likeamicrobecowboy
New member
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- 1
Hello friends,
I used to own chickens in a previous life in the USA, but now I'm embarking on a journey to begin adventures in the south of the UK and am refreshing my memory. I've been lurking on these and other forums for a bit and wanted to submit my ideas to you to make sure I'm on the right track, as well as get any advice on ways to improve the plan.
I'd like to adopt 3-4 chickens from the British Hen Welfare Trust. I know they offer former free range and former battery hens, who have different space requirements. I'd like to give all chickens as happy a life as possible, so I went for maximum requirements where I could, considering space and cost. I've discovered most pre-fab coops with attached runs are woefully undersized for outdoor space requirements, and so I've tried to mix and match as best I can.
Jim Vyse's Arks and Houses come highly recommended, so I'm planning on picking up this six-chicken house: https://www.jimvysearks.co.uk/produ...ing_wp_cron=1621153706.9272630214691162109375.
I plan to build my run to my own requirements, and have quickly doodled some plans here:
This would yield approximately 7.43 sq metres. The whole thing will use hardware cloth (except underneath the corrugated roof). The floor will be similarly wired, with weed membrane placed over, and bedding over that.
I'll let the hens roam when I'm in the garden tending my bees or plants, but I also plan to pick up a foldaway run for unsupervised time in a free-range style environment (my garden is not suitable for "true free-ranging"). I found this one which seemed suitable, and gives an extra 2.82 sq m of portable space which I could move around the garden each day:
https://homeandroost.co.uk/product/xl-folding-canterbury-rabbit-run/
Do I have sufficient space for these lovely ladies? Anything you'd warn about or otherwise advise?
Many thanks!
I used to own chickens in a previous life in the USA, but now I'm embarking on a journey to begin adventures in the south of the UK and am refreshing my memory. I've been lurking on these and other forums for a bit and wanted to submit my ideas to you to make sure I'm on the right track, as well as get any advice on ways to improve the plan.
I'd like to adopt 3-4 chickens from the British Hen Welfare Trust. I know they offer former free range and former battery hens, who have different space requirements. I'd like to give all chickens as happy a life as possible, so I went for maximum requirements where I could, considering space and cost. I've discovered most pre-fab coops with attached runs are woefully undersized for outdoor space requirements, and so I've tried to mix and match as best I can.
Jim Vyse's Arks and Houses come highly recommended, so I'm planning on picking up this six-chicken house: https://www.jimvysearks.co.uk/produ...ing_wp_cron=1621153706.9272630214691162109375.
I plan to build my run to my own requirements, and have quickly doodled some plans here:
This would yield approximately 7.43 sq metres. The whole thing will use hardware cloth (except underneath the corrugated roof). The floor will be similarly wired, with weed membrane placed over, and bedding over that.
I'll let the hens roam when I'm in the garden tending my bees or plants, but I also plan to pick up a foldaway run for unsupervised time in a free-range style environment (my garden is not suitable for "true free-ranging"). I found this one which seemed suitable, and gives an extra 2.82 sq m of portable space which I could move around the garden each day:
https://homeandroost.co.uk/product/xl-folding-canterbury-rabbit-run/
Do I have sufficient space for these lovely ladies? Anything you'd warn about or otherwise advise?
Many thanks!