[akwebb]

Hi, what do you think of this hen house, for around 6 layers as well as the double run when we're not around for them too free range? Do you think I should get the added second nest box as well for extre space? 

http://www.feelgooduk.net/45-egg-house-8-large-chicken-coop-hen-home.html

[wolverine]

It looks great and a good price too . Good find 

[joyfull]

are the perches removable and what are the dimensions of the run?

[Vecten]

That's a good coop at a good price. 2 nest boxes for 6 birds is pushing it and if you decide to keep 8 or 9 birds you will certainly need that extra box.

[akwebb]

Double run is
 H-75cm
W-100cm
D-200cm.

Doesnt look like the perches are removabe no, but it does have a removable droppings tray.
If I got the second nest box, i think I would have 2 modify the house, so i could actually get in!! Dont fancy with the whole tipping the house upside down 2 give the interior a goog clean!!

[joyfull]

the run doesn't seem big enough for six chickens - each chicken needs at least one square metre each and if in there for any length of time then two or preferably three per bird.
It looks like the nest boxes are removable which would still allow access for cleaning. Having removable perches would make cleaning and red mite treatment a lot easier.

[evie2]

Looks good but remember 100cm is about 3ft so it depends on the breed you want it for.  Our 7 poots plus 2 small bantams have been in a 4ft x 4ft coop with a 15ft x 15ft run and yesterday when the wind got up they were all inside with loads of room

[akwebb]

Im now thinking of not having a run at all, and just letting them free range.
What kind of set up to people have with the feeders etc-will I have to build some kind of shelter 2 hang the feeders up?

Daft question, but will chickens go out in the rain etc to get to the food??

[mooie]

Im probably butting in here but just looked and you can get the bigger 12 bird coop for the same price, just thought Id point it out incase you didn't know  
Looks like a great hut and run, I think i may upgrade to that in the near future although my 2 silkies may get a little lost in it I am getting another so maybe a couple more would be nice  

oh Im sorry Ive just seen that the bigger ones are out of stock until 25th April.............knew i should have kept quiet!! 

[akwebb]

great excuse to get even more chickens!! 

[mooie]

Lol Im finding it hard to find excuse not to have more chickens!! 

[hillfooter]

Typically with these flat pack houses there's lots of anocdotal stuff about quality but zilch on the materials and the guage of wood and whether all the metal fixings are galvanised etc.  It looks like the runs have weld mesh stapled on which means that the staples will be rusted through in no time so not so good an omen.

Re nestboxes there's no need for more than 1 box per 4 birds.  I have 10 hens in a house with 4 boxes and they only ever use 2 boxes.

Below is some general advice on choosing a house which I produced a while ago and should give you some points to look out for.

"Whatever house you buy I'd always suggest looking at it in the flesh rather than buying from an ad or even a recommendation unless it's well qualified.  The materials it's made from are important indicators of quality.  If the wood guage isn't specified in an ad assume it's flimsy and don't buy. If it's made from 12mm plus section wood, tongue and groove boarded, with 30mm sq or similar structural frame work and the fixings are galvanised you can bet it's a very robust construction. If the roof is Onduline boarded it will need no or little maintenance and won't encourage red mite.  Don't forget the nestbox roof also.  Ensure the roof doesn't shed rain over the entrance.

The design and internal design needs to be right too.  Too many houses are made by carpenters who might know about wood working but little about chx needs.  If it only has a single roosting bar that's a bad sign and don't even think about any house which is so crassly designed it uses felt on the roof.  Virtually every chicken book written warns about felt being a heaven for red mite to colonise yet coop manufacturers still build houses with it.  If they get this wrong there's no chance the rest of the design will be chicken friendly.  You can also walk away from any design which doesn't have a vertically dropping pophole door which drops under gravity,  side sliders or hinged popholes are another give away that the house hasn't been designed by an experienced chicken expert.  As is a house with windows or one with provision for internal feeders and drinkers.  Birds don't look out of windows but preditors can look in and birds prefer a dark secure enclosed environment for roosting and laying in.  Ventilation needs to be baffled to prevent draughts and above head height preferably.  Flat floors with no ledges to trap soiled litter which can be swept out are a very desirable feature and any which use dropping boards which slide out are another no no unless you want a face full of dirty litter on a breezy day or want to have to grovel about in the house sweeping out the droppings which have scraped off  a full tray when it's withdrawn.  If it has a metal galvanised dropping board that's a double no no unless you want to freeze the chx legs in winter and create condensation.  Internal nestboxes are another no no.  Nestboxes need to be accessed from outside, have a lip across the entrance to retain litter and eggs and preferably have a shutter to shut out the birds at night unless you like soiled eggs and cleaning the nestboxes out each morning before they lay.  These are just a few things to look out for in a design."

Here's some links on house design which are also worth a read.

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=61242.msg711486#msg711486
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=56897.msg670192#msg670192
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=61068.msg709524#msg709524

HF

[mooie]

Sorry for butting in here  but do you have any recommendations on hen houses with runs attatched hillfooter? I know in an ideal world you should go and look at these things but if you can't and are in a situation where you have to buy flat packed then which is the best to go for?
Your info is great but seems to have ruled out every coop and run Ive seen 

[joyfull]

you can buy aviary panels of eBay to make a run the size you need or look at companies like these:-

http://www.henhouses.co.uk/coveredrun.html

not cheap but you could maybe find a local handyman to copy. they also make coops and different size runs.
Then you can get a coop on legs and place that inside 

[Casey76]

Cor HF, I think that's a bit strong!  We are trying to encourage people not scare them off. 

I admit that there are a lot of poorly designed hen houses out there, but not all of us can afford bespoke houses either (not that I'm saying you can!) but all your "must haves" and "must not haves" in your list are virtually impossible to come across all at once.  I think there has to be some level of compromise.

E.g. my main coop doesn't have a vertical sliding door - however if I wanted to replace it with an auto pophole arrangement it would be very easy to.  It also has a metal dropping tray, but I've never had a problem with condensation... possibly because the tray is covered with an inch of bedding.  But it does have a lockable nest box... so no sleeping in the nesting area.

It also has... shock horror... a felt roof - felt which has been properly bitumin-ed onto the wood (not stapled or sticky taped)

I think that there are quite a few new designs on the market now, which, while not perfect, are much better than they were a year ago.  You certainly have a much wider choice available in the UK than you do in France!

For me the biggest plusses for a hen house are (not in any particular order except the first three!):

• Easy and large access to the inside - essential for cleaning
• Sturdy construction
• Shuttable nest boxes
• Sloping roosting bars
• Ventilation above head height
• No windows