Chicken Coops for Sale in Pocahontas, Virginia
Chicken Coops for Sale in Pocahontas, Virginia
How to build a Chicken Coop for under $50
How to build a Chicken Coop for under $50
Why Raise Chickens?
Really, the question you should ask is “Why not raise chickens?” Raising chickens can be a really rewarding experience. These amazing animals eat a small amount of feed a day, and yet produce one egg about every day of the year. (Out of 365 days a year, they lay about 335 eggs.) They take a couple days off here and there, but for the most part they are great layers. Having complete control over the food you feed your family is also really rewarding. Knowing our chickens eat non-GMO, Organic feed, and are allowed to free-range on our acre yard somehow just makes the eggs taste better. There are many benefits to free-ranging your chickens. First of all, they don’t develop diseases because they are out in the fresh air and not living in their poop. Second, they eat a LOT more bugs and let me tell you, you WANT your chickens to eat bugs. Not only does it help keep your bug(& scorpion) population down, it also increases the amount of Omega-3’s per egg. There are just some things that nature does better! The added bonus of letting your chickens eat bugs is that they will eat less of your store-bought feed which helps bring down your overall cost.
FYI, chickens that are locked up in small spaces are SUPER mean to each other. Like cannibal mean. By cannibal, I mean they will literally eat each other. Seriously. They will gang up on the weakest and peck at it incessantly until it dies and then eat it. It’s all Mean Girls up in there, I’m telling you. So, definitely free-range, okay?
How Much does it Cost to keep Chickens
If you buy “regular” chicken feed, it will only cost you about $11.00 for a 50 lb. bag. Pretty good deal, huh? Well, not really. “Regular” feed is chock full of GMOs (genetically modified organisms) which are KNOWN for making chickens sick. Genetically modified organisms are also called Roundup Ready. GMO’s require massive amounts of pesticides, herbicides & fungicides. Yum. “Regular” feed is also usually pre-packaged with antibiotics. Wasn’t that nice of the feed company? Gosh, they are so nice to give our chickens anti-biotics after making them sick with GMOs. So thoughtful. When all’s said and done and your chickens stop going diarrhea, it will only cost you 82 cents a dozen. Organic, Non-GMO feed is about $24.00 for a 50 lb. bag but the benefits are amazing. Our feed is full of clean grains, as they should be, with no pesticides in them or on them. We also supplement their diet with dinner table scraps. It costs us about $1.75 a dozen. At the store, you can expect to pay $5.99 a dozen for ORGANIC, FREE-RANGE eggs. A Plan is Hatched (I’m freakin’ hilarious) The chicken coop I’m about to show you is one for FREE-RANGE chickens. This means your chickens should only be in the coop to eat feed, lay eggs, and roost/sleep at night. For the rest of the day they should be allowed in a yard so they can stay nice and healthy. I can’t take full credit for this idea. Okay, I can’t take ANY credit for this idea. Kevin and I were talking about how to get rid of our old crib. We couldn’t really give it away to Goodwill because it has that old school drop side that has totally been recalled now for safety issues. Then Kevin mentioned on how that sliding door would come in handy for a chicken coop. YES! Totally! I’ve been wanting to build a new chicken coop, and this thing was pretty much built for me! Well, I took Kevin’s idea and ran with it. I first drew a picture of how I wanted it to look. Yes, I’m a very visual person. (Lydia said it was the best drawing of a crib she’s EVER seen, so that means it’s pretty dang good.) The crib. Ah, crib you’ve served us well. You’ve kept our sweet little babes safe and sound as they have sweetly slumbered. Well, except for that one time when the drop side malfunctioned and Ethan tumbled out when he was 8 mo. old. But let’s forget about that one issue. You have been a great crib and we’re thankful for all your service. Aaannd now you will be a pooping ground for our chickens, mmkay? Ta-da! Here’s the coop all finished! It was SUPER easy. We lined two sides with chicken wire, two sides with wains coating, slapped a roof on that mutha’ and called it a day. Okay, okay. It took a little longer than that. I had to paint it, which actually takes way more spray paint than you’d think. I was actually embarrassed at how many times I kept underestimating the amount of spray paint I needed. It was becoming a problem, how bad I was at estimating my spray paint needs. I kept going back to the store and I totally felt like the checkout lady was thinking, “Really? MORE spray paint?” And I, feeling stupid for being the worst spray paint estimator ever, imagined yelling, “Yes, it’s for my chickens, OKAY?!!” The drop side comes down just enough to gather eggs and fill the feeder. I totally cut these pieces myself. I also cut the table I was using but we won’t dwell on that. Sorry Kevin! You’re still “not mad”, right??? A chicken coops not a chicken coop ’till you put an actual picture of a chicken on it, right? I thought so. It has a simple roof made of wains coating and trim. Underneath is a simple frame of 1x2s. Did I mention it was simple? Super cute, right? And cheap, which makes the Mr. Husband happy.
P.S. My friend Claire from wrote an excellent guide on (and raising chickens in the winter in general). I highly recommend it!
Do you own chickens? Have you ever thought of raising chickens? You should! And you should totally use your old crib because, well, it’s super cheap and super cool.
Chicken Coop Run Plans in Pocahontas, Virginia
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Pocahontas 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 Pocahontas Virginia chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Pocahontas, Virginia With the massive boost in poultry maintaining there has actually been an equally big rise in the range of poultry paraphernalia for sale. Poultry housing is an instance in factor. It's additionally a timeless example of the good old bandwagon being jumped on as different would-be chicken real estate specialists market a selection of accommodation claiming to be the optimal solution to your chicken housing requirements. Typically the rate looks attractive, your diy-chicken-coop-planshome looks appealing, hell even the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look desirable. Undoubtedly they recognize a high quality chicken house when they see one? There are numerous cheap and nasty cages flooding the market. I understand this as I've tested a number of them in the area, and seen a ewe run straight via one when the feed bucket showed up. The outcome was just a costly pile of firewood and a little flock of bemused and also currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Door in Pocahontas, Virginia
Generally these standardized designs are constructed of fast grown up wood - come the very first decrease of rainfall they swell, leaving you either fortifying a doorway that won't shut, or tearing the door furnishings off in a vain attempt to release the squawking residents. The very first cozy day suggests the wood dries as well as splits, the felt roof bubbles and also boils, and come nightfall the hens refuse to go in. This is not as a result of their dissatisfaction at the decrease of their once desirable apartment yet because the hovel is currently a haven for, and also most likely abounding, the fowl keeper's bane, red mite. Add on that it stated on the blurb that it would match four huge hens when that stocking density was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as what are you entrusted? A few hinges and also some kindling. A respectable coop for thee to four birds should cost you around ₤ 300 though this can depend upon whether you choose for a complimentary standing house or one with a run attached. Thinking you are ranging your birds in a big area and the pop hole doorway allows enough for the breed you keep, after that the main demands of real estate come down to three points which will define the variety of birds the house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and air flow. Most breeds of chicken will certainly perch when they go to roost during the night, this perch should preferably be 5-8cm large with smoothed off sides so the foot sits easily on it. The perch should be more than the nest box access as chickens will additionally normally seek the acme to perch. A perch lower than that will have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is by the way when they produce the most poo) causing soiled 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 morning. Chickens need regarding 20cm of perch each (in little types this is clearly less), plus if more than one perch is mounted in the house they need to be more than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their neighbors yet are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Ideally the house should have a least one nest box for each three birds as well as these need to be off the ground and in the darkest area of your house. Your house must have sufficient ventilation: without it after that condensation will certainly build up every evening, also in the coldest of weather condition. Be aware, air flow works on the principle of warm and comfortable air leaving through a high space drawing cooler air in from a reduced space - it's not a collection of holes on contrary wall surfaces of your house as well as at the same degree, this is just what's known as a draft. If you have a house with a run attached after that the points above are still true, however you must likewise think about the run size. The EU maximum legal stocking thickness for a cost-free range bird is (and allow's encounter it, one of the motivations for keeping some hens at home is potentially boosted or far better welfare) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's optimal one bird each 4m squared. Take a close check out some of the deal residences - it could well be the house has the ideal perches, correct air flow and ample nest boxes for a sensible variety of birds, but will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized piece of ground to invest the day on? And so as the claiming goes, "you obtain just what you pay for". You might believe you've got hold of a deal, yet you as well as your flock can rue the day you did. Purchase the best house and also it will last for a few decades, otherwise longer given the appropriate treatment. In the end your chicken and your chicken keeping encounter will certainly be much the far better for it.coops coop
More Posts
Chicken Coops for Sale in Partlow, Virginia
Chicken Coops for Sale in New Kent, Virginia
Chicken Coops for Sale in Greenwood, Virginia
Chicken Coops for Sale in Dunnsville, Virginia
Chicken Coops for Sale in Huntly, Virginia