Chicken Coop Advice Please!

[Farmer_Gyles]

I'm getting chickens soon and they need a home. I've seen all sorts of coops and plans for different numbers of chickens, but need a bit more advice before I decide what to do.

Plan is to start with 3 or 4 chickens - they will be hybrids - probably all different breeds
We're planning to add new ones each year, maybe only one a year - possibly going up to a maximum of 8 or 9 chickens

How long do chickens normally live for?

I'm undecided on whether to buy a ready made coop/run etc, or to build my own. I have an old 6x4 shed that I could use, and I'm happy to do that if it's going to be suitable. But I need a bit of info first ...

Nesting boxes - not sure how many I'll need - does each chicken have it's own nesting box for laying eggs? Or do they share / take turns? Is it first come first served?

Perches - If I start with 3 or 4 chickens, will they all be happy with just the one perch? Or should I have 2? Should the perches be at the same height?

Coop location - I'm thinking about sunlight / cold winds etc - don't want roast chickens or frozen chickens!
I live in the north side of a hill with a north facing garden (sloping downwards slightly) - we get plenty of sunlight, but we also get bitterly cold north winds in the winter.
I'm thinking of having the coop at the north end with the run facing the house so we can keep an eye on the chickens in the daytime
Which side of the garden should I site the coop? East side (shaded in the morning, full sun till late evening in the summer) or west side (morning sun, shaded by the fence in the evening)?
Which side should the nesting box be on?
Any other advice on positioning?

Thanks!

[elizajay]

Home made or adapt your shed is the best option. They will probably share a perch and if you put in 2 perches, the higher perch will be used by the top hen/s. Nest box needs to be lower than perches so they aren't tempted to sleep and poop in it.
One nest box big enough for more than one should be enough for 3 hens or if you use the shed, you could use a cardboard box on its side facing the wall with room to enter and replace when needed. They will share, but the bottom hen may have more trouble. Hens need ventilation but not drafts. Mine have small vents well above their heads on opposite sides of the house under the eves. My old house had a bigger vent on one side, but I think it probably got a bit chilly in winter and they woke up early as they roosted facing out and spotted light.
The advice is to get 2 hens when introducing new ones to the flock so they share the bullying when settling in. Starting with 3 is good as then adding 2 each year will give you even numbers until one drops off the perch. For some reason odd numbers seem to be a good thing for a harmonious flock.
Read the next thread re location of hen house. Ours is on paving facing the house in winter. We have an automatic door, so they go into the run at sunrise and wait until they spot us getting up when they shout to be let out to free range. They watch the back of the house at all times for human activity and are particularly interested in people in the kitchen who may provide snacks. If you don't want them training you, facing the house is not such a great idea. They are very persuasive.
Read other threads about housing and you will learn all you need to know.
West or east? Mine are in an east facing garden and in summer don't wake up quite as early as they would west facing, but also make their way to bed a bit later than chickens on the other side of the road.

[julesapple]

Our chooks have a shed, it's 6ft by 4ft and it's got a mezzanine level just now (posh, or what?) We have curtailed their space over the cold months by lining the shed with straw bales to insulate them a bit. We put a large sheet of marine ply two bales high (about 3ft) and their two long perches are underneath. On the mezzanine are four tyres filled with hemcore bedding for them to nest in, although they have made a nest on the highest bale themselves. The tyres are easy to clean and don't encourage red mite (which is more than can be said for the bales, I know)

The shed was given to us by my BinL, and had been treated with Creocote inside and out. We gave it more coats inside, really working the Creocote into any likely looking red-mite hideouts. The shed is on a deep gravel foundation, with no base, to make it easy to clean out with the pressure washer. We bought one of those big rubber stable mats to put on top of the gravel and that's easy to haul out and pressure wash too. We use sanded down 6ft fence poles (55mm) for perches as we can creocote these too. Creocote is the only thing that seems to be effective against the dreaded mites. Ours are at the same height.

Keep your run on the sunny side and your house out of the wind - although this is completely your choice. Your chooks will enjoy the afternoon sun, as long as they have some shade if'n we get a Summer. They don't like the wind - at least, mine don't - and although they can handle the cold, my lot hate draughts. Being able to see them all day is good, but you won't be able to stop watching them anyway.....chickens get you like that.

This is just what we've done as it's best for us, but everybody does things differently.

Jules

[jps]

i have 2 sheds both 6x4 wooden sheds, they are good as easy to adapt as needed.

once you get some you will want more, trust me.

we onyl wanted 6 and as soon as we got them we set about converting the other shed to get 6 more and sometimes i wonder if i could get more in each pen!

[SarrissUK]

I got chickens last year and bought a coop. It's not very easy to adapt though. I have a run down old shed that's still fairly solid and I'm seriously considering changing that for the chickens and get three more chickens to put in there, with a bigger run than what they have now

[RichmondHens]

Most of your questions will be answered by trawling through here. If you have a shed, convert it, although a build your own using the designs shown on the Sticky thread above is also good.

Chickens can live for up to 10 years if looked after well. They will only lay productively however for three or four years and slow down after that (although some of mine are still laying every day age 5 and 6 and I do have a 9 year old bantam who laid up until late autumn and I expect her to recommence soon). Most hybrids lay the majority of their eggs in the first two to three years, then they are burnt out but will still pop out a few eggs spring and summer. Pure breeds lay less intensively but for a longer period so you might get only 4 eggs a week from one hen but it will still be doing so aged 4.

[Hilary B]

One point, pleeeease don't add ONE hen at a time to an existing flock, it will get bullied horribly!

[Scarlet]

If you are going to use the shed which is probably your best option, start creosoting asap, inside and out - it takes ages for the smell to go.
Also, make sure that you have a foxproof run.

[Farmer_Gyles]

thanks guys - looks like the shed wins ...

creosote - not a problem, i can do that - thinking i could also run sealant down the joins to remove hiding places for the red mites - anyone else tried it?

insulating the shed - does it *need* insulating?

any chance of photos of inside your sheds?

fox proof run - we have a fox that lives under the shed that's about to be moved - so the run will be as fox proof as possible - i have a big stack of 4x2 floor joists to use as a framework for the run and will be getting some proper steel mesh and will bury it fairly deep - and the run will be big enough for lots of chickens ....

everything seems fairly straightforward now!

[Hilary B]

Insulation, probably not.
sealant, make sure you don't create a water-trap against wood (leads to rot)
If you add a small number (or just 1) chook to an established group, they will gang-up on the newcomers. You need enough new arrivals at a time to spread the bullying about. Space is not the whole answer!

[Jax]

I would recomend NOT buying a coop. I bought one and 3 weeks later I am building a new one!!

[petal]

shed- the best coop possible. ours is not insulated but my little girl painted it purple inside as she said the ducks like pretty colours......