Hey.... Lets keep Chickens..!

RacyRed

Hi Happymum, to be honest, I'd have sent that back/demand a refund.

If you are happy that you can fill the gaps/smooth those rough edges and most importantly, get the nest box properly closed and secure then it is up to you. That nest box gap could easily be exploited by foxes/rats and so on and your girls will want a warm and dark place to lay. Has the wood been treated with a bird friendly wood preserver?

Do you have any red mite/pest spray? Before the girls arrive it would be a good idea to spray every bit of the house you possibly can.

If you make a skirt of galvanised mesh right round the base of the run then that should stop foxes digging their way in. You might also want to add extra fastenings to the doors on the run and the house. When it rains bolts don't always line up properly. I use those screw in hooks and eyes for extra security. Easy for me to fasten and unfasten but a challenge for a fox.

Re the pop holes, with a run like yours you could probably leave the pop hole open all the time so the chooks can get themselves up and put themselves to bed. Loads of my neighbours do this and just attach a bit of hessian or similar as a sort of push through door on the hole to reduce the drafts. Their hens seem to get the idea. If you ensure that their food and water is stocked and secure inside the rat proofed run, they can help themselves to breakfast as and when they want. I do this too unless the weather is really bad. Only drawback with this is that I sometimes find an enterprising sparrow has gotten itself in there somehow, has a good breakfast then waits for me to let it out in the morning

If I'm closing the pop hole in very bad weather I cover over the hen house window so the house stays as dark as possible until I get there to open it up. It stops the chooks stressing to get out and trampling any early laid eggs.

It is so exciting! Not long to wait now :T

Mojisola

happymum2010 wrote: »

I am probably being over fussy, I just want every thing just right before the hens come.

You're not being fussy at all. I would have sent that back - the construction is awful!

happymum2010

Wow, thank you all for your replies.

I have phoned DH and he is going to get some mite spray today - thanks for the tip RacyRed.

I know the hen house is painted with cuprinol shed and fence preserver - I took note of it when i was in the fella's workshop. How will i know that it is safe for hens?

I am so relieved that I don't have to get up too early. I was dreading having to get out of bed to let the chickens out. I like your idea RacyRed for the warmer months. I have some strips of pond liner that i had hoarded in the garage. I was going to use that to make flaps to darken the nest boxes, I could use that too to make flaps at the front door.

We just couldn't face all the palaver with arguing with the fella over the hen house. We should really have contacted him about the construction just to see what he would say. He builds hen houses and takes them to bird shows. I told him what i wanted and he was supposed to build it. Didn't stick to what I had asked of him either. I have 4 young kids and very little time otherwise we would have built a more basic house ourselves. We have now found that with the time we are spending fixing this one up, we could have built one. Just a bit of a hard lesson.

pinkpixie_2

Hello

I wonder if I could ask for some more advice.

I'm now looking to buy a feeder, drinker and a lockable dustbin for feed. Are these much of a muchness, or are there better types? I've been looking on amazon as I have some vouchers to spend there... How many feeders and drinkers would I need for 3 hens? Just one to share? And is one lockable bin enough?

Thanks in anticipation!

ljonski

I use one plastic drinker and a galvanised feeder. ideally you want a metal storage container . I used to have 4 hens but now only 2 and Chucky is now desparately ill now as well.

Gigervamp

Pinkpixie, looking on Amazon, this should be fine for 3 hens.

Ljonski, sorry to hear that Chucky's not well.

DueMarch11

Hi All,

Newbie here! Thought I'd join in as we got our chickens about 6 weeks ago now, we have 4 lohmans (sp?) called Mrs Chicken (named by the 3 year old lol), Geraldine, Gertrude and Flo. They're lovely, although the little sods wouldnt let me out of their run this morning, such personalities.

Only 2 of them are laying at the moment, pretty sure its Mrs Chicken and Flo doing the laying, god knows what Geraldine and Gertrude are messing around at but they dont seem too bothered about laying at the moment. We've had a few double yolkers too which is nice!

Have felt for them this last week in the rain, they have a shelter and the coop is left open for them to go in but when we look out theyre just sat in the rain. And they have dug holes where rain water has created a puddle, Im sure they think they are ducks, caught Mrs Chicken having a bath in it lol!

Anyway, thats us!

ionahenor2

ljonski Sorry to hear Chucky is ill. Is it very serious?

DueMarch11 Sounds like a good plan by Mrs Chicken obviously thinking ahead to sunnier dry days when the holes will make wonderful dustbaths. Wait until they all decide to share the same hole. :rotfl:
When I first got mine I used to try and move them when they were all in the one place but gave up when they kept going back. They get so hot when they are flinging the dust around that they often look like they have been in water first. They look so skinny too. Mine have a dry patch of soil under their house which they use in all weathers. They even went home this morning for a bath after doing a bit of wing wafting in the odd sunbeam. (sunbathing):)

ljonski

Unbelievably Chucky is much brighter this am. in the last 2 months i have lost 2 out of the 4 and chucky had/has exactly the same symptoms and i felt she was getting weaker and weaker by the day. Even my neighbor commented on the state of her. She took some small bits of tuna yesterday and a lot more maggots today.However Botty did rally for a week or so before her loss. Plus i have the possible problem of what to do with a single healthy hen- all alone.they all came at the same time 3 years ago and would have all been 3 years and 35 weeks old.

Gigervamp

Could you get a couple more hens?