breeds of chicken will certainly perch when they visit roost at night, this perch should ideally be 5-8cm broad with smoothed off edges so the foot rests pleasantly on it. The perch ought to be higher than the nest box entry as chickens will additionally normally seek the acme to perch. A perch below that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is incidentally when they create one of the most poo) bring about stained eggs the following day. They should not however be so high off the floor of your home that leg injuries can take place when the bird comes down in the early morning. Chickens require regarding 20cm of perch each (in small breeds this is undoubtedly much less), plus if greater than one perch is mounted 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 the house ought to have a the very least one nest box for each three birds and these need to be off the ground and in the darkest location of the house. Your house should have ample ventilation: without it after that condensation will accumulate every evening, even in the coldest of weather condition. Realize, ventilation deals with the concept of warm and comfortable air leaving with a high gap attracting cooler air in from a reduced space - it's not a collection of holes on opposite walls of your house as well as at the same degree, this is what's referred to as a draft. If you have a house with a run attached after that the points above are still true, yet you should additionally take into consideration the run dimension. The EU optimum lawful stocking thickness for a totally free range bird is (and let's face it, among the motivations for maintaining some chickens in your home is perhaps boosted or far better welfare) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's maximum one bird each 4m made even. Take a close consider some of the bargain residences - it could well be the house has the right perches, proper ventilation as well as sufficient 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 claiming goes, "you get what you spend for". You might assume you've got hold of a bargain, but you and your flock might rue the day you did. Acquisition the appropriate house and it will certainly last for a couple of decades, if not longer given the right therapy. In the end your chicken and also your fowl maintaining encounter will certainly be considerably the much better for it.chick coop
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