Choosing a Chicken House

The hen house purchase should be considered an investment that will protect your birds and make life easy for you to look after them. Convention says you should allow 1 sq ft of floor area per bird in a house. It should have a large access door for you to be able to clean it. The nest boxes should be low down and in the darkest place of the house so that the hens can lay in privacy and undisturbed. Perches should be higher than the nest boxes, removable for cleaning, approx. 2 inches square with rounded edges, allowing at least 7 - 8in of perch space per bird and perches should be at least 8 inches apart. If the nest boxes are higher than the perches then the hens will sleep in the nest boxes, because they want to roost at the highest point, and make them dirty, which is not desirable.

We would (naturally) always recommend timber housing and there are very good reasons for this. All Flyte so Fancy Hen Houses are made using pressure treated timber so that they will last for a considerable number of years without needing any preservative treatment. Timber will move and breathe with the seasons and therefore provide a healthy atmosphere for the birds with the correct ventilation. It will not be damp with condensation every time the temperature changes and will not suffocate them in summer or freeze them in winter. We recommend that you check the house is made from timber at least 19mm thick to avoid twisting and warping. Any plywood used should be at least 9mm thick and of hardwood exterior grade or marine ply otherwise it will degrade very quickly.

When considering your henhouse purchase some common sense rules can avoid wasted money. First and foremost is build quality. That is to say, you can spend £100 on a basic hen house from China that may last a year and would be worth nothing to sell after that time, or spend £300 on a timber house to last over 20 years but does have a good re-sale value if you decide to change it after 5 years. When viewing a possible henhouse, think about how it would be once the hens are living in it, and what it may be like after a year of hens living in it: -
* Is it strong enough to withstand the 'traffic' of hens in and out every day?
* Is it made of thick, maintenance-free, pressure treated timber i.e. shiplap or tongue and groove, so it can be outside in all weathers?
* Do you think that with a clenched fist say, you could bash a hole in the walls, (we are not for a moment suggesting you actually try this, just think about it) if you could then certainly a fox could get into the house without much effort.
* Is the roof of thick enough timber so that it will not crack and leak and it is steep enough for the rain to run off easily? Onduline sheet is a commonly used, robust roofing material but not as good looking as timber and can be prone to condensation.
* Is it raised off the ground so that rats cannot make their homes underneath the house?
* Will it help to keep the hens warm and comfortable in the coldest part of the winter?
* Are there any places in the design where it might leak in heavy rain?
* Will it blow over in a gale or is it solid and heavy?
* Is the headroom inside enough so that they will not suffocate in the heat of summer?
* Is it easy to clean and can you easily get access to all corners inside?
* How easy is it to move to fresh ground regularly?
* Can you imagine the number of birds you would like, living in that space inside?
* Would a determined fox, mink or badger be able to break his way into the house and kill your chickens?
* Is the pop-hole approx 13" square, which is what is needed for an average size chicken?
* Are there ventilation points for air movement or will the birds sleep in a draught? Air movement is vital to avoid a build up of fumes and humidity, don't forget the birds excrete ammonia, but perching in a draught is not healthy.
* Above all, consider the health, security and comfort of your hens and make your chicken keeping experience a good one. Your budget will naturally play a huge part so invest wisely and you will reap the rewards.

To keep the hens secure from foxes, badgers, mink or any other predator, a secure run area should be a consideration. This can be either a wired run attached to the house, a dedicated fenced run area with the house inside, or an electric poultry net which will keep them secure and give them plenty of space. Although it may not suit everyone, we can certainly recommend Electric Poultry Netting as a solution to security as we have used it successfully for many years. A large non-electrified fence needs to be dug in at the base and at least 6ft tall, Electric Poultry Netting is about 3ft 6in tall and is brilliant, no digging it in (a fox cannot dig under it without getting a shock) and it doesn't look like a prison camp, it can be moved when necessary and made into any shape you want. There are other considerations with electric netting so again, research it first.

You should consider, when choosing a site for the house, how to offer some natural protection for the hens from the sun, wind and rain. A good idea is to plant small trees in the pen to provide some shade (not bushes as they may be encouraged to lay under them), or place the house so that they can shelter in the lee. For the very worst of winter weather it may be an idea to keep the hens inside with food and water although they are quite robust creatures and will generally look after themselves.

We have found an excellent surface for an outside run to be playground hardwood wood chip (not bark which can be harmful). So if you have limited space, and they have turned your grass to mud, and want to give them a permanent run area it may be worth looking at. It will keep them clean, keep them permanently occupied scratching around in it for bugs all day, and can be washed through with a hose or, naturally with the rain if in the open. It may need changing perhaps twice a year so is very cost effective.

Researching your project is key to successful, trouble free chicken keeping so do invest wisely.

Regards
Anne


Choosing a Chicken House is ©Flyte so Fancy 2010. Reproduction of part or all of this text is only possible with the express permission of Flyte so Fancy.