Chicken Coops for Sale in West Union, West Virginia
Chicken Coops for Sale in West Union, West Virginia
Our Finished Chicken Coop
These past few days had us outside enjoying the beautiful weather. One of the jobs I crossed off the list was to clean out our new chicken coop.
Because of our over the past year or so, our family was going through several dozen eggs a week. (I can’t help it – I’m hooked on !)
So last summer we quit “planning” to get our own chickens, and actually did it. The whole family pitched in to build a little abode for our egg-laying beauties. And because we were first-time chicken owners and newbies in all chicken-related topics, we joined and gleaned months worth of ideas, do’s and don’ts, and building plans. (I can’t recommend this site highly enough! If you have the slightest inclination of doing chicken anything, go here and read to your heart’s content.)
It was so helpful to see photos and designs when we were in the planning stages, I thought I’d share pictures of our coop and the hows and whys of what we did.
The chicken coop
Instead of starting from scratch, we bought a small granary from my brother-in-law; about 9’x7′ inside measurements. This gave us about 3 sq. ft. per bird. The coop is nothing fancy really. It isn’t visible from the road and we don’t live in town with neighbors to care about the view from their back window, so we used as much scrap material as possible. Plus we didn’t think the chickens would mind.
So far they haven’t rebelled.
We re-tinned the roof (that’s my honey!) and I got to use the saw sawl to make holes for the windows and vents. You can call me Mrs. Handyman. . .
Inside the chicken coop
Framing the windows and vents was the most time consuming part since the building wasn’t square. We used insulation and vapor barrier for the walls for added moisture protection and warmth because the windchill can get -40 below or more in the winter.
We made the roosting boards parallel and the same height because apparently hens will act like old biddies and fight for the top most board. (Some people’s kids. . .)
We rounded the edges of the roosting boards so it’s easier on the hens’ feet. The boards can be removed for ease of cleaning the poop boards underneath.
Poop boards seemed quite popular among chicken peoples and we’ve quickly learned why. First, chickens poop more when roosting, so the roosting boards are placed above the poop board. This makes clean up as simple as buying a wide sheetrock mudding tool and scraping the droppings into a bucket each day. We then add the droppings to our compost pile.
We originally built a rollaway community nesting box directly underneath the poop board, but the chickens ended up laying eggs everywhere but there. Eventually we added a ‘normal’ set of 12″x12″x12″ nesting boxes and they’re happy campers again.
We decided to use the deep litter method. We spread a bag of wood chips on the floor and because the hens leave most of their droppings on the poop boards, there’s minimal waste on the floor. The chickens like to scratch and fluff the wood chips so it gets stirred up and aerated. This means the coop is less smelly, and there’s only a few minutes of daily cleaning of the boards. If needed, you can add more wood chips throughout the year.
We clean the coop out fully in the spring and fall. So far it’s worked wonderfully.
We nailed a board across the doorway to prevent the rising litter from falling out every time we opened the door.
The feeders are gravity fed. They’re made of PVC pipe with a 90 degree corner and a cap at the end. We like that we can leave for several days at a time and don’t have to worry about having someone come out to do chicken chores for us.
This water stand was Travis’s idea. The hens have a platform to stand on so no matter how high the litter gets, they can reach the water comfortably.
The chicken nipples underneath are another idea shared by BYC that I LOVE. The water doesn’t drip, there is no poop or mud to worry about, and our full grown hens figured it out within 24 hrs. The pails are covered with lids to prevent the water from getting dirty and it lasts for at least a week (we add apple cider vinegar).
When we’re home, we clean them out and give them fresh water every few days.
There’s electricity on the wall above the waterers with a timed light switch. We use bird bath heaters to keep the water from freezing during the winter. We had to add the slanted plywood because the hens were roosting on the pails. (I told you they fought for highest roosting privileges.)
The pop door is a simple design, and it works great. It slides up and down, held in by L shaped boards.
When in the closed position, the hook and eye on the right prevent racoons (or children!) from trying to lift the door from the outside.
We used 1/2″ x 1/2″ hardware cloth to cover the insides of the windows and vents. . .
. . .and plexiglass for the actual windows.
We made sure to have plenty of vents (thanks to sage advice from Pat’s Ventilation Page) and used eyes and rope to open and close them at different heights.
Finally, we added a small lean-to to the side so the hens could come out in the winter. This helps block snow drifts right in front of the pop door, and they can still come out for fresh air and sunshine when they get cabin fever.
It might not win a beauty contest – but there’s something to be said for function-ability Hope this gave you some ideas!
What have you done to your chicken coop? We’d love to hear your ideas and suggestions!
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Chicken Coop Designs in West Union, West Virginia
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in West Union 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 Union West Virginia chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in West Union, West Virginia With the huge boost in poultry keeping there has actually been a similarly huge increase in the variety of fowl stuff for sale. Chicken housing is an instance in point. It's also a traditional example of the good old bandwagon being jumped on as numerous would-be poultry housing experts market a selection of holiday accommodation declaring to be the optimal solution to your chicken real estate demands. Frequently the rate looks appealing, your house looks attractive, hell also the clean-cut family members standing there feeding the chickens look desirable. Certainly they understand a high quality chicken house when they see one? There are many inexpensive as well as horrible cages swamping the marketplace. I understand this as I've examined a number of them in the area, as well as seen a ewe run directly via one when the feed pail showed up. The outcome was only a pricey stack of fire wood as well as a tiny flock of bemused and also now homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Door in West Union, West Virginia
Most of the time these mass produced versions are constructed of fast grown up lumber - come the initial drop of rainfall they swell, leaving you either defending a door that will not close, or ripping the doorway furnishings off in a vain effort to release the squawking occupants. The very first cozy day suggests the lumber dries as well as cracks, the felt roof covering bubbles as well as boils, and come nightfall the chickens refuse to go in. This is not as a result of their disappointment at the decrease of their when attractive commercial property but since the hovel is currently a place for, and possibly abounding, the fowl keeper's nemesis, red mite. Add on that it said on the blurb that it would certainly suit 4 big hens when that stocking density was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as just what are you left with? A number of hinges and also some kindling. A good coop for thee to 4 birds ought to cost you in the region of ₤ 300 though this could depend upon whether you choose for a complimentary standing house or one with a run attached. Thinking you are varying your birds in a big area and the pop hole door allows enough for the type you keep, then the major demands of real estate boil down to three points which will certainly specify the number of birds the house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and air flow. The majority of breeds of chicken will perch when they visit roost during the night, this perch needs to preferably be 5-8cm wide with smoothed off sides so the foot rests easily on it. The perch must be above the nest box entry as chickens will also normally search for the highest point to perch. A perch less than that will have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is by the way when they generate the most poo) resulting in dirtied eggs the list below day. They should not however be so high off the floor of the house that leg injuries might occur when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens require about 20cm of perch each (in little types this is certainly much less), plus if more than one perch is installed in the house they must be greater than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their neighbors however are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Preferably your home should have a the very least one nest box for every three birds and also these need to be off the ground and in the darkest area of your home. Your home should have adequate ventilation: without it after that condensation will certainly develop every evening, even in the coldest of climate. Understand, air flow deals with the principle of cozy air leaving via a high void attracting cooler air in from a reduced space - it's not a collection of openings on contrary wall surfaces of your home and at the same level, this is exactly what's referred to as a draught. If you have a house with a run affixed then the factors above are still real, but you should additionally think about the run size. The EU maximum legal stocking density for a free range bird is (and let's face it, one of the inspirations for maintaining some hens in your home is possibly enhanced or far better well-being) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's maximum one bird each 4m squared. Take a close check out some of the bargain residences - it could well be the house has the ideal perches, correct ventilation as well as sufficient nest boxes for a practical number of birds, however will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized item of ground to invest the day on? Therefore as the stating goes, "you get what you spend for". You could assume you've got a deal, yet you and your group might rue the day you did. Purchase the best house and it will certainly last for a few years, if not longer given the proper therapy. In the end your poultry and your chicken keeping experience will certainly be a lot the much better for it.coops coop
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