Online Chicken Coop Sizing!?

Stanley

Stanley

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Not sure what im allowed to post, but will remove as much as need be!
So after the other week buying a coop online (which i did the previous year too) it said 'for 4 hens' and once it came it was clear 4 hens would be very squished, i have 2 in there comfortably, possibly fit 3 bantams if they were small..
Now looking again as I need one for my chicks eventually, looking on a different website just incase the first place id got it from was being too generous, but it looks like my (older) coop, but says upto EIGHT hens, I have 3 in there, plenty of floor space for more, but small perches and 3 boxes, which chickens clearly prefer to the floor!
I wouldnt put more than 4 or 5 in, with a bigger perch, at a push!
http://www.chickencoopsoutlet.co.uk/large-chicken-coop-run/

So im now looking for a coop to fit my 5 babies in, im going to be looking for one that says upto 12/14 hens at this rate!! :?
 
This coop should say TINY chicken coop with room for up to 2 hens! Not 8! The run size is less than 2 square yards, big enough for 2 tiny bantams (Seramas?) at a pinch if you could let them out, And I notice it doesn't give coop dimensions but you can see it would be really small considering the run is only 6ft long.
Problem with this sort of setup is that people are paying for a totally inadequate run, in relation to the number of hens the ad. says the coop can accommodate, without realising that the hens would be grossly overcrowded in the run, and that the coop itself would be too small for the number stated. I notice it says the wood is 'weatherproof quality timber' whatever that means, but I think it's a very cheap build at that price. It says the roof is sloping and felted, 'in compliance with bird flu regulations' - doesn't say if it would be actually waterproof, though!
If you can, go for a freestanding coop of better quality, maybe plastic, and construct a separate walk-in run to fit the number of hens the coop will comfortably hold.
 
Exactly!
Luckily run sizing isnt a problem for me, as mine are free range, so after 2 days are out and about so its purely for sleeping but I like to have a run aswell, but the inside of the one i have fits 3 in nicely now, could house more if it was all sorted out with more perch space

Looking on yet again a different website and for a second looked promising, but looking on the inside is SMALLER than the rest it seems, 6-9 birds, 2 boxes, ok, perches look better placed so both could be used, but still I couldnt put 9 in that!!
Run is bigger, but like I said apart from thr first 2 days the run isnt needed but always good to have!
http://www.chickencoopsandhouses.co.uk/cc4000wx.html

Starting to look at sheds like one we have and put our own perches and boxes in it and then build/buy a run to attach!
 
This sounds more like it, but again the inside ought to be bigger, just need something to fit 5 chickens in, run size is really not a problem.http://www.chickencoopsdirect.com/devon-double-run.htm
 
Have a look at this one Jen - I wish I'd found it before buying secondhand. No run, but if you only need it for a few days you could make something temporary with chicken mesh and electric fence stakes.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Chicken-Coop-/140821732464?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Poultry&hash=item20c9a11c70

The listing says they will make other sizes and they may not be too far from you.
 
Yes that's much more like it. A bit small for you, but there are quite a few local makers of good coops who will adapt designs to what you need, like this one. I don't see paying for a run you don't want or need, especially as they are such a bind to get into for cleaning, and cumbersome if you want to move the house. You would of courae pay more for one that would be comfortable for 6 birds but this sellers feedback is good. You would need to ask questions about the inside layout, perches etc as these are not mentioned. It would need several coats of good quality wood preservative, but at least he doesn't claim it has had this.
Mind you, for the price of a decent wooden house you could buy a plastic one and avoid all the future problems of creosote, redmite etc......
 
Thats quite nice, would prefer one that stands off the ground, but that would be good, even though run isnt necessary i do like to have it there!
Ive not actually seen any plastic houses of a decent price, im not too fussy and want the cheapest but the only few plastic/non wooden ones have been at least 300 and im sure they wouldnt have been big enough, if you know of any well priced ones id prefer that, does make everything easier! :)
thanks!
 
Much more hassle with my secondhand wooden house and I'll be thinking of scrapping it and getting one of these built!!

My four Welsummers just fit in the Solway Plastic Eco hen house. You can add a run to it and even add an extension. The house is an 8' x4' sheet of Stokboard bent over so the house is 4' front to back. The run is an 8'x4' sheet of Weldmesh bent the same way and there are various door/end options. A further sheet of 8' x4' Weldmesh can be purchsed from Solway to extend the run to 8' long - but it's only about 2' 5" wide. Solway's prices include delivery. I bought my house secondhand on ebay - it was the older typr with internal nestbox which I have replaced with an external Chick Box.

I think the build quality of Green Frog is slightly better than Solway. There are a couple of threads about plastic hen houses but I don't know how to post the link to them.
 
Go Green Frog Stanley. Plastic is the only way forward if the chemicals we rely on to keep wooden coops serviceable (free from red mite) are banned (as they are in France). I really struggled to get Cuprinol solvent based shed preserver. Had to special order it. Apparently all the manufacturing companies are ditching the toxic stuff.
 
They are still quite expensive, wish they werent, but yeah, is a shame! is there nothing else that kills them thats not a wood preserver?
 
Main problem seems to be reaching all the gaps or joints in wooden coops Stanley. There is little residual action in the insecticides and they just hide their eggs in the gaps you can't reach. Or they hide on the birds and wait until it's safe to get off to lay their eggs. The only things we have found effective are creosote or Elector, which is a very powerful biocide that attacks the mite nervous system. Elector can only be used alternate years as the mites evolve immunity to it -we tried a second year and it had no effect, left it a year and sprayed two months ago and it wiped them out completely (we think).

Steam cleaning is pretty good as it kills the eggs as well. But you can't get steam everywhere so you will be doing it every month and with 10 coops (6 now) that's not an option for us.

Think Potash (wood fire ash) in the soil baths is a very effective way of restricting them. But unless you have a large woodburner you won't get much, as we put a sack of wood on our coal fire and didn't even get a handful.
 
Ah, yeah, isnt it mainly from straw though?
Definitely going to try new options and see how i can work it!
 
When sizing chicken housing, a good rule of thumb is to allow 1 square foot per medium sized bird, so a a 3x3 house would suit 9 medium sized birds at maximum capacity. I always allow a bit more as mine are large, so tend to use shed sized housing for the extra height.
A lot of these ebay houses on sale, and the links on the thread are typical chinese imports. Soft wood, which is not really suited to our climate and will warp easily and in a short time.
 
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