Posts Tagged ‘chickens’
http://top-3-products.info/diy-coops/ – READ MY REVIEWS BEFORE YOU BUY ANY PRODUCTS ON DIY CHICKEN COOP BUILDING.
3. General-purpose breeds. These are of medium size, are good table birds, fair layers, less active than the egg breeds, but more so than the meat breeds, and are good sitters and mothers.
Plymouth Rocks, Wyandottes, and Rhode Island Reds belong to this class.
Duration : 0:2:55
Footage taken from a Forsham Cottage Arks chicken keeping course held earlier this year at Great Chart Golf Course.
For more info please visit:
http://www.forshamcottagearks.com/chicken-keeping-courses/Keeping-Chickens.htm
We cater for all abilities whether you’re a new keeper or you’ve been keeping chickens for years there’s a wealth of experience to learn from with Rob and Cindy having kept chickens most of their lives and Fred Hamms, a recognised author and judge in the poultry and waterfowl world. All held in a relaxed and friendly environment.
We hope people take a little bit of useful info away from this short 5 minute video but just imagine how much you’d learn spending a whole day with these people.
Duration : 0:5:32
When you are getting into building a hen house, think about keeping the birds safe. The last thing you want is the chickens eaten or disappearing in the night. Having a dead bird is not good and having a wet one is bad too. Especially if they get wet they can get sick and diseases. Keeping a roof over their heads is the best thing that you can do.
All the information you need on how to make a chicken coop is right in your face. It’s awesome how you can make you own hen house easily. Then you can take care of all the needs of your hens.
There is a feeder system that makes sure your hens have enough water all the time. They need to have access to fresh water all the time. Make sure the electricity is run correctly so you don’t start a fire. The light tricks the birds so that they can do what they need to do. Along with the automatic water, there needs to be food too.
You may need a small chicken coop design depending on how much space you have. It’s a good idea to measure out the space you have available and how many hens you have. Leave room so that you can get more birds if you choose to. Having the best chicken coop building plan will help you in the long run.
Thank you for reading this chicken DIY article and I hope you do well. If you are frustrated at any point in making your chicken coop, send me an email and I will help.
Building A Chicken Coop This Weekend, Then Don’t Fall Fowl Of These Pitfalls. For More details Please click the link: http://bit.ly/e6ELUY
Duration : 0:0:45
You’ve got your coop plans but have you thought about how you are going to build chicken coop accessories?
There are many things to be aware of when you build a chicken coop. Most of your time and energy over the last few days will have been taken up with the necessary questions about light, air and protection for your flock.
But you have sorted them all out, your structure sound and easy to work with and I bet that you are just hankering to get your hens moved in and laying. I hate to rain on your parade, but have you given a thought to how you are going to build chicken coop accessories for your hen house?
It is such a relief to have finally completed the chickens new home that to find out that you now need to accessorize it can be completely frustrating! I recall thinking “how dreadful would it be if we didn’t involve a nesting box or two?” and “what the heck is a roost?”. “Why should they want a water trough or feeder? Can’t they simply eat off the floor and sleep on the ground? They are just hens after all, why should we worry with attempting to build chicken coop accessories”. There must be a reason, so I thought a bit harder.
Yes they are chickens which is exactly the reason why we have to be concerned about their needs. Chickens are animals and their needs are basic. Their instincts define their needs and that is to eat, sleep and nest where they are safe. Easy Peasy. If you fancy their eggs, then you have to make them at ease so that they will happily present you those eggs with as little performance as possible.
So when you build chicken coop accessories seek to imagine that you are a tiny, almost flightless bird and ask yourself where you would feel most secure. I reckon that ‘up high’ may figure quite highly! Here is a brief run-down on the more common accessories for your coop
Nesting Boxes;
Nesting boxes are for your hens to produce their eggs in – If you thought that they were for sleeping in, you are just like I was when I first started! These can be made out of pretty well anything. Ensure that if it is made out of material that will absorb moisture or that will break down over time that you replace it on a regular basis. They can be filled with straw, paper, shavings or hay, but this also wants to be changed on a very frequent basis.
I appreciate that we inundate you with stories about chickens needing their breathing space, but when it comes to the nesting box they categorically like safety in numbers, so allocate for 4 or 5 birds per box rather than designing individual nests.
The Roost;
The roost is where the sleeping is done.
Think of the highest branch in a tree, this is the roost, so it really only wants to be a durable beam. So long as it will hold the load of the chooks and they can get their talons around it firmly most anything will do. An essential note when you build chicken coop roosts is that just as in nature, chickens will fight over the uppermost branch, so make all the roosts the same height. This is one area that your hens will love their space, so make certain that there is sufficient room on the roosts for all your hens. This will prevent major arguments and help encourage a serene atmosphere.
Heads up!; Do not set your nesting boxes or any other accessories under your roosts! Hens do the majority of their defacating while they snooze – and I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t be that keen on producing an egg in a dirty nesting box!
Feeders and Waterers;
Pretty obvious – there are a excellent range of automated systems around that will ensure that your chooks have a complete stream of fresh food and water.
Sand Baths;
Sand Baths are pretty well the only indulgent item’ in the house. Most people put sand in the bottom when they build chicken coop runs – which acts as flooring as well.
Heaters;
If you reside in extremely cold areas then these might be installed in your enclosure with relative ease. There are a lot of heaters available, but many also create a huge fire hazard so installing a heater in your house should really only be done if totally necessary.
For a great selection of hen house plans – including accessories that will save you time and money head to www.HenHousePlansOnline.com
For many people with smaller sections or those that are only wanting to rear a few chickens a portable chicken coop is a fantastic alternative.
The birds like it because they get a clean environment and a constant stream of green grass, and feed variety. You will get an uncomplicated coop to maintain, you’ll pay out less on feed, fertilizer for your garden and building materials, while still getting those great fresh eggs. If you are really lucky your flock will also help to look after your turf.
This may sound inane and completely obvious but don’t ignore the advantage that having a enclosure that you can shift closer to the house, under the shade, or into a short-term shelter in an instant brings. Imagine a unexpected snow storm or flash flood, or a day where the mercury shoots through the lid of your thermometer, (don’t laugh, they happen more and more frequently now days). If you had a stationary chicken coop odds are that you might lose the whole flock, but with a portable chicken coop you can transfer your girls into safety at once and effortlessly.
In addition you get the added benefit of not needing to contend with a bulky house that you have to work around or think about every time that you want to reorganize the garden or mow the grass.
Making a portable chicken coop is painless but you will need to move it every few days so there are a few things that you should figure out to make certain that your hutch is trouble-free to build and painless to manage.
Size and Weight:
Have a look at the design that you are working from and check the materials that you will be using. From the plan you should be able to make a rough guesstimate about the weight of the coop and how easy it will be to move. It is possible to substitute some resources for lighter alternatives – in some cases even PVC piping makes great framing that is also lightweight and long-lasting.
As an idea, a portable chicken coop that is around 3ft x 8ft should be okay for most folks to shift easily. Any larger than this and maybe you could look at either fixing wheels on it or looking for a design where the hutch detaches from the run so you can move both parts independently.
Wheels:
Fixing wheels to your portable chicken coop is a terrific suggestion and could solve a whole lot of hassle! Make sure that the wheels that you use are strong and easily replaced. (Psst – skateboard wheels are great – just don’t tell your kids where their much loved sporting accessory has gone – they won’t think to look under the coop!)
Push or Pull?
Most plans for a portable chicken coop call for you to push the house around but in some cases this may not be the most useful option. For example, folks with a small hill in their backyard will welcome the ability to drag the coop uphill or push it back down again!
Egg Collection and Maintenance.
One thing that you may not recognize is that chooks poo alot. This is one of the reasons that it is especially critical to shift them often. Be aware of this and think of how you will gather the eggs, scoop up the poop for your garden and shift the house without having to step through the poop!
Happily there are a great range of plans available for when you want to build a portable chicken coop that contains all the essentials with easy peasy step by step instructions. Go to www.HenHousePLansOnline.com for the best advice on how to build a portable chicken coop that really works.
Logan reluctantly sharing his breakfast.
Keeping Chickens Warm Down South
Check out these baby chicks! Find out how to get started raising chickens!
Duration : 0:7:45
A Chicken Tractor is a great way to circulate your crops with your livestock when you use raised bed gardening. In this full-length video, Patti will show you step-by-step how to make customized, light weight cages that fit your garden perfectly! Learn more at www.GardenGirlTV.com and www.UrbanSustainableLiving.com.
Duration : 0:22:13
