Chicken Coops for Sale in Friendly, West Virginia
Chicken Coops for Sale in Friendly, West Virginia
Coop Building Basics – Getting Started With Chickens
Keeping chickens is one of the fastest growing hobbies in the US. For those of us who already have them – we certainly know why! These intelligent, intriguing, and amazing avians are worth the expense and the effort. Don’t be fooled – keeping your own flock of birds will entail an expense and a good deal of effort – but it sure is worth it. You want to be one of the winners! Those chickens are relying on you.
Be Prepared
Don’t be part of the impulse crowd…you know the ones who want to join the “homestead” movement for eggs. Do not get chickens because you ONLY want backyard eggs. Chickens are livestock that require 365 days of care, health care, and general attention. Their yard requires upkeep and some carpentry business. Be prepared to provide that care to your birds, and structures, for 6-10 years (the lifespan of most breeds).
Building an attractive and useful barn, ONCE, saves money and unpleasant experiences. Build it right, build it BIG and enjoy the coop for decades! And your neighbors will even be thrilled, especially when they see those free eggs.
Taking the poultry plunge
The secret to being successful with chickens rests (or nests), just as in other adventures, with doing your homework. Chicken raising actually is pretty simple. It really isn’t any different than getting a cat or dog. In fact, if you are getting birds BECAUSE you aren’t ready financially, or time-wise, to acquire a cat or dog… do NOT get chickens. Keeping any animal involves dedication, time, coordinating caretakers (if you leave – even for a day), and maintenance expenses.
Ensure that your zoning laws, and your neighbors, allow poultry keeping. Check local building codes and rules before you begin siting your barn. If you do not live in a rural area be sure the barn’s design is appealing and set away from roads and public view (this may be mandatory as well).
The most expensive eggs you will ever buy…
Yes, indeed, these costly eggs will begin draining your account with the coop itself. How do you build, or buy, a coop that will house your birds, last for decades and provide room for those extra chickens, or other fowl, that are going to appear? Remember coops are all about everyone’s comfort – the birds’ and yours.
Size
The coop must be a minimum of 8×8, or so. Anything less and it will be very claustrophobic and impractical. It will not vent properly, dissipate heat or hold heat – issues that can be deadly to the birds. You need to be able to get in there to clean, feed, fill water buckets, collect eggs and hang out with the birds. The old-fashioned coop in the feature photo shows what coops are supposed to look like. Chickens are active animals that need floor space to roam. Grandma and grandpa knew a thing about housing poultry.
Floor Space
Overcrowded and cramped quarters lead to disaster. Avoid disease, filth, broken eggs, chronic chicken stress, fighting, feather-picking, failure to thrive and low-egg production by providing plenty of space per bird. Chronic stress/unhappy birds = disease outbreaks, fighting, low production. Allowances per bird: The following is for single level roost and floor space needs. You can consider these estimations in relation to how much time your birds will be in the barn. For those living in warm areas, with minimal freeze and lots of range time, you can reduce the space needs as the chickens will only use the barn in inclement weather, for sleeping and egg-laying. Cold weather barns will need to increase the floor space, as birds will be spending several months indoors.
Floor Space:
- Standard and Bantam: 3-4 square feet (Leghorn, Hamburgs, Silkie, Bantam Cochin)
- 2-3 square feet for true bantams (Sebright, Japanese, Games), 8-10 inches per bird See Roosting Note
- Heavy Breeds: 4-5 square feet (Brahma, Cochin, White Giants, Jersey Giants, Malay) 10 inches to a foot
- Cold Winter Regions: 5 square feet per standard and bantam breeds 6 square feet for heavy breeds. Roost space remains the same.
Roosting Note: Roosts can be venues for wrestling and squabbling shows. Be flexible about roost space. Troubleshoot by providing multiple roosting areas, rather than setting the poles all in one spot. Many chickens are more comfortable with a “private” roost area. Do not use ladder styled roost systems – you waste space, and there won’t be enough prime property for the chickens (and they poop on the rungs). Chickens instinctively want to roost as high up as they can. If they can’t “feel safe” you are creating a chronic stress issue.
Think above the floor… Provide levels in your barn. This is very important, as you are housing birds and birds like to go up. The birds will use these shelves and benches and you will notice some of them will spend most of their time there. Make sure you have shelves in front of the windows for the chickens to relax, preen and look out.
Predator protection.
The coop must have an actual foundation with a floor. If your coop is raised on blocks – it already has one! Do not build a structure directly on the ground. Not only will the foundation rot, but predators simply dig under. Put down a floor.
Windows and doors will need heavy-gauge wire framed over any screen. Window and door mesh screens are critical to prevent mosquitoes from entering (“skeeters” are fowl pox vectors), but they offer no protection from predators. Chicken wire is also unsafe, and be sure the mesh openings are small enough to deter mink. Mink will kill every bird in your barn and they can enter an opening small enough for a rat.
Reinforce any area in which mice or rats may, or have, gained access. There presence is unwanted and the damage they do creates access holes for predators. Rats will kill chicks or small birds.
Check for rotting wood, loose features and flashing, evidence of digging – and note any chewing along doors, windows and eaves. Do this once a week, or if you suspect varmints. Never ignore these signs as the predator will be back each night, and it only takes one night to lose your flock. Many keepers set up a game camera to see what is lurking around.
Start Planning for Spring
If you haven’t built your dream coop, it’s never to early to start planning! If you already have a coop up and running, do a predator “check.” As always, leave us your tips and tricks. We love to hear from our readers…keep on cooping!
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Chicken Coop Used in Friendly, West Virginia
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Friendly West 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 Friendly West Virginia chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Friendly, West Virginia With the huge increase in poultry keeping there has been a just as huge surge in the array of fowl stuff on sale. Chicken real estate is an instance in point. It's also a timeless instance of the great old bandwagon being jumped on as different would-be fowl real estate specialists peddle a variety of cottage asserting to be the excellent remedy to your chicken housing 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 attractive. Surely they know a professional chicken house when they see one? There are numerous cheap and unpleasant cages flooding the marketplace. I recognize this as I've tested a variety of them in the area, and seen a ewe run straight via one when the feed pail showed up. The outcome was nothing but an expensive pile of fire wood and also a little group of bemused and also now homeless bantams.
Baby Chicks For Sale in Friendly, West Virginia
Usually these mass produced models are created of fast grown wood - come the first drop of rainfall they swell, leaving you either barricading a doorway that will not shut, or tearing the door furniture off in a vain attempt to release the squawking citizens. The first warm day implies the hardwood dries out and fractures, the felt roof covering bubbles and also boils, and also come nightfall the hens choose not to enter. This is not due to their frustration at the decline of their once attractive apartment but due to the fact that the hovel is now a place for, and possibly abounding, the fowl caretaker's nemesis, red mite. Add on the fact that it said on the blurb that it would fit four huge hens when that stocking density was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as exactly what are you left with? A couple of joints as well as some kindling. A good coop for thee to four birds need to cost you around ₤ 300 though this could depend on whether you choose for a complimentary standing house or one with a run attached. Assuming you are varying your birds in a large room and also the pop opening door allows enough for the type you keep, after that the major requirements of real estate boil down to three factors which will specify the variety of birds the house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and ventilation. The majority of types of chicken will certainly perch when they visit roost during the night, this perch needs to ideally be 5-8cm large with smoothed off sides so the foot sits pleasantly on it. The perch ought to be more than the nest box entry as chickens will certainly also naturally try to find the highest point to perch. A perch lower than that will have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is incidentally when they generate one of the most poo) resulting in dirtied eggs the following day. They shouldn't nevertheless be so high off the flooring of the house that leg injuries could possibly take place when the bird gets down in the early morning. Chickens need regarding 20cm of perch each (in small types this is undoubtedly much less), plus if more than one perch is set up in the house they ought to be more than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their neighbors but are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Ideally the house should have a least one nest box for every single 3 birds and also these should be off the ground and in the darkest area of your house. Your house must have adequate air flow: without it after that condensation will accumulate every night, even in the coldest of climate. Know, ventilation deals with the concept of warm air leaving with a high void drawing cooler air in from a lower gap - it's not a set of holes on contrary wall surfaces of the house and also at the exact same degree, this is just what's called a draft. If you have a house with a run connected after that the points above are still real, but you ought to likewise think about the run size. The EU optimum legal equipping density for a complimentary range bird is (as well as allow's encounter it, one of the motivations for keeping some hens in the house is possibly enhanced or better well-being) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's maximum one bird per 4m squared. Take a close look at a few of the deal homes - it could well be the house has the ideal perches, appropriate ventilation as well as adequate nest boxes for a reasonable number of birds, yet will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized piece of ground to spend the day on? Therefore as the stating goes, "you get just what you spend for". You might assume you've grabbed a bargain, however you and also your group can rue the day you did. Purchase the best house and it will last for a couple of years, if not longer given the correct treatment. Eventually your poultry as well as your chicken keeping encounter will be much the far better for it.chicken plans
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