Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: fallen angel on January 02, 2017, 16:48

Title: How many hens can sleep in this?
Post by: fallen angel on January 02, 2017, 16:48
I am buying one of these 2nd hand already converted for chickens but just wondering how many can sleep in it? I am trying to get my flock integrated and housed all together. I currently have 2 eglus and a wooden coop but need to change the chooks around and would like a hospital coop for when I need one.
http://www.littletikes.co.uk/playhouses/country-cottage-princess.html
It's measurements are Height(cm): 127
Width(cm): 130
Depth(cm): 114

Many thanks in advance.
Title: Re: How many hens can sleep in this?
Post by: ghost61 on January 02, 2017, 17:04
About 8 large hens if there are nest boxes?  Pure guess work, but if you have 4 in each eglu I'd have thought 8ish, 10 at a squeeze?  If it's already converted what does the current owner say?  Looks sweet, by the way  ;)
Title: Re: How many hens can sleep in this?
Post by: danfinn1 on January 02, 2017, 17:42
Hmmm. Interesting  :unsure: let us know how you get on.  I wonder how foxproof it will be :unsure:

Nice to look at though 8)
Title: Re: How many hens can sleep in this?
Post by: Beekissed on January 02, 2017, 18:03
I wouldn't put more than 2-3 birds small birds in that....gotta think about the times when the weather keeps them coop bound and how they'll be when that happens.  It's not just how many will it sleep, but how many can stay in there on the floor when the weather is bad enough.   They also need to have room to get up to and dismount from the roosts without hitting another bird in the process. 
Title: Re: How many hens can sleep in this?
Post by: jededitor on January 03, 2017, 21:46
I bought an IBC container for £25, steam cleaned it out, cut a small entrance in it for them and added a larger access door on the back for me to clean it. The hens seem to like it so much that they abandoned the old wooden house.

At the moment I am tarting it up with some old fence panel strips to make it more aesthetically pleasing.
Title: Re: How many hens can sleep in this?
Post by: Mum2mj on January 05, 2017, 10:12
I bought an IBC container for £25, steam cleaned it out, cut a small entrance in it for them and added a larger access door on the back for me to clean it. The hens seem to like it so much that they abandoned the old wooden house.

At the moment I am tarting it up with some old fence panel strips to make it more aesthetically pleasing.

What's an IBC container and can we have pictures please?  :)
Title: Re: How many hens can sleep in this?
Post by: GrannieAnnie on January 05, 2017, 21:19
Never been ken on the idea of plastic for chooks myself, but I know lots of people are happy with them.

This is an IBC container, ours is used as a water butt!

Like Beekissed, because of the same reasons, I would only put 2, maybe 3 chooks in that playhouse.
Title: Re: How many hens can sleep in this?
Post by: Mum2mj on January 06, 2017, 11:05
Never been ken on the idea of plastic for chooks myself, but I know lots of people are happy with them.

This is an IBC container, ours is used as a water butt!

Like Beekissed, because of the same reasons, I would only put 2, maybe 3 chooks in that playhouse.

Thankyou
Title: Re: How many hens can sleep in this?
Post by: New shoot on January 06, 2017, 11:14
Never been ken on the idea of plastic for chooks myself, but I know lots of people are happy with them.


I'm a convert  :D  The big gang have got a Green Frog coop and Alpha and his girls have their Lilac Love Palace i.e. the Eglu. 

Alphie's health improved hugely once I moved him out of his old wooden coop.  He used to get a lot of funny turns and collapse regularly on me, with a blue face and comb.  He does still have a dicky ticker and has the odd turn now, but few and far between.  I'm not sure why, but plastic seems to suit him way better.  Extremes of temperature seem to set him off, so maybe the insulating properties of the Eglu play a part in this  :unsure: