Build your own chicken run/ark & adopt 'Battery Hens'

moo2moo

You don't need a purpose built hen house. Its very easy to adapt a standard garden shed or a childs playhouse. Mine hens have perfected the art of cat flap usage too (not that I expected this when I installed it for the cat). Or you can make on from a few sheets of plyboard. B&Q will cut the pieces to size for you. After that all you need to do is screw it together. there are some very simplistic instructions in the book Poultry House concstruction by Micheal Roberts which frequently appears on E-bay for 99p.

mamashango184

I'm late by about a month on this conversation but here goes.... I rescued 6 battery hens in January. I am now a chicken freak, i can sit all day watching them potter about the garden. Love them. I have a large run and coop in the back of my garden for when they go to sleep, and then they get to forage about my front garden for slugs,grass and flys during the day. I think cleaning them out is similair to rabbits, once a week, a full clean out of bedding. Everyday i pick up the poops and put them on my compost heap or put them in a separate bin to rot down over a week and spread on my tatties! For bedding i use old newspaper, wood shavings and in the nesting boxes shredded paper. My friends and family now give me all their bills and private letters, so i can shred them for hens to use. We get around 3-7 eggs a day. I've never had any problems, health wise, with my girls. If anyone is interested in getting chickens/ducks etc can i please recommend a site call the hen house allotment and the site address is chat.allotment.org.uk. There is tons of people who have lots of knowledge of keeping chickens and you can ask them anything and someone will know the answer and get back to you. I recommend two hens to start off with, then as time goes on and you feel more confident you can add to your wee flock. Pets at home do chicken feed for around a tenner a sack. I get my feed from countrywide and get it delivered as i dont have a car. I get my woodshavings here too when i buy the food. The eggs are delicious! Once you eat one of your own hens eggs, you will never eat a boxed shop egg again...never! I have a border collie, who has the instint to herd so she earns her keep by keeping the chickens safe throughout the day and herd them all back home in the evening. My mother has springers and they are fine with the hens but i have never let them actually get close to one, just meetings between the chicken wire. Hope my rantings have helped someone to take the plunge.xx

batcatz

I agree. I got 3 hens last week and have already reserved a 4th! Their poo is a compost accelerator. Chickens are ok with cats too. One of mine gave my cat such a look that he ran off into the house. haha

Amanda