Chicken Coops for Sale in Comstock, Wisconsin
Chicken Coops for Sale in Comstock, Wisconsin
The Small Property Chicken Coop
Raising chickens has been one of the most rewarding activities that we’ve done on our homestead. While we don’t raise them for meat due to the city’s limitations, we reap an abundance of benefits from the eggs and the friendship we get from our girls.
In this next installment of , I’ll be sharing how my husband Todd designed and built Lucy and Ethel’s chicken coop using his ingenuity and minimal square footage on our .18 of an acre.
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, I was so excited to finally be able to raise a couple of my own “girls” to gather eggs from and get to know. I’m an animal lover, and seem to be able to make friends with any animal that will allow me, so I knew that these two sweet little chicks and I would be the best of friends. , and since there were only two of them, there was plenty of space for them to grow.
After moving some things around to set up our ‘barn’ area, Todd got to work on the chicken coop. Being a handy guy, he decided that he could design and build one that would be cheaper than a prefab one, as well as be able to fit where we needed it to on our small property homestead.
He chose to use the back of one of our sheds as the back wall, and another of our sheds as the side wall, which would save us some money on hardware cloth. He framed the rest of the coop and door with 2x4s. He also extended the side of the shed so that it would serve as the left wall of the coop.
This is the shed that is being used as the back wall of the coop. You can see on the right side of the shed where the new section was added for the left wall of the coop.
Todd designed the girls’ coop to be multi-level, rather than sprawling. He used plywood and 2x4s for the levels, and built an access ladder to both. The girls had a hard time not slipping on the sleek wood between the “steps” on the ladder, so I added a few strips of to those sections, which worked beautifully.
Here is a current photo of the two levels (please excuse the “lived in” look, I apparently hadn’t taken photos of the two levels when it was new). This is the top level, where we keep the girls’ nesting boxes. The ladder with the comes up the right side of this level, and it’s easy for the girls to hop up to the top of their nesting boxes, where they like to sleep at night. Todd also built a roost for them, which is actually a few inches offset from the edge of the level so when they poop, most of it falls to the ground.
Here is the second level, where the girls usually eat their evening treats, and where I keep their oyster shell and water (water not pictured). You can see how the ladder passes the second level up to the top level, which makes it easy for the girls to hop to the second level at snack time.
We left the bottom level as dirt, and I have been using the , which has worked out well for the most part. We haven’t had any issues with large rodents, and any mice that dare step foot into the coop are met with two hungry beaks.
Todd lined the front of the coop with 1″ hardware cloth and it has worked very well for us; however, I have heard that if you have issues with raccoons, it’s best to go with 1/2″ hardware cloth.
Another Space Saving Coop Idea
A friend of mine, Nora from , and is based on Todd’s multilevel chicken coop design. Their family has around 8-10 girls, so this brooder was a very good fit for them. It can definitely be built outdoors and used as a space-saving chicken coop for 1-3 chickens, or built indoors to use as a brooder for a larger flock.
As you can see, building a chicken coop to fit your small property needs can be a much better prospect than purchasing a prefab chicken coop. While prefab coops are beautiful and promise ease, tailoring your chicken coop to fit in just the right place on your small property can be more affordable, and in the long run, more convenient for your homestead setup. As long as your chicken coop meets , you can build a chicken coop that meets your homestead’s needed requirements as well, which will make everyone happy!
For more great information on raising chickens, please visit Fresh Eggs Daily’s Ultimate Chicken Care Guide.
What size is your property? Do you use space-saving techniques?
Chicken Coop For 10 Chickens in Comstock, Wisconsin
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Comstock Wisconsin" 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 Comstock Wisconsin chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Comstock, Wisconsin With the huge boost in poultry keeping there has actually been an equally large rise in the variety of fowl stuff for sale. Poultry real estate is a proceedings in factor. It's additionally a traditional example of the excellent old bandwagon being jumped on as various potential chicken real estate experts market a range of accommodation asserting to be the excellent remedy to your chicken housing needs. Frequently the rate looks appealing, your house looks eye-catching, heck even the clean-cut family members standing there feeding the chickens look appealing. Definitely they recognize a quality chicken house when they see one? There are lots of cheap as well as unpleasant coops flooding the marketplace. I know this as I've tested a variety of them in the field, and also seen a ewe run directly via one when the feed bucket showed up. The result was just a pricey stack of firewood and also a tiny flock of bemused and currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coops For Sale in Comstock, Wisconsin
Most of the time these mass produced versions are created of fast grown up lumber - come the first decrease of rain they swell, leaving you either defending a door that won't shut, or tearing the doorway furniture off in a vain effort to release the squawking occupants. The initial warm and comfortable day indicates the hardwood dries as well as splits, the really felt roofing bubbles and boils, and also come nightfall the hens choose not to go in. This is not as a result of their frustration at the decline of their once appealing property but since the hovel is currently a haven for, as well as possibly crawling with, the poultry keeper's nemesis, red mite. Add the fact that it said on the blurb that it would certainly suit 4 huge chickens when that stocking thickness was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also just what are you entrusted? A couple of hinges and some kindling. A respectable coop for thee to four birds need to cost you around ₤ 300 though this can depend on whether you choose for a complimentary standing house or one with a run connected. Thinking you are ranging your birds in a large area and the pop hole door allows sufficient for the breed you keep, then the primary requirements of housing come down to 3 factors which will define the variety of birds the house will hold; perches, nest boxes and also air flow. Many breeds of chicken will certainly perch when they visit roost at night, this perch must preferably be 5-8cm wide with smoothed off edges so the foot rests easily on it. The perch ought to be higher than the nest box entry as chickens will certainly additionally normally look for the acme to perch. A perch less than that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is incidentally when they create the most poo) leading to stained eggs the list below day. They should not nevertheless be so high off the flooring of the house that leg injuries can take place when the bird comes down in the morning. Chickens require regarding 20cm of perch each (in small breeds this is obviously much less), plus if greater than one perch is mounted in your house they must be greater than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their next-door neighbors however are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Preferably your house should have a the very least one nest box for each three birds as well as these must be off the ground and also in the darkest area of your home. Your home must have ample ventilation: without it then condensation will certainly build up every night, even in the coldest of weather condition. Know, air flow works with the principle of warm and comfortable air leaving with a high space attracting cooler air in from a reduced space - it's not a collection of openings on contrary wall surfaces of your house and also at the very same level, this is what's referred to as a draught. If you have a house with a run connected after that the points above are still real, but you ought to additionally think about the run dimension. The EU optimum lawful stocking thickness for a complimentary variety bird is (and also let's encounter it, among the inspirations for keeping some hens in the house is potentially improved or far better welfare) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's optimal one bird each 4m made even. Take a close look at a few of the bargain houses - it could well be your house has the appropriate perches, proper ventilation and sufficient nest boxes for a sensible variety of birds, however will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized piece of ground to invest the day on? Therefore as the saying goes, "you obtain what you pay for". You may believe you've got hold of a bargain, however you as well as your flock can rue the day you did. Acquisition the right house and also it will last for a couple of years, if not longer provided the right therapy. Eventually your fowl as well as your fowl keeping encounter will certainly be much the much better for it.plans build
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