Chicken Coops for Sale in Panhandle, Texas
Chicken Coops for Sale in Panhandle, 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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Chicken Coop Used in Panhandle, Texas
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Panhandle 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 Panhandle Texas chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Panhandle, Texas With the substantial rise in chicken maintaining there has been a just as huge increase in the variety of fowl materiel for sale. Chicken housing is an instance in point. It's also a classic instance of the good old bandwagon being jumped on as numerous would-be fowl real estate professionals pitch a variety of cottage claiming to be the optimal solution to your chicken real estate needs. Typically the cost looks desirable, your diy-chicken-coop-planshome looks attractive, heck also the clean-cut family members standing there feeding the chickens look eye-catching. Certainly they understand a top quality chicken house when they see one? There are lots of inexpensive as well as unpleasant cages swamping the market. I know this as I've checked a number of them in the area, and seen a ewe run straight through one when the feed bucket showed up. The outcome was nothing but a costly pile of firewood and also a little group of bemused and also now homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop On Wheels in Panhandle, Texas
Typically these standardized designs are constructed of rapid grown up wood - come the very first decrease of rain they swell, leaving you either blockading a doorway that won't close, or tearing the doorway furniture off in a vain effort to launch the squawking citizens. The very first warm day implies the lumber dries as well as fractures, the really felt roofing bubbles and also boils, and also come nightfall the hens refuse to enter. This is not because of their frustration at the decrease of their once appealing building yet because the hovel is now a place for, and also possibly crawling with, the chicken keeper's nemesis, red mite. Add that it said on the blurb that it would fit four big hens when that stocking thickness was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and just what are you entrusted? A couple of hinges as well as some kindling. A suitable coop for thee to 4 birds must cost you in the region of ₤ 300 though this can rely on whether you elect for a totally free standing house or one with a run connected. Assuming you are varying your birds in a big room and the pop hole door is big enough for the type you maintain, after that the primary needs of real estate come down to three points which will certainly specify the variety of birds your house will hold; perches, nest boxes and also air flow. A lot of breeds of chicken will certainly perch when they visit roost in the evening, this perch should preferably be 5-8cm vast with smoothed off sides so the foot rests easily on it. The perch should be above the nest box entrance as chickens will certainly additionally normally look for the highest point to perch. A perch less than that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is by the way when they generate one of the most poo) resulting in stained eggs the list below day. They should not nevertheless be so high off the flooring of your home that leg injuries might happen when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens need regarding 20cm of perch each (in small types this is certainly much less), plus if greater than one perch is mounted in your home they ought to be greater than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their neighbors however are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Ideally your home needs to have a the very least one nest box for each three birds and also these need to be off the ground and also in the darkest area of your home. Your home must have sufficient ventilation: without it then condensation will certainly accumulate every night, also in the coldest of weather. Know, ventilation works with the principle of cozy air leaving through a high space attracting cooler air in from a lower space - it's not a collection of holes on other walls of your home and at the exact same level, this is what's called a draft. If you have a house with a run affixed then the factors above are still real, but you must likewise take into consideration the run dimension. The EU optimum lawful equipping thickness for a complimentary range bird is (and also allow's face it, one of the inspirations for maintaining some hens in the house is perhaps improved or far better well-being) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's optimal one bird per 4m squared. Take a close look at a few of the deal residences - it could well be the house has the right perches, right air flow and ample nest boxes for a sensible number of birds, yet will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized piece of ground to invest the day on? And so as the stating goes, "you obtain just what you spend for". You could believe you've got a bargain, yet you as well as your flock could rue the day you did. Acquisition the appropriate house and it will last for a couple of decades, otherwise longer given the proper treatment. In the long run your fowl as well as your poultry keeping experience will be a lot the better for it.plan plans
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