Grow Your Own Magazine

G'day all,

We've just moved to the country and I'm dying to get some chickens!

I found an ad in our local paper for a battery hen rescue happening in a couple of weeks time, so I have a week or two to get my coop & run up & running before my 5 gorgeous girlies arrive.

I have absolutely no building skills so I'd prefer to buy a coop & run. The girls will have access to free-range our back garden in the afternoons/evenings but would be in a run during the day.

Can someone who knows about buying cages advise if this looks any good?

Many thanks!!!

Ness

Or how about this second one?
Or this third one?

Do any of those look the business??
Or, more importantly, are any of those three unsuitable for 5-6 hens, and if so, why?

Many thanks for any input guys!

Ness

That looks good, and cheap, have been looking at Hugh Fernleys links and if you can't make it yourself that is a good price, also it looks like it would be comfy and suitable for your new girlies!

Good luck.... I would love to do this myself, let me know how you get on.

Hi Ness,

I am looking for a chicken coop too, and may build one now. I have no chickens so I'm a pre novice, but to me the 'second one' looks good. It has perches, which you need and a nest box too. Something with a removable floor for easy cleaning would be good, but I have gleaned from reading etc that a piece of lino on the floor can be lifted up and removed for keeping the floor clean. Your third choice does not seem to have perches or nest boxes?. Good luck. Sorry if I am not much help (The 'second choice' is good value too I think) - I have looked at loads on the web !

They all sound a bit expensive to me, but then I always did go for the absolute bargain options. The second one reminds me of the one we had many years ago (and yes we probably paid the equivalent of at least that much, but it didn't seem so much at the time<g>).
Not sure about letting hens out 'in the evening' other than high summer. If they can't be out while everyone is at work, probably better to use the 'hanging cabbage' option, move the house fairly often, and only actually let them out weekends, or for half-hour or so before a 'last feed' (and get them used to the 'last feed' before letting them wander).

Hi all, thanks for the feedback!
I know that one or two of them don't have perches, and I think one doesn't come with a nesting box, but they're easy enough to pick up I'm sure I can work around that. The perches I can install myself for sure.

Paul, thanks for the tip about a piece of lino for easy cleaning, very helpful!

Hilary, they are all by far & away the cheapest I could find ready-made. Sure I could make it myself for less but I'm not skilled like that so these are, I feel, fantastic value - some of the houses & runs I have been looking at are around the £700 mark!
Also, I have kept chickens before for years and we always let them out in the afternoons for a scratch around, why are you "not sure" about this?

Thanks,

Ness

WOW Scubabe! I want to die and come back as a chicken at your place

Yeah but seriously, all of those look fine

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It sounded as if you meant they were going to be let out when someone got home from work (I couldn't think why else not let them out all day) and that has drawbacks, because it may be getting close to 'bedtime' most of the year.

Yeah, I am something of a cheapskate with these things, because I tend to include the price of accommodation in working out how much the eggs are going to cost<g> Chickens will put up with remarkably 'bodged' accommodation.....

Talking about "bodged" accommodation, my 1st lot of chooks had a lovely new purpose built coop with a home-made run that could be moved to different parts of "their" garden. Now that I'm getting another 3 ex-batts to join the flock, I needed some separate housing for the new lot. I got a rabbit hutch free from freecycle, and converted it (sort of) so there's a sleeping area and a nesting area, and a removable perch. The 6 exisiting ex-batts thought it was much better than their own home, and have tried it out many times, even so far as preferring that nesting place to their own!

In my 'umble opinion, as long as you can provide safety, shelter, somewhere to roost, somewhere to nest, regular good food and water, and lots of love and TLC, the chooks will be happy no matter what

I agree with Maureenhall.I have kept hens in runs,moveable arks and on range with their roost being an old outside lav!! As long as they have room to run a bit and flap their wings,a bit of grass or greenery and a dust bath and a (preferably) organic bowl of layers pellets they will be happy.
Sorry,organic feed is better but any will do. Organic feed costs about a third more than others, but you will "feel" if not taste the difference!

I once got given some young cockerels to fatten, just 'off heat' (a neighbour had bought hatching eggs and only wanted the hens). I made a run out of 2" x2" timbers and wire mesh (shaped like a Toblerone box, but open one end) and added a teachest covered in plastic feed sacks. They thrived in there for the 8-10 weeks I kept them. Later I used it for a broody with chicks. Amazing what they will put up with<g>

Its true - they will live anywhere - those house all look glamorous am sure they will love them
I only have 1 hen at the mo and she loves her converted rabbit hutch - but has designs on moving into the outside lav also .
am looking for a new addition and would like a silky - anyone know of any needing a home ?

Good on ya' Scubabe for going for ex bats. I've just picked up half a dozen and they really do look the pits. How anyone can justify keeping birds in those conditions defeats any humane streak in me. If you've not seen ex bats 'in the flesh' before, you may be in for a bit of a shock, but go for it, they deserve you.

The runs you showed look great at a really good price. Like some others have mentioned, our first chook house was the Ty Bach at the bottom of the garden but now they have moved into an apartment in an 8' by 6' shed with a 'Toblerone' run attatched to it. I cut a pop hole in the side of the shed so they could have their own entrance

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Why keep a dog when you can bark yourself !

Don't look if you're squeamish! This was the state I picked them up in. Over two days, the people at Battery Hen WelfareTrust rehomed around 1200 birds. I went on the second day and the shed they were in was by now only about one third full, but still a very sad sight.

terrierpb/Ex Bats - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

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Why keep a dog when you can bark yourself !

Thanks for the photos of your girls, I knew they'd look a bit manky to start with, but hopefully with lots of love and food and scratching around in the garden they'll look more like hens are *supposed* to look in no time.
Really looking forward to them arriving now!

Cheers,

Ness

Hi I have one of the first two you showed and they are only big enough to keep three at night. the run is too small for even 3 chucks. please give your chucks more room. Build the thing yourself with at least 1 square metre per chuck outside if it is enclosed. The coop should be at least a square foot per bird perched. Anything else will be crap and you won't feel good about keeping your chucks there
cheers and good luck

Please think carefully before buying, as I agree with Cocky that they are too small for six birds.

I work on the following:

12" perch space each - minimum
2 square feet per bird inside the house
4 square feet per bird in the run

Hope this helps, and good luck with your girls when you get them, you'll get endless hours of enjoyment from them, to say nothing of the eggs

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Personally I'd think you'd be better of with something like a garden shed and a large DIY run. hens like to wander around as much space as possible and those runs seems ridiculously tiny. I wouldn't even consider putting hens in it, sorry, just my honest opinion. :/

Of course Salina everyone is entitled to their own opinion but I have already purchased my house & run and I am sure my girls will be very happy in it, it looks the bees knees! The run is not ridiculously tiny at all, and besides which I have already stated above that
A) They will be allowed out for free ranging every afternoon so will have plenty of opportunity to wander about
and
B) DIY is not an option so your suggestion of making my own run was a waste of your time to type it.

Thanks for those who gave feedback, I didn't end up buying any of the 3 I linked to, I bought a similar style but from a different supplier and it's bigger than the ones I linked earlier. I am sure my girls will be very happy, have already bought them organic pellets and corn, now I've just got to twiddle my thumbs until the rescue happens!! I'm so excited about them, can't wait till they get here!

Thanks all for your help, much appreciated

Ness

well done on getting the birds are they laying well?

I made my coop first time too and it does i good job i think , fit the perch's yourself they are quite simple , i also wouldnt worry to much about nest boxs i dont have any for my nine and only lay the eggs on one side near the corner so they are easy to find

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rain rain go away

Which option did you buy eventually ? I opted for the 1st one you mentioned but slightly larger. When it arrived the roof was slightley damaged, not much but thought I'd complain anyway and they sent me a new roof Ive now extended the length of the run with the old roof and doubled it in size for basically nowt Havent been and got the chickens yet, still have another 2 weeks to wait as we're away to France soon on holiday - Cant wait !!

G'day Stamford,

I ended up getting this one. We've got the girls in there for the morning, and then in the afternoon they can free-range. In a couple of weeks time we're going to look into making them a safe, sectioned off bit of land they can range on all day long... but neither of us is "handy" so go knows how we'll manage it. I did manage to hang a gate last weekend though, so there's a chance we could muddle through it ourselves

Your damaged roof sounds, although initially a pain, in the end it was a fab bonus! Wish I'd thought of that

My chooks only arrived a couple of days ago, the rescue happened on the weekend. Already they are my biggest daily timewaster They've all got names, and emerging personalities... Naked Dave is so far the bravest and even ventured onto the ramp on her first evening with us, so I can't wait to see what she looks like with feathers!! (She's called Naked Dave because she's no feathers, she's practically oven-ready - the rest of my rescues aren't half as bad as her... but as soon as I saw her in the shed I knew I needed to have her!)

Cheers,

Ness