Chicken Coops for Sale in Springfield, West Virginia
Chicken Coops for Sale in Springfield, West Virginia
How much space do chickens need?
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When I first started thinking seriously about keeping chickens in my almost half acre suburban yard it was after seeing this adorable chicken coop on Pinterest. The coop was super adorable with a cute little picket fence in front of it, who wouldn’t fall in love with this??
If you have done any research on chicken coops, you have probably seen it too. It’s adorable, and I always see it on “Top Beautiful Chicken Coops” type posts. I am thankful to this cute little coop for making me realize you don’t need 20 acres to own chickens, and for showing me chicken coops can add to the beauty of your yard, not detract from it. But unless you have a larger area for the chickens to free range in on a daily basis, or you have a very small flock, the chickens would be very cramped. You can read more about the construction of this beautiful coop (and purchase plans to make your own!) on .
I suppose the answer to the space question depends on how happy you want your chickens to be. Hens on commercial egg laying farms are often crammed up to a dozen hens in one cage, with each bird given about 67 square inches of space each – about the size of standard letter size piece of paper. They live their whole lives in that cage with no outdoor access. So technically, that is all they need to live, to survive. That is a life I would never wish on a chicken, and I am sure as a chicken owner you would not want that either. Most sources recommend having 4 square feet of indoor space per standard size bird. If you get they only need about half as much room. I don’t know the dimensions of the coop above, but I would guess it would be appropriate for 5-6 standard birds inside. In addition to the indoor space, most recommend 10 square feet of outdoor space per bird (personally, I don’t think that is enough). So the run for this cute coop is probably appropriate for 1-2 birds. 1-2 chickens is an awfully small flock for the rather large investment of building this beautiful coop! Trevor at told me in addition to the adorable picket fence attached run they have a larger 30′ x 18′ enclosure where their chickens can safely roam. I love to let my girls out of their run to free range around the yard, but I only do it when I can be home to supervise them. As a good neighbor you want to keep your chickens out of your neighbor’s yard (plus, you don’t know if your neighbor is using harmful fertilizers on their lawn – you don’t want your laying hens ingesting chemicals). You also need to keep them safe from predators and out of the road. Letting your chickens run wild around the neighborhood is sure to get you some angry knocks on the door. I work from home, but it is a full time job and I have four school aged kids who need attention and to be driven around to activities, so I don’t have the time to be out there with my chickens everyday for hours on end while they happily scratch through the leaves. So, a secure, large chicken run is necessary for the busy backyard chicken keeper to keep your chickens happy. Happy chickens have room to roam, and happy chickens lay healthy eggs!
Chickens like to be outside. They like to scratch in the dirt, snooze in the sun and dust bathe. For the most part, they go inside to sleep at night, lay their eggs and to escape the elements and that is about it. The more outdoor space you can give your chickens the happier they are. Living in New England, when we have blizzards there are days when I don’t let my chickens outside of their coop at all. Bored, cooped up chickens can resort to fighting. Giving them enough space inside keeps everyone safe & happy, so having adequate indoor space is also important.
Right now, my flock is 8 standard size hens and 4 bantams. The bantams only need half the space, so for this calculation, we’ll just call it 10 standard size birds. My current chicken set up is a 4 ft x 8 ft coop plus an attached 2 ft x 4 ft nest box area. So that is 40 square feet total of indoor space. My enclosed, secure run is 11 ft x 16 ft plus the 40 sq ft that is under the coops is also enclosed for them, so that is 216 square feet of outdoor space. So my chickens have 4 square feet per bird inside, and 21 square feet per bird outside, and I am at my chicken limit (boo!).
Baby Chicken in Springfield, West Virginia
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Springfield 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 Springfield West Virginia chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Springfield, West Virginia With the substantial boost in chicken keeping there has actually been a just as huge rise in the array of chicken stuff for sale. Chicken housing is an instance in point. It's additionally a timeless instance of the good old bandwagon being jumped on as different would-be fowl real estate professionals pitch a range of cottage claiming to be the perfect option to your chicken housing demands. Usually the cost looks eye-catching, the house looks attractive, hell even the clean-cut family standing there feeding the chickens look attractive. Surely they know a professional chicken house when they see one? There are many cheap and also nasty coops flooding the marketplace. I recognize this as I've examined a number of them in the area, and seen a ewe run directly with one when the feed pail appeared. The result was just a pricey pile of fire wood and a small flock of bemused and also currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Run Ideas in Springfield, West Virginia
More often than not these standardized versions are constructed of quick grown timber - come the first drop of rain they swell, leaving you either blockading a doorway that won't shut, or tearing the door furniture off in a vain effort to release the squawking residents. The initial warm and comfortable day indicates the lumber dries out as well as splits, the felt roof bubbles and boils, as well as come nightfall the chickens choose not to enter. This is not because of their frustration at the decline of their as soon as appealing commercial property yet since the hovel is currently a haven for, and also probably crawling with, the chicken keeper's bane, red mite. Add on that it said on the blurb that it would suit 4 large hens when that equipping thickness was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as exactly what are you left with? A couple of joints and some kindling. A good coop for thee to four birds ought to cost you around ₤ 300 though this can rely on whether you choose for a cost-free standing house or one with a run attached. Presuming you are varying your birds in a huge space and also the pop opening door is big enough for the breed you keep, after that the major needs of real estate boil down to 3 points which will define the variety of birds your home will hold; perches, nest boxes and also air flow. Most breeds of chicken will perch when they visit roost during the night, this perch needs to ideally be 5-8cm broad with smoothed off sides so the foot rests easily on it. The perch needs to be higher than the nest box access as chickens will certainly likewise naturally try to find the highest point to perch. A perch below that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is by the way when they generate the most poo) bring about dirtied eggs the list below day. They shouldn't nevertheless be so high off the flooring of your house that leg injuries could possibly occur when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens need regarding 20cm of perch each (in small breeds this is clearly less), plus if more than one perch is installed in your house they ought to be greater than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their next-door neighbors yet are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Ideally the house needs to have a least one nest box for every single three birds as well as these should be off the ground as well as in the darkest area of the house. The house must have sufficient ventilation: without it after that condensation will certainly build up every night, even in the coldest of climate. Be aware, air flow works with the principle of cozy air leaving with a high void drawing cooler air in from a lower space - it's not a collection of openings on contrary walls of your home and also at the very same degree, this is just what's called a draught. If you have a house with a run affixed then the points above are still true, but you ought to also think about the run size. The EU optimum legal equipping thickness for a totally free range bird is (as well as allow's encounter it, among the motivations for maintaining some chickens at home is perhaps improved or much better well-being) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's maximum one bird per 4m squared. Take a close look at a few of the bargain houses - it could well be the house has the ideal perches, appropriate air flow as well as adequate nest boxes for a sensible 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 pay for". You might assume you've got a deal, yet you and also your flock can rue the day you did. Purchase the best house and it will last for a couple of years, otherwise longer given the appropriate treatment. In the end your chicken and also your poultry maintaining encounter will be considerably the better for it.coop diy
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