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Chicken Coops for Sale in Ottine, Texas

Chicken Coops for Sale in Ottine, 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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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 Ottine Texas 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. Ottine Texas 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-Ottine-TXFinding chicken coops for sale in Ottine Texas 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 Ottine Texas 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 Ottine Texas, 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 Ottine TX

Baby Chicks Hatching in Ottine, Texas

A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Ottine 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 Ottine Texas chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Ottine, Texas With the huge increase in poultry maintaining there has been an equally huge rise in the range of poultry stuff for sale. Fowl real estate is an instance in point. It's likewise a timeless example of the excellent old bandwagon being got on as various would-be poultry housing specialists pitch a selection of accommodation claiming to be the optimal option to your chicken real estate requirements. Often the rate looks desirable, your house looks attractive, heck even the clean-cut family standing there feeding the chickens look appealing. Surely they understand a professional chicken house when they see one? There are several inexpensive and horrible coops flooding the market. I understand this as I've checked a variety of them in the area, and seen a ewe run directly through one when the feed bucket appeared. The outcome was nothing but a costly heap of firewood and a tiny flock of bemused and also currently homeless bantams. Chickens for sale in Ottine TX

Chicken Coop Reviews in Ottine, Texas

Usually these standardized designs are constructed of fast grown up timber - come the very first decline of rain they swell, leaving you either blockading a door that will not shut, or ripping the doorway furnishings off in a vain attempt to release the squawking citizens. The first cozy day implies the timber dries out and also splits, the felt roof bubbles and boils, as well as come nightfall the hens choose not to go in. This is not as a result of their disappointment at the decrease of their when desirable building however since the hovel is currently a place for, and probably crawling with, the fowl keeper's bane, red mite. Add on that it claimed on the blurb that it would suit four large chickens when that equipping density was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and just what are you entrusted? A number of hinges as well as some kindling. A suitable coop for thee to 4 birds need to cost you around ₤ 300 though this could depend upon whether you elect for a totally free standing house or one with a run connected. Thinking you are varying your birds in a large space and also the pop hole door is big enough for the type you maintain, then the primary requirements of housing come down to three factors which will specify the number of birds your home will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and ventilation. A lot of types of chicken will certainly perch when they go to roost during the night, this perch should ideally be 5-8cm large with smoothed off sides so the foot sits easily on it. The perch ought to be above the nest box entrance as chickens will also normally seek the acme to perch. A perch below that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is incidentally when they generate one of the most poo) resulting in soiled eggs the following day. They shouldn't nonetheless be so high off the floor of the house that leg injuries could take place when the bird comes down in the early morning. Chickens require about 20cm of perch each (in small types this is clearly less), plus if greater than one perch is mounted in your house they should be greater than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their next-door neighbors but are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Preferably your home should have a the very least one nest box for every 3 birds and also these should be off the ground as well as in the darkest area of the house. The house should have appropriate air flow: without it then condensation will certainly build up every evening, even in the chilliest of climate. Be aware, ventilation deals with the principle of warm air leaving with a high space drawing cooler air in from a reduced gap - it's not a set of openings on other walls of the house and also at the exact same degree, this is just what's referred to as a draught. If you have a house with a run attached after that the factors above are still true, but you need to additionally take into consideration the run dimension. The EU maximum lawful equipping thickness for a cost-free array bird is (as well as allow's face it, one of the motivations for keeping some hens in the house is perhaps enhanced or better welfare) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's optimal one bird per 4m made even. Take a close check out some of the bargain residences - it could well be the house has the right perches, appropriate ventilation as well as enough nest boxes for a practical variety of birds, however will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized item of ground to spend the day on? And so as the claiming goes, "you get just what you spend for". You might think you've grabbed a bargain, however you as well as your group can rue the day you did. Purchase the right house as well as it will certainly last for a few decades, otherwise longer provided the right therapy. In the end your chicken and also your chicken keeping encounter will certainly be a lot the much better for it.
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