Chicken Coops for Sale in Santa Elena, Texas
Chicken Coops for Sale in Santa Elena, Texas
Cleaning the Chicken Coop; Fall Chores
Pallets leaned against Coop act as a wind break in Winter.
One of the chores I like to save for beautiful Fall weather is cleaning out the coop. I know that before I got chickens, I really wanted to see other people’s coops and how exactly they did things. So here is a look at my coop and the regular maintenance I have to do to keep my girls happy.
My coop is basically a chicken tractor made permanent. See how I built my chicken coop . It is only good to protect my egg laying divas during the night. I have to get up in the morning to let them out. Trust me they let me know if I am late. Late is after 8 am, so it is not like they start wailing at 5 o’clock in the morning or anything. They have a kind of wail that they only make when they want out. It is the strangest sound, kind of like a long drawn out moooooom , where are youuuuuuu? You have to hear it to understand.
Shoveling out the “raised bed” that my coop rests on.
To clean out my coop I have get someone to help me lift the coop off of the raised bed it is resting on. I have handles on either end, but it is too heavy for me to lift by myself. Thankfully my strong boys help me. Shoveling out all the old bedding and putting in new wood shavings is not too hard of a task, considering you only have to do it about 3 times per year. I empty out the nest boxes and add new hay to freshen things up. I heard for the first time the other day that it is a good idea to add crushed dried herbs to the nest boxes to make them more appealing to your hens. I tried crushed basil this time. Yes, hens are a constant source of amusement. They always want to lay eggs where everyone else is laying. I just have 2 nest boxes for my 10 hens. I call them nest boxes but they are a little unconventional. One is an old basket, the other is an old drawer. This time of year as we transition into winter the light wanes as the days grow shorter. You will notice your egg production reducing quite a bit. This is why commercial growers put a light on their chickens 24 hours a day; to keep their egg production up. Here at the homestead we try to work with nature instead of against it. That means more kale, less eggs. This is also the time that the rabbits really start producing well. While one thing lessens another takes it’s place. This probably wouldn’t work up north but I lean pallets against the coop to provide a wind break. A lot of people ask me if I need to provide a heat source for my girls when temps fall below freezing. The answer is no. It is important to make sure their water is unfrozen. Other than that chickens really do better in the Winter here than the heat of the Summer.
My hens checking out the new fresh nest box.
After the coop is all cleaned out it is time to add new wood chips. I get what is called a “Country Boy” which is farmer speak for a big packed bag of wood shavings. I get mine from my local feed store in Garland. When I first started chickens I used Fall leaves gathered from the curb. I like the shavings better because the compost turns out better, but oak leaves work out well as chicken bedding too. It is hard to see in the picture but the bottom of the coop against the ground is wire screen(yard cloth) to keep digging critters out.
My hens get very curious about all the changes taking place and come to check it all out. I put the old bedding into a bin and drag it to my compost. Thankfully I don’t have to go too far. I keep my compost in my chicken yard so that my hens can stir my compost and so that they can get the minerals they need to keep their egg shells hard. I put the cracked egg shells in the compost where my hens can gobble them up therefore getting the calcium they need to keep their egg shells firm. I also put other left over kitchen scraps in the compost for them to enjoy. Speaking of compost, a lot of people ask me about mine. Let me just say that trying to heat up a compost pile without manure of some sort is NOT easy. To heat up a compost pile without manure add fresh grass clippings. However right about the time fall leaves are readily abundant, grass clippings are NOT readily available. If you have read my posts at all you are probably sensing a theme; get an animal or a source of manure for your garden. Chickens or rabbits, even worms; your garden will thank you with beautiful veggies.
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Chicken Coop Kit For 6 Chickens in Santa Elena, Texas
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Santa Elena 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 Santa Elena Texas chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Santa Elena, Texas With the massive boost in poultry maintaining there has actually been a similarly big increase in the array of fowl paraphernalia for sale. Chicken housing is a situation in factor. It's additionally a timeless example of the good old bandwagon being jumped on as different would-be chicken real estate professionals peddle an array of lodging declaring to be the perfect solution to your chicken real estate requirements. Often the rate looks appealing, the house looks attractive, heck also the clean-cut family standing there feeding the chickens look eye-catching. Surely they understand a quality chicken house when they see one? There are several affordable as well as awful coops flooding the market. I recognize this as I've examined a number of them in the field, and seen a ewe run straight with one when the feed container showed up. The outcome was only a pricey heap of firewood and a small flock of bemused as well as currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Pinterest in Santa Elena, Texas
More often than not these standardized versions are built of quick grown hardwood - come the initial decline of rain they swell, leaving you either defending a doorway that won't close, or ripping the doorway furnishings off in a vain effort to launch the squawking inhabitants. The very first warm day means the timber dries out and cracks, the really felt roofing system bubbles and also boils, as well as come nightfall the hens choose not to go in. This is not due to their disappointment at the decrease of their once attractive apartment yet considering that the hovel is currently a haven for, as well as most likely abounding, the poultry caretaker's bane, red mite. Add that it stated on the blurb that it would match 4 huge chickens when that equipping thickness was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also exactly what are you entrusted? A couple of hinges as well as some kindling. A decent coop for thee to 4 birds ought to cost you around ₤ 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 also the pop opening door is big enough for the breed you maintain, then the major requirements of housing come down to 3 points which will certainly define the number of birds your house will hold; perches, nest boxes as well as ventilation. Most types of chicken will certainly perch when they go to roost at night, this perch should ideally be 5-8cm vast with smoothed off sides so the foot rests conveniently on it. The perch must be more than the nest box entry as chickens will certainly likewise naturally try to find the acme to perch. A perch less than that will have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is by the way when they generate one of the most poo) leading to dirtied eggs the list below day. They should not however be so high off the floor of the house that leg injuries can happen when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens require concerning 20cm of perch each (in small types this is undoubtedly less), plus if more than one perch is installed in your house they need to be more than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their next-door neighbors however are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Ideally your house needs to have a least one nest box for every single 3 birds and these ought to be off the ground as well as in the darkest area of the house. The house ought to have sufficient ventilation: without it then condensation will develop every night, even in the chilliest of weather. Understand, ventilation works with the principle of cozy air leaving with a high gap attracting cooler air in from a lower space - it's not a collection of openings on opposite walls of your house and at the very same level, this is what's called a draught. If you have a house with a run affixed after that the factors above are still true, but you should likewise consider the run size. The EU maximum lawful stocking density for a complimentary variety bird is (and let's face it, among the motivations for maintaining some hens in the house is potentially improved or much better welfare) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's optimal one bird per 4m made even. Take a close look at several of the deal houses - it could well be your house has the right perches, proper air flow and adequate nest boxes for a practical variety of birds, but will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized piece of ground to spend the day on? Therefore as the stating goes, "you get just what you pay for". You may think you've got a deal, yet you and also your group might rue the day you did. Purchase the ideal house as well as it will last for a couple of decades, if not longer offered the correct treatment. Ultimately your poultry as well as your chicken maintaining experience will certainly be considerably the far better for it.plan plan
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