Chicken Coops for Sale in Lost City, West Virginia
Chicken Coops for Sale in Lost City, West Virginia
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.
Baby Chick Feeder in Lost City, West Virginia
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Lost City 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 Lost City West Virginia chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Lost City, West Virginia With the huge increase in chicken maintaining there has actually been a similarly big increase in the variety of chicken stuff on sale. Poultry real estate is a situation in point. It's likewise a timeless example of the good old bandwagon being jumped on as numerous would-be fowl housing experts pitch an array of lodging declaring to be the suitable remedy to your chicken housing demands. Often the price looks attractive, your house looks attractive, heck also the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look desirable. Surely they understand a quality chicken house when they see one? There are several cheap and also unpleasant coops flooding the marketplace. I recognize this as I've checked a number of them in the field, as well as seen a ewe run directly with one when the feed container showed up. The outcome was only a pricey heap of fire wood and a small flock of bemused and now homeless bantams.
Baby Chicks in Lost City, West Virginia
Usually these mass produced designs are built of rapid grown lumber - come the first drop of rain they swell, leaving you either defending a doorway that will not close, or ripping the door furnishings off in a vain effort to release the squawking citizens. The first warm day suggests the hardwood dries out and also cracks, the really felt roofing bubbles and also boils, and also come nightfall the chickens choose not to go in. This is not because of their disappointment at the decrease of their when desirable home yet due to the fact that the hovel is now a haven for, as well as possibly crawling with, the fowl keeper's bane, red mite. Add that it stated on the blurb that it would certainly suit four big chickens when that equipping thickness was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as what are you left with? A couple of hinges and also some kindling. A good coop for thee to four birds need to cost you around ₤ 300 though this could rely on whether you choose for a cost-free standing house or one with a run connected. Thinking you are varying your birds in a large space as well as the pop opening door is big enough for the breed you maintain, after that the main requirements of housing boil down to three points which will specify the number of birds the house will hold; perches, nest boxes as well as air flow. Most types of chicken will certainly perch when they visit roost at night, this perch should ideally be 5-8cm vast with smoothed off sides so the foot rests pleasantly on it. The perch needs to be above the nest box entry as chickens will certainly additionally naturally seek the highest point 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 generate the most poo) leading to soiled eggs the following day. They shouldn't nonetheless be so high off the flooring of your home that leg injuries could possibly take place when the bird comes down in the early morning. Chickens need about 20cm of perch each (in tiny types this is obviously much less), plus if more than one perch is installed in the house they should be greater 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 the house should have a least one nest box for every single three birds as well as these need to be off the ground and also in the darkest area of your house. The house must have ample air flow: without it then condensation will develop every evening, also in the chilliest of weather condition. Realize, ventilation deals with the concept of warm air leaving via a high void attracting cooler air in from a lower space - it's not a set of openings on contrary walls of your home and at the same level, this is just what's called a draught. If you have a house with a run affixed then the factors above are still true, however you should additionally consider the run dimension. The EU maximum legal equipping thickness for a cost-free array bird is (and allow's encounter it, one of the inspirations for keeping some chickens in the house is perhaps enhanced or better well-being) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's maximum one bird per 4m made even. Take a close check out some of the bargain homes - it could well be your home has the ideal perches, proper air flow as well as sufficient nest boxes for an affordable variety of birds, but will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized item of ground to spend the day on? And so as the stating goes, "you obtain just what you pay for". You might assume you've grabbed a bargain, but you and also your group could possibly rue the day you did. Purchase the right house and it will last for a couple of years, otherwise longer offered the right therapy. Eventually your chicken and also your poultry keeping experience will certainly be much the much better for it.plans build
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