Housing - Too much choice!

charlielavin

charlielavin

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Hello,

Apologies for asking this question,I'm sure its been asked before but I really need your advice on housing. I'm looking to buy a hen house for about 4 hens (hybrid ones) but there are so many and I haven't a clue which would be the best (I'm very new to this, you can probably tell!).

We don't have a huge budget, about £150, so if you clever lot have any advise then please get in touch! Sadly my handiwork skills are rubbish so I don't think building one from scratch it an option.....I want my chickens to have the best, and if I made it wouldn't be (to put it nicely).

Thanks in advance!

Charlotte
 
I personally would try and get the biggest hen house that you can afford. Some say suitable for 8 hens but you would struggle to get 2 in!!! (Stay clear from the cheap hen houses on ebay as some of them are made of 3 layer thin wood and when you get mites in them you can't get rid of them as the mites get into the layers of the wood and lay the eggs no jet blasting or mite solution can get into it (bought a few and they ended up on the bonfire after 12 months)).
Hen houses off the floor are a good idea as this stops vermin from making nests under the house, and also gives shelter in the rain for your poultry and food, but you want one that is secure and as well made as possible.
Forsham Poultry Arks are very very good but very expensive (and very heavy!)
Good luck, keeping poultry is very addictive - you always want more.....
 
I know exactly what you mean!

I'm looking to get chickens next year, a few more than you mentioned (still less than 10 though!) and I'm totally baffled by the choice. I'm trying to decide what type of house to get (coop or shed) and whether to try and convert a garden shed or buy a ready-made house.

There are SO many houses to choose from and so many suppliers to choose from and I have spent so many hours looking and still am no closer in deciding on who (or what) to go for!!! So you have my full understanding at the task you have in hand!

I only hope I can decide by next summer!!!

Donna. x
 
Hello

Welcome to the forum!

If you can manage to put in a few screws or nails into some wood then it'll be well worth your while checking out Ebay. I got a cracker for £54 inc P&P. Bigger ones to house 6-8 hens costs on average another £20 - £30. I waited a while to get an idea of average prices and snapped up a bargain. They come flat packed so can be set up in about 30mins.

Just after buying mine, I was lucky enough to get given two hen houses with hens so it's still in its packaging until spring when I'm planning on rescuing some ex batts.

If by any chance you're in the North East of England I'd be happy to help you get set up

Osric
 
The guy opposite my land has a shed approx 10' x 7' with plenty of room to walk around in and very easy to clean. This was something like what I had planned when I got my shed but it looks like potential contact for cheap sheds has dried up before it even started. D'oh! :(

Osric
 
I think the biggest problem with ebay is,there are a lot of cheaper houses,that the pictures used are actually of better quality houses than what the seller is actually selling.As if they've stolen the pictures.
There are still some good ones for sale on there,it's a case of weeding them out.

Decide first,if you want with an attached run or not.If you're birds are going to free range,you wont need a house with a run.For the first week,erect a temporary fence around the house.Once the hens know where to go to bed etc.,you can take it down.This does cut down on the cost considerably.Also,most houses with runs,the runs are definitely too small.

I would also check your local paper for a secondhand house.As long as you get it before the hens,so you can give it a good scrub to clean it,and then re-treat it with a decent wood preserver like cuprinol or ronseal.Opt for one that is a wax based one.

Make sure the perches are wide enough for the birds to roost comfortably.At least 2" wide,I got a house where the perch supplied with it wasn't suitable for any bird bigger than a budgie.So until I'd sorted that,they didn't have a perch.
 
Now you've set me away wondering if my new house is rubbish! :?

I'm going to build it tomorrow now and find out for sure...
 
I didn't mean to do that :( sorry.It is probably fine,if it isn't,a big strong Viking (Hagar pic) will be able to sort it ;) .
 
Being the king of procrastination, I never got around to building the house today!

I'll er.... do it tomorrow :)
 
LOL,best thing,put it off :lol: .
I'm painting my chooks house at the mo(not the one they are living in-the spare)it's been in my lounge since thurs :o .......I've nearly finished......was hoping to put it back outside tomorrow,only,it will be raining again,I don't do rain.
 
Lydia said:
LOL,best thing,put it off :lol: .
I'm painting my chooks house at the mo(not the one they are living in-the spare)it's been in my lounge since thurs :o .......I've nearly finished......was hoping to put it back outside tomorrow,only,it will be raining again,I don't do rain.
Click to expand...

The lounge? I bet your other half is overjoyed!

Saying that, I keep my chainsaw in the kitchen. Some people just don't understand...
 
Good wood isn't cheap, neither are galvanised fittings for the bolts etc. I would say you get what you pay for.

Going to a reputable company like Forsham or Flyte So Fancy will give you a house that will last. I built a house suitable for 15 hens last year and the wood (small quantities I admit) and fittings cost me a little under £200.

I help our local school out with their 'chicken things' and they bought a house from ebay for £150 - I must admit it looks pretty but the wood is so thin, a fox could quite easily rip the door open with little effort and it won't last. It looked nothing like the photos on ebay....

When I saw their house, I started building them an alternative. I used a wooden packing crate I got from work and some free tongue and groove wood that I aquired from the local wood yard with a smile.. I nailed the t&g to the ouside and put some onduline on the roof as well as putting it up on 'stilts' so the chooks could go underneath. I have made 3 of these now out of packing crates, here is the last duck house I made to give you an idea...

The wood looks a bit stained but after a coat of paint, it looks far better. The last photo shows a chicken version I made.

These are the cheapest houses I have, although I admit, red mite could be a major problem in between the outer wood and the crate.

Crate.jpg
Crate-house.jpg
crate-house-finished.jpg
finished-duck-house.jpg
This is a slightly different version to the cheap duck house, - a chicken version (has a smaller door and perches/ nestbox).
cheap-chook-house.jpg
 
Thanks for all the great replies and pictures! If you do see any for sale and you think they might be worth looking at then let me know. Can't wait to get it now and then I'm on too deciding which chickens to get!

I'm addicted already I don't even have the hens!


Charliex
 
Osric said:
The lounge? I bet your other half is overjoyed!

Saying that, I keep my chainsaw in the kitchen. Some people just don't understand...
Click to expand...

LOL,I don't have an 'other half' that lives with me :D ,so he doesn't mind.At the end of the day,better than me getting wet outside.
Um,where else would you keep a chainsaw????Comes in handy for slicing a joint :lol: .Years ago,shared a house with a biker,he was taking his rat bike apart the one summer.Was over the moon when I told him to bring it in the house,couldn't leave it outside,someone would have knicked it.We had that in the kitchen for a week or two,until it was fixed.
 
A bike takes some beating!

I'd bring my land rover in if I could but that would mean demolishing the back of my house!
 
Osric said:
If you can manage to put in a few screws or nails into some wood then it'll be well worth your while checking out Ebay. I got a cracker for £54 inc P&P. Bigger ones to house 6-8 hens costs on average another £20 - £30. I waited a while to get an idea of average prices and snapped up a bargain. They come flat packed so can be set up in about 30mins.
Click to expand...
Hi Osric
Becareful with some of the flat pack ebay henhouses, they are shipped over from China and aren;t proper wood. They seem to be 3-4 layers of "plastic" wood and when you get mites in them you can't get rid of them. I bought a few last year for small bantams and 12 months on were put on the bonfire. The doors warp, they let in water, the felt buckles on the roof after a few months and are a mite magnets!!!

Regards Sue
 
Hi Sue

Thanks for the warning!

I made sure I got one without a felt roof and made from proper wood. I'll definitely check it tomorrow now!

Osric
 
Osric said:
A bike takes some beating!

I'd bring my land rover in if I could but that would mean demolishing the back of my house!
Click to expand...

LOL,you've not met many bikers have you Osric!!!!!!


I'm sure you house will be fine,er,your hen house.
 
Lydia said:
Osric said:
A bike takes some beating!

I'd bring my land rover in if I could but that would mean demolishing the back of my house!
Click to expand...

LOL,you've not met many bikers have you Osric!!!!!!


I'm sure you house will be fine,er,your hen house.
Click to expand...

Actually, I'm a biker at heart but without the bike and even have a special appreciation for biker chicks! I used to work in physiotherapy and saw too often what happens when you come off them (The bikes, not the chicks!). I like the sense of freedom a bike gives you but don't fancy a head injury and mangled legs :shock:

On a brighter note, I finally got around to checking out my new house, glued, stapled and screwed together T&G which has been pre coated in some kind of wood preservative. It'll take about 10-15 mins to put it together and I reckon there's enough room for 6 hens to fit in snugly but comfortably. I've put it away until spring where I'm planning on getting some ex batts to add to my collection.

I've attached a pic of the one I got. It's not quite as sturdy as the house my bantams live in but I think well worth the money I paid for it. My next hen house will be made from scratch though. If I get my Icelandic Viking hens than maybe I'll do one in the style of a Viking long hall!

Osric
 

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Snap,that one is very similar/same as my one I painted with cuprinol.I used the ducksback one with the wax in a green shade(so that the hens think they're roosting in a comfy bush-hopefully) :? :D ,only,I broke mine.
When I tried to open the door,it wouldn't open,my other half(he's brainier than me)said the paint had stuck it.Well,in desperation,I tapped it with a hammer(ok-a mallet)it was a gentle tap,and the little wooden handle flew off :cry: .
So at the moment the hens are accessing the house through the bigger door,and,I'll glue the handle back on with 'no more nails' and get my ex-husband or other half to see if they can sort it once the handle is stuck on again.
Mine might be a bit bigger,I've got 3 ex-batts,1 rir and 2 pekin bantams in mine and there is plenty of room.
They can all fit into the nest box together easily.
 
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