PALLET chicken house

[lynda66]

the good bit is, as i'm kinda making it up as i go along, i can just add some more wood to make it fit

[lynda66]

found a really cool pop hole cover today, was wondering what i was going to use, it's actually a large plastic chopping board for £2 with a hole at the top, so i can attach something to it to hold it up, it's silver

[Bephlam]

Hurry up Lynda...I'm desperate to see the finished article! It's looking smashing!! I'm well impressed Lady!!

[lynda66]

i can't do much more till son comes at weekend, cos it needs assembling next, so i can get the door to fit, if it's not raining tomorrow, i'll do the back bit of the pop hole, cos as it is they can't get in lol. then i need to decide what colour to paint it before i line it and put the roof on ........ it's getting there

[Bephlam]

I can't wait to see it assembled. I'm so jealous of your D.I.Y skills!

I bet it feels great to actually hands on build your own!!

Soon you'll be able to pick your girls!

[lynda66]

I can't wait to see it assembled. I'm so jealous of your D.I.Y skills!

I bet it feels great to actually hands on build your own!!

Soon you'll be able to pick your girls!

that's proving the most difficult bit, finding anyone in manchester with runner ducks

[SarzWix]

Lynda, if you can find any near me, the OH and I would gladly fetch them over for you one weekend? Can't bear to think of all your hard work sitting there empty , and we do like a drive out!

[lynda66]

oh that would be good thanks for that,really appreciated ... i'll keep looking ....... mind you it could be months yet before it's finished lol

[lynda66]

no photos today,it went dark ...... have just painted the bottom of the base, and the nest box with dark brown wood preserver from wilkies ..... think that's been the most expensive thing at £4.99 for a big tub, and i'll probably need another one. then i'm going to do a top coat in gloss .......not sure whether to paint the inside too, as it will all be lined anyway ..... guess i'll decide that depending on how much preserver i have left.

have actually moved the base to its living space now, decided to put it on a layer of bricks ....... these were free too, i found them when relaying my lawn a few years ago..... it actually fits in it's place perfectly, without me having to dig any of the lawn up ....... see who needs a tape measure

[Hilary B]

PLEASE, PLEASE do NOT use gloss paint! There WILL be gaps in it, and ways for moisture to get into the wood, and once in, it can't get OUT past a gloss finish. That way leads to wet-rot, possibly dry-rot, and maybe woodworm, any of which would spoil all you work!
Preserver/colour is great, gloss which has ANY gaps (and on that sort of structure they are inevitable) is VERY BAD for timber. LET IT BREATHE!

[lynda66]

but they don't do black wood preserver and with the wood preserver under it will be fine really it will as it will be able to breathe from the other side i'm not using gloss inside...... anyway, when you paint gloss over bare wood, or wood preserver, it actually sinks into the wood, making a decent seal, if you mess about with undercoat, then it wont sink into it ....... i painted my living room floor with gloss, then decided to sand it a few years later, the gloss had soaked in about 3mm ....... i gave up.

[lynda66]

todays top tip ....... if you are going to build a chicken house on the lawn, make sure you can move it, got sons friend to help shift it today ....... i've killed my lawn ..... not too bad i guess, as it's got rid of the weeds, and i always put seeds down in autumn ..... it just looks very bare

well the nest box is on its brick base now, (and it's actually level) hopefully it won't rain tomorrow, so i can cut a few bits off the bottom, and attach it to the nest box .... sorry no pics again, as some one forgot to recharge the batteries ..... if i can move the walls i may get them on too.

[Snadger]

C'mon Lynda, it's been FOUR days since we had an update...........and more piccies please!

Enthused by your woodworking capabilities I've started making a broody coop (one never know's when a chook will go broody!)

Like you, mine is made from scrap timber (1/2 inch exterior ply....old advertising hoardings!)

Designed it myself and it looks pretty darned good......I know, I know............ self praise is no recommendation!

Piccies will follow, when it's finished..............

More inspiration required so get a move on..........you've only got 20 days left by my reckoning!

[lynda66]

lol 21 they only went in the incubator today ..... well today i have moved the compost heap, so i can rob the bricks from round the edges, and from the sort of path thing i made between 2 beds ..... so tomorrow the bricks will go down, and hopefully i might actually get some help this weekend to put the house together ..... i can't do it on my own cos i cant lift the panels ........ so fingers crossed by next week, i may have something vaguely resembling a shed ..... but i'm not holding my breath

anyway, i'll have to keep the babies inside for a while when they have hatched, cos i gotta snuggle them lots while they are tiny and keep em warm

can't wait till you get another broody .... to try out your handiwork

[Hilary B]

By my arithmetic your babies should be 'off heat' about St Nicholas' day (6th December) but I would keep them somewhere warmer than the great outdoors rather longer than that..... You may not be able to put them in the house-and-run until new year, unless you can arrange for some 'in-house' warmth at night. (maybe that is why autumn eggs are less likely to be fertile, nature knows it isn't a good time for a chicken to be born).