Chicken Coops for Sale in West Liberty, West Virginia
Chicken Coops for Sale in West Liberty, West Virginia
Our Chicken Coop Design – Front Elevation (Part 2 of 3)
Okay, I lied. I had hoped to finish up writing on our chicken coop design with this post, but I ran out of time and markers…seriously – my gray marker ran out. So today I’m going to focus on the front elevation and next week I’ll wrap it up with the other 3 elevations.
Front Elevation of the Coop
When designing your coop you really need to think through ventilation for a number of reasons: respiratory health of the chickens; drying out the moisture and their manure keeps down the smells and the potential of the hens getting sick. I made ours super-ventilated by covering the entire front of our coop with hardware cloth. We may have gone overboard, but it’s better to err on the side of too much ventilation in a coop than too little…and because Atlanta has a fairly temperate climate, I think we’re good. That said, you do have to consider strong winds – particularly in the colder months. That’s why Britt and I crafted Roman shade-like curtains out of painter’s drop cloths for the front and the windows on the other 3 sides of the coop. It was quite inexpensive and fairly easy to do…particularly if you strategically use the hems already sewn in. These curtains will give our ladies a refuge from the cold winds – protecting the exposed areas of their bodies (combs, wattles, and feet).
Here are a few other things to note about the front elevation of our coop:
- Again, entire area is covered in hardware cloth. I could have used chicken wire on the top (bottom needs hardware cloth to keep out critters), but I had enough hardware cloth and I thought it looked better for the entire area to be consistent.
- The height of the walls are 6.5’…which is plenty high (for me at least) to be able to walk through the door…and there is plenty of height inside, since there is no ceiling (just the rafters and tin roof above).
- 24″ doors were constructed out of pressure-treated wood and painted the same color as the doors of our home.
- To clean things up a bit and to cover up where the pieces of hardware cloth met, I added 1″ trim on the outside of each 2×4 and painted it and the siding of the rest of the coop the same color gray as our house.
- We used gate latches as handles. If you do as well, make sure you make it so that you won’t get locked in when the doors close. To do that, I simply drilled a hole just above the latch and attached a long, thin chain that I threaded through the hole…allowing me to open the latch from inside. Don’t use string or twine…I found that out the hard way. String will wear out and break – leaving you stranded inside. Fortunately when it happened to me, one of my girls was within shouting distance.
- We were running out of hardware cloth when we were finishing the gable, so we simply filled in the middle space with a board and painted it gray. To make sense of this oddly proportioned space and to bring a little bit of character to the coop, I hung a set of antlers from a Mule Deer I shot several years ago with my dad in Wyoming.
So there’s the front elevation. We are really pleased with it…it’s done what we set out to do – make a more than livable space for our chickens (and bunny), while still being attractive. Now we may be a bit too particular, but I really think having an attractive coop in a nice setting has made raising chickens not only sustainable, but more enjoyable. So sure, you could build a coop that is purely functional, but if it looks like a hunk of junk, is that really something you want to see every day…sometimes several times? We thought not.
Next week I’ll wrap things up on our chicken coop design…but until then, please let me know if you have any other questions about our coop or raising chickens. I could perhaps work my answers into the next post.
Take care,
PS: Here are the links to and of Our Chicken Coop Design…and the link to .
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Chicken Coop House Plans in West Liberty, West Virginia
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in West Liberty 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 West Liberty West Virginia chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in West Liberty, West Virginia With the significant rise in chicken keeping there has been an equally large increase in the array of fowl stuff for sale. Poultry real estate is a situation in point. It's likewise a timeless instance of the great old bandwagon being got on as different prospective fowl real estate experts market a range of accommodation asserting to be the optimal solution to your chicken housing needs. Usually the price looks desirable, the house looks attractive, hell also the clean-cut family members standing there feeding the chickens look appealing. Undoubtedly they know a quality chicken house when they see one? There are several low-cost as well as awful coops swamping the market. I recognize this as I've checked a variety of them in the field, and seen a ewe run directly via one when the feed pail appeared. The result was nothing but a costly pile of fire wood and also a little flock of bemused and currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Setup in West Liberty, West Virginia
Most of the time these mass produced models are constructed of fast grown hardwood - come the very first decrease of rain they swell, leaving you either blockading a doorway that will not shut, or ripping the door furnishings off in a vain attempt to release the squawking residents. The first warm and comfortable day indicates the lumber dries out as well as fractures, the really felt roofing system bubbles as well as boils, and come nightfall the hens refuse to go in. This is not because of their disappointment at the decrease of their once desirable commercial property but due to the fact that the hovel is now a haven for, and most likely abounding, the chicken caretaker's nemesis, red mite. Add on the fact that it stated on the blurb that it would suit four huge chickens when that stocking density was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also just what are you left with? A couple of hinges and also some kindling. A good coop for thee to four birds must cost you around ₤ 300 though this could depend upon whether you choose for a complimentary standing house or one with a run attached. Assuming you are varying your birds in a huge room as well as the pop opening doorway allows sufficient for the type you keep, after that the main demands of housing come down to 3 points which will certainly specify the number of birds the house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes as well as ventilation. Many types of chicken will certainly perch when they visit roost in the evening, this perch ought to ideally be 5-8cm broad with smoothed off sides so the foot rests pleasantly on it. The perch should be higher than the nest box access as chickens will certainly likewise naturally seek the acme to perch. A perch lower than that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is incidentally when they produce the most poo) leading to soiled eggs the list below day. They shouldn't nevertheless be so high off the floor of your house that leg injuries can happen when the bird gets down in the early morning. Chickens need concerning 20cm of perch each (in tiny types this is certainly less), plus if greater than one perch is installed in your home they need to be more than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their next-door neighbors yet are not that crazy about 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 3 birds and these must be off the ground as well as in the darkest area of your home. Your house should have sufficient ventilation: without it after that condensation will certainly develop every night, also in the coldest of weather condition. Know, ventilation works with the principle of cozy air leaving via a high void attracting cooler air in from a reduced gap - it's not a collection of openings on opposite wall surfaces of the house and also at the exact same level, this is exactly what's known as a draft. If you have a house with a run attached then the factors above are still real, however you should likewise take into consideration the run dimension. The EU optimum lawful stocking density for a cost-free range bird is (and let's encounter it, among the inspirations for keeping some chickens in your home is perhaps improved or better well-being) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's maximum one bird each 4m squared. Take a close check out several of the bargain houses - it could well be your house has the appropriate perches, proper ventilation as well as ample nest boxes for an affordable number of birds, but will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized piece of ground to spend the day on? Therefore as the saying goes, "you get just what you pay for". You may believe you've got hold of a deal, but you as well as your group can rue the day you did. Purchase the right house as well as it will last for a few decades, otherwise longer provided the correct treatment. Eventually your chicken and your poultry keeping encounter will certainly be much the far better for it.for sale build
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