Hen Housing - Advice Please!

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Hen Housing - Advice Please!
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jema
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28233
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Thu Feb 10, 05 8:34 am Post subject:

I'll haggle over most things big.

Have to gag snowball at times though

tell her not to appear enything but indifferent to buying something until the price is agreed.

I can be quite good on this score, I got an extraordinary job deal once, by managing to show my massive (and that was genuine) enthusiasm for the the job involved, whilst hiding the fact that I was utterly desperate to get the job

jema

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Thu Feb 10, 05 10:22 am Post subject:
Do you do haggling masterclasses? I am absolutely useless at it. If I want something, it shows all over my face - may as well wander around with a big neon sign on my head.

sofaloaf

Joined: 20 Feb 2005
Posts: 18
Location: Kent

Posted: Sun Feb 20, 05 3:34 pm Post subject:

Quote:

All newbies - please think before you buy a fancy looking house from such places as Forsham Arks, there are cheaper ways to get into chickens

Here here! I bought a 6-7 hen A frame Forsham ark (with run underneath- hurts your back and requires cleaning out at least every other day) and "scratch mat" to put underneath (sounds impressive for a glorified piece of wire netting) for �294 (we got it cheaper than most because we count as "local delivery" to them)- wish I hadn't!
I'm currently looking around for a larger house for 15-20 hens which must have a droppings board!! That would save me so much work!
Am also interested in converting a shed- saw some good value ones on the B&Q website (about �189 for a 7'x5')
What have you lot with converted sheds made your (internal) nestboxes out of? I will probably assemble some using "Poultry House Construction" but his (the authors) don't have bottoms!? very helpful!!
Also, how do you cut out the pophole? Im not very accomplished in DIY, only in DT lessons!
I think I will put the shed on concrete blocks, so that the hens can shelter and make dust baths underneath. aaaah

Gertie

Joined: 08 Jan 2005
Posts: 1638
Location: Yorkshire

Posted: Sun Feb 20, 05 7:10 pm Post subject:
We want our house raised off the ground, what about underneath, do we need any wire fitting or anything, I'm just thinking about vermin. Some of the houses we have seen raised off the ground stop hens getting under by fitting wire sides, allowing ventilation but stopping vermin, I guess. I thought it might be a good idea to allow the hens under for a dust bath. Anyone got any comments, please?

Guest

Posted: Sun Feb 20, 05 7:29 pm Post subject:

One of my henhosues is a converted shed that I got in return for hemming someone's trousers

The only modification done was that hubbie made the pophole - cut out the shape in the size needed, a rectangle, in the door. Fix a opiece of batten on each side of the hole, then cut a rectangle of wood that will slide down inside teh channels created by the battens. Ours has a chain at the top of the slidey bit which hooks over a strong hook to keep it open. Take precaution from foxes that they can't get their noses underneath the cover and nose it upwards - soem sort of licking mechanism should be fairly easy to contrive. Mine sits directly on the ground. I would be wary of sitting it on blocks high enough to allow the hens underneath - might get swiped in a strong wind possibly - just a thought. Had no problems from rodents with our system so far. For internal nest box, I use an old rabbit hutch with the doors removed - two sections, fairly dark, plenty of straw. Works for me, as they say.

Gertie

Joined: 08 Jan 2005
Posts: 1638
Location: Yorkshire

Posted: Sun Feb 20, 05 7:46 pm Post subject:
Thanks, Guest. Now that you've mentioned it, must admit have been put off allowing hens underneath. Good point about the pophole, too.

Guest

Posted: Sun Feb 20, 05 8:05 pm Post subject:
A lot of runs have areas underneath for access to dustbaths, shade, etc, but they are designed that way. An ordinary garden shed is just not designed for raising that far off the ground, especially on blocks, I would say. You can fit quite a lot of hens in a small garden shed - the more they are, the cosier they are in winter, too. They are also very easy to clean/sweep out.

organic john

Joined: 27 Jan 2005
Posts: 95
Location: Raunds, Northants

Posted: Sun Feb 20, 05 8:31 pm Post subject:

i have 3 home made old fashoned type of hut 8" by 4" base on skids. slated flor 8 nest boxes 4 on each side what i would call dry boxes so the eggs roll away in to a trap on the back of the nest to keep the eggs clean due to the birds being free range out on the feilds. 4 perches removerble. large doors in each end to give keeper acsess. 1" squair windows in each door and a pophole in one. this size shed keeps up to 40 birds.
i raise them up in the summer on blocks 4 blocks high and in the winter they are draged around the feilds on the skids

hope this has helped some of you i have also thought about building this type of hut for sale if any one is interested

alison
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 12918
Location: North Devon

Posted: Sun Feb 20, 05 8:49 pm Post subject:
John How do you find the slatted floor. We ae looking at another hen house, and have seen one with a slatted floor arrangement, we think we may copy, but I am always sceptical how these really work. Do they get clogged up, do you have to keep scraping them, how often do you move your house.

organic john

Joined: 27 Jan 2005
Posts: 95
Location: Raunds, Northants

Posted: Sun Feb 20, 05 9:12 pm Post subject:

i have found that it depends on the hens i have some x battry jobs that are very messy. i just scrape the floor with a hevey hoe once a month. but my other huts get scraped three times a year there is only about half an inch on the slats, allthough once you get a peak on the slats the droping just roll off between them. i used roofing lath for my slats. it also depends on if you have bedding in your nest boxes straw and hay will block them up a bit quicker. but with my old nest boxes the flat bottomed ones i used wood chips but. the dry boxes and slated floor make for a lot less work

alison
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 12918
Location: North Devon

Posted: Sun Feb 20, 05 9:36 pm Post subject:
I am thinking dry rollaways for the nest boxes.

organic john

Joined: 27 Jan 2005
Posts: 95
Location: Raunds, Northants

Posted: Mon Feb 21, 05 7:08 pm Post subject:
dry nest boxes and slated floors will save you a lot of time and efort and clean eggs to

sofaloaf

Joined: 20 Feb 2005
Posts: 18
Location: Kent

Posted: Mon Feb 21, 05 8:15 pm Post subject:

I've had this mega good idea

for a chicken house! Well, it is a bit cheating really b'cos it consists of a chicken house, but hey.

I started on this scheme when I was reminded of those �119 'paying too much for your chicken houses' houses for 12 hens when they were mentioned on another thread in this forum. I know that they look a bit basic in the picture

but I think with a few improvements it could be pretty good (you'll probably know what I mean if you are an avid Practical Poultry/other chicken mag reader like me, who goes over each and every page with a magnifying glass lookin for a deal (ever since splashing out my entire building society fund on a Forsham ark which I have regretted ever since

)
I was thinking of giving it some more substantial legs (thicker and taller, maybe on a frame

) so that feeder can go underneath and...wait for it...putting wire netting around the bottom, back and sides, and some sort of door on the front so that rats etc. can't get to the feed at night.
Also, I could paint it a cool colour with some of that paint that you paint stuff outside with, and maybe improve the interior (haven't actually laid eyes on it yet) but feel that possibilities are endless!!

Woah, gettin a bit carried away now. Will shut up and see what others have to say... I will try and put a pic of the advert in so that people who haven't seen it in a magazine can see what it looks like...

As you may have noticed, I am rather taken with the emoticons

sofaloaf

Joined: 20 Feb 2005
Posts: 18
Location: Kent

Posted: Mon Feb 21, 05 8:33 pm Post subject:
My bro has just helpfully informed me that the cheap house has gone up to �139. Why?! As soon as I show interest in something, they put the price up by �20!! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Bugs

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744

Posted: Mon Feb 21, 05 8:35 pm Post subject:
Is the cheap house the plywood type one that's mainly a box with a sloping roof. Erm, how to describe...like a 1960s house? Does that help? I think that might not be too hard (nor too expensive) to knock up yourself. So much so that I could almost see me doing it and I don't even really know where Treacodactyl keeps his hammers and nails

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