Chicken Coops for Sale in Saint Albans, Vermont
Chicken Coops for Sale in Saint Albans, Vermont
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 Build in Saint Albans, Vermont
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Saint Albans Vermont" 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 Saint Albans Vermont chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Saint Albans, Vermont With the huge increase in chicken maintaining there has actually been a similarly big increase in the array of poultry materiel for sale. Fowl real estate is an instance in factor. It's likewise a traditional example of the good old bandwagon being got on as various prospective poultry housing experts market a range of cottage asserting to be the optimal option to your chicken housing requirements. Commonly the price looks desirable, your diy-chicken-coop-planshome looks desirable, hell even the clean-cut family standing there feeding the chickens look attractive. Certainly they know a high quality chicken house when they see one? There are several affordable as well as unpleasant cages swamping the marketplace. I know this as I've checked a variety of them in the field, as well as seen a ewe run directly through one when the feed container appeared. The outcome was nothing but a pricey heap of fire wood and also a small group of bemused as well as now homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Ideas in Saint Albans, Vermont
Generally these standardized designs are built of fast grown wood - come the initial decline of rain they swell, leaving you either barricading a doorway that won't shut, or ripping the door furniture off in a vain attempt to release the squawking citizens. The first warm day means the wood dries out and also fractures, the really felt roof covering bubbles and boils, and also come nightfall the hens choose not to enter. This is not as a result of their dissatisfaction at the decline of their as soon as attractive apartment yet due to the fact that the hovel is currently a haven for, and also most likely crawling with, the chicken keeper's nemesis, red mite. Add that it claimed on the blurb that it would certainly match four big hens when that stocking thickness was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also just what are you left with? A couple of hinges and some kindling. A decent coop for thee to four birds need to cost you approximately ₤ 300 though this could rely on whether you choose for a free standing house or one with a run affixed. Presuming you are varying your birds in a large area and also the pop opening doorway allows sufficient for the breed you maintain, after that the main needs of housing boil down to 3 points which will certainly define the variety of birds your house will hold; perches, nest boxes and also ventilation. The majority of breeds of chicken will perch when they go to roost at night, this perch ought to preferably be 5-8cm broad with smoothed off edges so the foot rests comfortably on it. The perch must be higher than the nest box entry as chickens will likewise normally try to find the acme to perch. A perch lower than that will have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is by the way when they create one of the most poo) bring about stained eggs the list below day. They shouldn't nevertheless be so high off the flooring of the house that leg injuries can happen when the bird comes down in the early morning. Chickens need concerning 20cm of perch each (in tiny types this is certainly less), plus if more than one perch is set up in the house they must be more than 30cm apart. They will certainly 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. Ideally the house should have a least one nest box for each 3 birds and also these need to be off the ground and also in the darkest area of your home. The house should have adequate air flow: without it then condensation will accumulate every evening, also in the chilliest of weather condition. Know, ventilation deals with the principle of warm air leaving via a high gap attracting cooler air in from a lower gap - it's not a collection of holes on other walls of your house and at the same level, this is exactly what's known as a draught. If you have a house with a run connected after that the factors above are still real, but you ought to likewise think about the run dimension. The EU maximum legal stocking density for a complimentary variety bird is (and also let's face it, among the inspirations for maintaining some chickens at home is perhaps improved or much better welfare) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's maximum one bird per 4m squared. Take a close consider some of the bargain houses - it could well be the house has the appropriate perches, proper air flow and also ample nest boxes for a sensible 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 saying goes, "you obtain just what you spend for". You could assume you've got hold of a bargain, but you and also your flock might rue the day you did. Purchase the ideal house and also it will certainly last for a few decades, if not longer offered the appropriate therapy. Eventually your chicken and your fowl keeping experience will be considerably the better for it.coop for sale
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