Hey.... Lets keep Chickens..!

lostinrates

edmund_blackadder wrote: »

That looks like a very good henhouse but costs much more than I want to pay ... afterall we are only going to get 2 chickens I think. If i find they struggle with the ramp then yes I may get an extra perch to give them a boost up!

I'm not recommending the house at all but rather just that with the one you go for (which I think looks great) you just consider giving a quick diy addition too.;) A lot of money for what it is, that one, IMO.;)

edmund_blackadder

lostinrates wrote: »

I'm not recommending the house at all but rather just that with the one you go for (which I think looks great) you just consider giving a quick diy addition too.;) A lot of money for what it is, that one, IMO.;)

Yes i reckon I can call upon my limited DIY skills should the need arise. You think the one I'm looking at is a overpriced? ... any recommendations as to where I could find something similar for cheaper (as I'm in no way settled on that particular house)?

KAAT_LADY

edmund_blackadder wrote: »

That looks like a very good henhouse but costs much more than I want to pay ... afterall we are only going to get 2 chickens I think. If i find they struggle with the ramp then yes I may get an extra perch to give them a boost up!

just thought i would say that we have no ramp but have steps ,,which the chickens seem to get on well with ,,as they slide down the sides as they come down:rotfl::rotfl: and step upwards

Gigervamp

edmund did you see my post here? Thought you might find it helpful.

lostinrates

edmund_blackadder wrote: »

Yes i reckon I can call upon my limited DIY skills should the need arise. You think the one I'm looking at is a overpriced? ... any recommendations as to where I could find something similar for cheaper (as I'm in no way settled on that particular house)?

No, I think the one I used as an example of perch beside ramps is overpriced but it illustrated what I meant well.

edmund_blackadder

Gigervamp wrote: »

edmund did you see my post here? Thought you might find it helpful.

No i didn't ... but I have now Thanks.

Hmmm ... they seem to think the one I was looking at is a bit flimsy and that the ramp is too steep... I'd imagine that could be a problem! Damn!

lostinrates

edmund_blackadder wrote: »

No i didn't ... but I have now Thanks.

Hmmm ... they seem to think the one I was looking at is a bit flimsy and that the ramp is too steep... I'd imagine that could be a problem! Damn!

If it helps, for me really important things are access, I like runs I can stand in,even if only just, because its easier to maintain/repair and catch chickens if you are not contorted. Similarly an overly deep house on one of these all in one house/runs isdifficult to clean, I want to be able to reach the far internal wall from the back door at an arms length so I can sweep/clean in out quickly (I use two hearth brushes, a stiff and a soft in small houses). Similarly,Iwish we'd gone for external nest boxes onour small house....reaching in over a protective broody hen rather than down from an external door is easier.

If you are diy handy adapting a shed and building a run on to it is not so hard, and there are plans on the internet. too help, I' sure I remember seeing some.

If its any consolation, w're looking at large scale poutry housing now, and debating a few

Frugaldom

Hi guys,I'm still trawling the 'net in search of my ideal solution to chicken housing problem and have also now priced the materials for homebuild. Surprisingly, it was going to cost the best part of £100 to build a single hen house and run from scratch, using all new products including 1" x 1/2" welded mesh, 2" x 2" batons for framework, Sterlingboard and felting the roof. I'm tempted to just construct one large run but install a couple of these for secure housing. They may be small and lightweight but they look easy for egg gathering and cleaning, especially with the pull out tray, no need for crawling insode the run to open & close the door to the housing and secure enough to trust leaving the hens closed in when I'm away. These have 1/2" x 1/2" mesh, so absolutely nothing could get in beside them without burrowing. Most of my hens freerange, I just need something secure for keeping the right cockerals with the right hens and plan on having a trio of bantams in each. Any alternatives cropped up anywhere else that I may have missed?

lostinrates

nykmedia wrote: »

Hi guys,I'm still trawling the 'net in search of my ideal solution to chicken housing problem and have also now priced the materials for homebuild. Surprisingly, it was going to cost the best part of £100 to build a single hen house and run from scratch, using all new products including 1" x 1/2" welded mesh, 2" x 2" batons for framework, Sterlingboard and felting the roof. I'm tempted to just construct one large run but install a couple of these for secure housing. They may be small and lightweight but they look easy for egg gathering and cleaning, especially with the pull out tray, no need for crawling insode the run to open & close the door to the housing and secure enough to trust leaving the hens closed in when I'm away. These have 1/2" x 1/2" mesh, so absolutely nothing could get in beside them without burrowing. Most of my hens freerange, I just need something secure for keeping the right cockerals with the right hens and plan on having a trio of bantams in each. Any alternatives cropped up anywhere else that I may have missed?

When we move we're planning on four permanant runs one from each side of a large chicken house(which will be divided in to two internally, so I can keep two boys but deal with chorses etc at the same time. When we do it permanantly we'll bury the mesh. Then each run can have a door to prop open for free ranging. Reading back that doesn't quite convey what I mean.....think of a cross with the secitions where the runs meet in the middle beng a chicken house, subdivided with an internal door: semi detached cockeral living.

Frugaldom

Like your idea, Lostinrates, sounds ideal, especially if you can stagger the runs to use up the full square, iykwim. The space I have is a long, thin strip measuring about 5m x 15m, I have 5 runs roughly 3m x 3m x 1m high, but the houses are inside them with no way of opening/closing doors from outside of the runs - a real pain! My plan is to remove the 'roof' wire and replace the houses in the runs with those little purpose built coops so they have a secure, sheltered area during wet weather and at nights, plus access to the main runs & garden at other times. The little groups of hens all return to their own houses without a problem, it's quite funny how they keep to what they know.