Chicken Coops for Sale in Van Alstyne, Texas
Chicken Coops for Sale in Van Alstyne, Texas
Sand Litter Bed In The Chicken Coop: An Experiment
We’ve been managing our chicken coop through a . This hybrid system has worked extremely well in . Briefly, how that system works is, the chickens roost over the sand, which acts like kitty litter to dry out their overnight poop, and in the morning the poop is raked to the lower area, where it composts-in-place with lots of straw and other high-carbon bedding.
Last year, fed up with the very real problems involved when you combine chickens and vegetable gardening, we decided to stop attempting to free-range our birds and instead fenced in a large, outdoor area adjacent to the coop. We confined the hens to this area (the ducks, less destructive, still get to free range) and this solved many of our chickens-scratching up-my-seedlings problems.
Too Much Of A Good Thing?
However, this confined run area led to another problem. This is a good problem, a problem I cannot believe I have, but it’s a problem nonetheless. In order to accommodate our flock in this confined area, we piled on the straw and woodchips in both the coop’s lower area, and the outdoor run.
This has led to, basically, more compost than I can use. Yeah, I have too much compost. Crazy, right? I didn’t know there was such thing as too much compost.
When I hauled out all the deep litter and piled it up, it looked like this.
And it’s not just dealing with storing Mount Compost Heap up there. The bedding was building up so deeply in both the coop and the run that we started to have problems just opening the door to the coop. The chickens weren’t super effective at scratching down to the lowest levels, and I’m embarrassed to say that some anaerobic ickiness was starting to take place in the deeper levels of the bedding.
Something needed to change.
Trying something new.
Is Sand A Solution?
In order to manage these drawbacks, we are experimenting with a sand bed in the run area of the coop. The fenced outdoor chicken area will still be managed as a deep litter system, with arborists woodchips and straw added as needed for carbon.
But inside the coop itself, I’m trying sand.
I had help raking out the new sand.
I see several potential upsides to a sand bed, and a few downsides as well.
Pros:
- Sand bed is lower profile, so we’re able to open the door without hassle.
- Seems drier in winter due to superior drainage.
- Spilled chicken food is less likely to get “lost” in the bedding. I’ve observed chickens pecking at the food that falls on the sand. Less food waste = less feed expense.
- Sand adds natural grit to a chicken’s diet and sharpens nails
- Probably less expensive in the long-term, since sand doesn’t require frequent additions or “top-ups” like a deep litter system.
- May allow for indoor dust-bathing. I have not observed my hens using the sand to dust bathe, but I’ve read that they will.
- May cut down on opportunities for Coccidiosis in chickens by providing an inhospitable environment for the protozoa.
- Easy collection of poop allows for a more dedicated manure-composting system, which might be of use to people looking at black soldier fly farming (hem hem, me) or related endeavors.
When the hens spill feed, they can pick it up now.
Cons:
- Cold. The sand does not add to the warmth of the coop like the composting bedding. The sand feels noticeably colder to me when I touch it, and I’m not even walking around barefoot like my chooks. Cold is a drawback here in January. However, to chicken keepers in hot weather climates, perhaps a non-heat generating litter option would be a benefit?
- Requires more regular dedicated maintenance. We’re already in the daily habit of scooping the poop from the sand covered upper coop area, so this doesn’t add a huge amount of work to that chore, but it’s definitely not the kind of job you can ignore for several
weeksdays. - Does not break down into compost. Unless your chickens already make more compost than you can use, less compost is a bad thing.
- The ducks don’t seem happy about the sand, but then ducks don’t like change, so I don’t read too much into this yet.
- Duck poop doesn’t scoop well. The front runner of Reasons I May Go Back To Deep Litter is wet duck poop on sand. Ewww.
- The poop has to go somewhere. In the prior system we just scrapped the upper poop onto the composting bedding. Now the upper and lower poop have to go somewhere. At the moment we’re scraping the poop out the door into the outdoor run area, but this experiment of sand-bedding the indoor run has triggered a re-evaluation of all my manure and compost management practices. So, simple change.
As of now, I have more questions than answers. I’ll let you know how the sand bed works out going forward.
Chicken Coop Pallets in Van Alstyne, Texas
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Van Alstyne 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 Van Alstyne Texas chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Van Alstyne, Texas With the massive increase in chicken maintaining there has actually been an equally big increase in the array of chicken paraphernalia on sale. Poultry housing is an instance in factor. It's also a traditional instance of the good old bandwagon being jumped on as different would-be fowl housing specialists market a variety of lodging declaring to be the perfect solution to your chicken real estate requirements. Often the cost looks attractive, your diy-chicken-coop-planshome looks appealing, heck also the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look eye-catching. Certainly they understand a professional chicken house when they see one? There are numerous low-cost and unpleasant cages swamping the market. I recognize this as I've checked a number of them in the area, and seen a ewe run directly with one when the feed bucket showed up. The outcome was nothing but a pricey heap of fire wood and a tiny group of bemused as well as currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Used in Van Alstyne, Texas
Generally these mass produced designs are constructed of rapid grown timber - come the first decrease of rain they swell, leaving you either defending a doorway that will not shut, or tearing the door furnishings off in a vain effort to launch the squawking residents. The first warm day implies the wood dries and also splits, the really felt roof bubbles and boils, and also come nightfall the hens refuse to go in. This is not as a result of their disappointment at the decrease of their when eye-catching home but due to the fact that the hovel is now a place for, as well as most likely abounding, the poultry keeper's bane, red mite. Add on that it stated on the blurb that it would fit 4 huge chickens when that equipping density was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also what are you left with? A couple of hinges as well as some kindling. A decent coop for thee to 4 birds ought to cost you approximately ₤ 300 though this can depend on whether you choose for a free standing house or one with a run affixed. Presuming you are varying your birds in a huge room and also the pop hole doorway is big enough for the breed you keep, then the main demands of housing come down to 3 points which will specify the number of birds your house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and air flow. Many types of chicken will certainly perch when they go to roost in the evening, this perch ought to preferably be 5-8cm vast with smoothed off sides so the foot rests pleasantly on it. The perch needs to be above the nest box entry as chickens will certainly likewise normally seek the highest point to perch. A perch below that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is incidentally when they generate the most poo) resulting in dirtied eggs the following day. They shouldn't however be so high off the floor of your house that leg injuries could possibly occur when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens require regarding 20cm of perch each (in tiny types this is clearly much less), plus if greater than one perch is set up in your house they must be more than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their neighbors yet are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Ideally the house should have a the very least one nest box for every single 3 birds as well as these ought to be off the ground and in the darkest area of your home. The house must have adequate ventilation: without it then condensation will certainly build up every evening, also in the chilliest of weather condition. Know, ventilation deals with the concept of warm air leaving with a high gap drawing cooler air in from a lower gap - it's not a set of holes on other wall surfaces of the house as well as at the same degree, this is what's called a draught. If you have a house with a run attached then the factors above are still real, yet you need to likewise take into consideration the run dimension. The EU maximum lawful equipping thickness for a free array bird is (as well as allow's encounter it, one of the motivations for maintaining some chickens in your home is possibly enhanced or better welfare) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's maximum one bird per 4m settled. Take a close check out several of the deal residences - it could well be the house has the right perches, correct air flow and adequate nest boxes for an affordable number of birds, however will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized item of ground to invest the day on? And so as the claiming goes, "you get just what you spend for". You may think you've got a deal, yet you and your flock could rue the day you did. Purchase the appropriate house and it will last for a few years, if not longer provided the correct treatment. Ultimately your fowl and also your chicken keeping experience will certainly be much the better for it.chickens diy
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