Chicken Coops for Sale in Mclean, Virginia
Chicken Coops for Sale in Mclean, Virginia
Chicken coops for beginners – a primer!
Your chickens will need a safe dry and well ventilated place to roost at night or to be in bad weather. So here is a chicken coops for beginners primer!
Just cute chicks!
Chicken coops for beginners – things to consider!
We have had a variety of coops since we first started with chickens. We have had old wooden crates converted to a basic house through to our latest construction. We have learned much from each design and have tried to build a better coop for both the chickens and us each time we have had to reconstruct. The only reoccurring theme is that we have tried to use as many recycled items as we could….more to save costs than any other noble reason.
To get some inspiration, have a look at .
The chickens in the new coop
Here are the things that we now consider when we are designing our coops.
Safe Is the coop secure from other animals trying to get in? Here in the NE of the USA we worry about foxes, coyotes, raccoons etc. So it needs to be a design that can’t be broken into, ripped open, lifted up or turned over. In Australia I would be also trying to keep out snakes. Out coop lets in a chipmunk and a squirrel – they get a free feed but don’t do any other damage.
Airy Even in our cold climate, we have a well ventilated coop. Chickens seem to cope extremely well in the cold (ours did great in three months of very bitter winter when it did not get above freezing). So they don’t need a coop that is centrally heated. So good ventilation without being breezy on the birds is perfect.
Chickens on ice!
You don’t need it be be insulated and have central heating. On the really cold days and nights when the thermometer reading was way below freezing we run a red heating lamp to provide a little comfort.
Dry Damp chickens are not happy chickens…and will probably end up as sick chickens. Your coop needs to always be dry. So it has to be up off the ground, a roof to stop rain and/or snow dripping in and a way to open it up in case it does get damp inside. We have stopped providing drinking water in our coop unless its winter (with a water warmer) because the chickens just made a wet mess!
Roosting poles
Chickens need to be able to roost on a perch to sleep, just like all birds do at night (ok …emus don’t). Your chickens needs to have an old broom handle, tree branch or other item to settle on inside the coop. We have four feet of old curtain rod and all six adult birds are very happy. When we get more chickens (the coop could take another dozen) we will install more perches.The new coop’s roosting pole.
Nesting boxes Your girls will appreciate a place to lay their eggs. Some people like to build nesting boxes inside the coop. We found that having nesting boxes that have easy access for humans to collect eggs are great, however our free ranging girls like to lay in a spot in our barn rather than the nesting boxes. Inside our coop the nesting boxes are cut down plastic buckets and these are only used if we are late in letting them out and one girl just can’t wait.
The plastic nesting boxes
Easy to clean We use the deep litter method – which is just code for laying a deep pile of old hay onto the floor of the coop. We clean it out every few months and find that it works great. On past coops it was quite a chore to get into the coop and clean it. With our current design we made a flap on one wall so we have great access for cleaning. We also made the coop tall and added two cut down doors so we can get inside both from the outside and from inside the barn in winter.
Front of the coop – see the lower flap we can open to clean it out – now its a 5 min job!
Chicken coops for beginners – why do it!
Building the coop can be a great family affair. We collected materials from our dump for a few months and then built the structure as a lean-to off the barn. That way we could have a door to the inside of the barn so during winter the chickens could use the barn to roam around if they did not want to venture out into the snow. We also have a door on the outside of the coop and a window on the south side – so it gets loads of light and is easy to clean and air out.
The coop framed up
Coop finished
So far this chicken coop has been perfect! Easy for us to get into. Easy to clean. But most of all, the chickens seem happy to call it home! Using recycled materials has kept our costs low as well!
Jen and Madie ‘fancy up’ the coop with paint.
We hope this chicken coops for beginners primer will help you have happier and safer chickens!
Chicken Coop Kit For 6 Chickens in Mclean, Virginia
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Mclean Virginia" 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 Mclean Virginia chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Mclean, Virginia With the massive boost in poultry keeping there has been an equally large surge in the variety of poultry materiel on sale. Fowl real estate is a case in point. It's likewise a traditional example of the excellent old bandwagon being jumped on as different prospective poultry real estate specialists pitch a range of accommodation claiming to be the ideal remedy to your chicken housing needs. Usually the cost looks desirable, your diy-chicken-coop-planshome looks appealing, hell also the clean-cut family standing there feeding the chickens look attractive. Definitely they know a professional chicken house when they see one? There are many inexpensive as well as nasty coops swamping the market. I know this as I've checked a number of them in the area, as well as seen a ewe run straight via one when the feed pail appeared. The result was nothing but a pricey stack of fire wood and a tiny group of bemused as well as currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop And Run For Sale in Mclean, Virginia
Most of the time these mass produced models are built of quick grown timber - come the first decline of rainfall they swell, leaving you either defending a doorway that will not shut, or ripping the door furnishings off in a vain attempt to release the squawking inhabitants. The very first cozy day suggests the lumber dries out and splits, the really felt roofing system bubbles and also boils, and also come nightfall the chickens choose not to enter. This is not as a result of their frustration at the decrease of their once desirable residential property however considering that the hovel is currently a place for, and also probably crawling with, the poultry keeper's nemesis, red mite. Add that it stated on the blurb that it would match four large hens when that stocking density was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as just what are you entrusted? A couple of hinges and some kindling. A suitable coop for thee to 4 birds must cost you approximately ₤ 300 though this can depend upon whether you choose for a free standing house or one with a run affixed. Thinking you are ranging your birds in a huge space and also the pop opening door allows sufficient for the breed you maintain, after that the major requirements of real estate come down to 3 points which will certainly specify the variety of birds your home will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes as well as ventilation. Many types of chicken will perch when they go to roost in the evening, this perch must ideally be 5-8cm large with smoothed off sides so the foot sits comfortably on it. The perch ought to be higher than the nest box entry as chickens will certainly additionally naturally seek the acme to perch. A perch below that will have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is by the way when they produce the most poo) bring about soiled eggs the following day. They shouldn't nevertheless be so high off the floor of your home that leg injuries could possibly take place when the bird gets down in the early morning. Chickens need about 20cm of perch each (in small types this is undoubtedly much less), plus if greater than one perch is set up in your home they ought to be more than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their neighbors however are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Preferably your house ought to have a the very least one nest box for every single 3 birds and also these should be off the ground and in the darkest location of your house. Your home needs to have ample ventilation: without it after that condensation will accumulate every night, even in the coldest of weather condition. Understand, air flow works on the principle of warm air leaving through a high void attracting cooler air in from a lower void - it's not a set of openings on contrary walls of your home and also at the exact same level, this is exactly what's referred to as a draught. If you have a house with a run attached then the points above are still true, however you must additionally take into consideration the run dimension. The EU optimum legal equipping density for a cost-free variety bird is (as well as allow's face it, one of the motivations for maintaining some chickens in the house is possibly boosted or better welfare) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's maximum one bird per 4m settled. Take a close look at a few of the deal residences - it could well be your home has the ideal perches, proper air flow and also enough nest boxes for an affordable number of birds, however will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized piece of ground to invest the day on? And so as the saying goes, "you get what you spend for". You may assume you've grabbed a bargain, but you and also your group could possibly rue the day you did. Purchase the ideal house and also it will certainly last for a few years, if not longer offered the correct therapy. In the end your fowl as well as your poultry keeping encounter will certainly be considerably the much better for it.coops diy
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