Chicken Coops for Sale in Wellsville, Utah
Chicken Coops for Sale in Wellsville, Utah
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 Kits For 6-8 Chickens in Wellsville, Utah
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Wellsville Utah" 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 Wellsville Utah chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Wellsville, Utah With the big rise in chicken maintaining there has actually been a just as huge rise in the variety of chicken materiel on sale. Poultry housing is a case in point. It's likewise a classic instance of the great old bandwagon being got on as numerous prospective chicken real estate specialists pitch an array of lodging asserting to be the suitable remedy to your chicken real estate demands. Usually the price looks eye-catching, the house looks attractive, hell even the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look attractive. Certainly they understand a quality chicken house when they see one? There are numerous affordable and also unpleasant cages flooding the market. I understand this as I've tested a variety of them in the field, and also seen a ewe run straight through one when the feed container appeared. The result was only a costly pile of fire wood and also a little group of bemused and currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Guides in Wellsville, Utah
Generally these mass produced versions are created of fast grown up lumber - come the first decrease of rain they swell, leaving you either defending a doorway that will not close, or ripping the door furniture off in a vain attempt to release the squawking residents. The first cozy day indicates the hardwood dries and also cracks, the felt roofing system bubbles as well as boils, and come nightfall the chickens refuse to go in. This is not because of their dissatisfaction at the decline of their as soon as appealing commercial property however considering that the hovel is now a place for, and also possibly crawling with, the poultry caretaker's bane, red mite. Add on the fact that it said on the blurb that it would fit 4 huge hens when that equipping density was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and exactly what are you left with? A couple of hinges and also some kindling. A suitable coop for thee to four birds need to cost you approximately ₤ 300 though this could depend upon whether you choose for a free standing house or one with a run attached. Thinking you are ranging your birds in a huge area and the pop opening doorway allows sufficient for the breed you maintain, after that the main demands of real estate come down to 3 points which will certainly specify the variety of birds the house will hold; perches, nest boxes and also ventilation. The majority of types of chicken will perch when they go to roost at night, this perch should preferably be 5-8cm vast with smoothed off sides so the foot sits pleasantly on it. The perch must be more than the nest box entrance as chickens will additionally normally look for 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 produce one of the most poo) resulting in soiled eggs the following day. They shouldn't nevertheless be so high off the floor of your home that leg injuries could possibly occur when the bird gets down in the early morning. Chickens require concerning 20cm of perch each (in small types this is undoubtedly much less), plus if greater than one perch is set up in the house they should be greater than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their next-door neighbors yet are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Preferably the house ought to have a the very least one nest box for every 3 birds and also these need to be off the ground and also in the darkest location of your house. The house should have sufficient ventilation: without it after that condensation will build up every night, even in the coldest of climate. Realize, ventilation works with the concept of warm air leaving through a high space drawing cooler air in from a lower space - it's not a collection of holes on other wall surfaces of the house as well as at the exact same degree, this is just what's referred to as a draft. If you have a house with a run connected after that the points above are still real, but you must also think about the run size. The EU optimum legal stocking density for a cost-free variety bird is (and allow's encounter it, one of the motivations for maintaining some chickens at home is potentially enhanced or far better welfare) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's optimal one bird each 4m made even. Take a close consider some of the deal residences - it could well be the house has the appropriate perches, correct air flow and sufficient nest boxes for a reasonable number of birds, yet will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized piece of ground to spend the day on? Therefore as the claiming goes, "you obtain exactly what you spend for". You might believe you've got a bargain, yet you and your flock could rue the day you did. Purchase the ideal house and also it will last for a couple of decades, if not longer provided the correct treatment. In the end your fowl and also your chicken keeping experience will be a lot the far better for it.chick build
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