Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: atkinson1983 on January 14, 2012, 19:55
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Good Evening,
I Apologise at first for all my questions i'm wanting to start keeping Chickens but i want to make sure i am doing everything right before i just jump in,
1) (please see attached pic) would this be suitable for 3-4 bantams ? I want something with a run attached as there is no one at home till lunch times most days so I wanted somewhere safe to keep the them whilst we was out, then they could free roam in our garden, I will buy another run eventually just dont want to buy everything all at once,
2) I went to have a look at a few bantams at a local breeder and most seamed flighty and quite noisy, Is there any that are better beginner birds??
3) if i was going to keep them in that run for a few hours each day would it be best to put them on top of slabs and wood chips or hay on top ?? or just to leave them on grass, (i dont mind the grass getting ruined in the area where they will be,
Many thanks for all your advise,
James.
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Hi James the coop to me looks fine. And for me it is personal preference where u want to keep them. I had some at home on my patio and they never stopped layering. Now I have an allotment they are in a walk in coop which is great I bought it off eBay so I would also recommend to look on there too cause u can get some cool deals but I would buy new to limit any diesease etc. plenty supply of layers pellets and all scraps from ur veg is perfect. U can buy tonic to put in they water too for added vitamins so put the coop where it is suitable for u . For me I would try and get large fowl. Always found in past get bigger eggs. I have rhode island reds and light susexx and they work for me but personal preference at end of the day. Hybrids also lay like mad for first few years or could even look into warrens. The bantams I had were blue laced wyndotes and buff laced wyndotes they are great chicks but if u want the eggs go for the more prolific layers hope this is of help to u
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The coop in the picture looks as if it has roofing felt on the roof and nest box roof. This will be a good hiding place for Red Mite and a nightmare to get rid of them. The roof can be made of onduline or similar. Mine has plywood with a layer of tongue and groove on top but it needs wood preservative on quite regularly.
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do not use hay, this is a feed - and if a hen tries to eat it they can get an impacted crop :(
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if i was to remove the felt and put some wood over the top of the nest box would that be ok then ?
as long as it was water tight of course,
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the run area is not very big and i would not leave 3 or 4 hens in for long periods. With new hens there can be a lot of bullying as they sort out the pecking order. with a larger run they would have a better change of avoiding some of it.
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My chicken coop has always had felt on and have had no problems with mites. U will always have a bit of bullying to start of with until they sort the pecking order out. But buy all of them at the same time try not to add at different intervals cheers
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The coop you have shown would be fine fo 3-4 hens howver as stated by the others there would be a right lot of room, However why don't you buy 2 of these coops and join them together to make a bigger coop/run??? when done approx 6ft x 4ft x 4ft, Also these types of coop are cheap to buy on ebay.
A good starter hen in my opinion would be an hybrid, as dont take a lot of looking after and will lay almost through out the year.
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those coops really are not big at all when built, hens need at least 2 square metres of clear run space per bird and if they are to be in it for long periods then 3 - 4 metres per bird. Remember you need space for a feeder, drinker and a dust bathing area.
They are also extremely thin wood and usually poorly made, with timbers that aren't treated just stained.
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Agree with hybrids - Warren or Black Rock are great. Bantams have a tendency to be broody and can be a problem.
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those coops really are not big at all when built, hens need at least 2 square metres of clear run space per bird and if they are to be in it for long periods then 3 - 4 metres per bird. Remember you need space for a feeder, drinker and a dust bathing area.
They are also extremely thin wood and usually poorly made, with timbers that aren't treated just stained.
I can second your comments joyfull, my coop is just over a year old and I am constantly having to use wood preservative on the roof. Am waiting for my joiner friend to design and build a large walk in run and coop combined. It was a starter coop for me and will be used as a backup for any ill birds or converted for quail in the future. If I was starting again I would have one built with all of the advice from this forum being taken into account.
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I had one of those coops when i first kept chucks i was told it would hold up to 6 chucks not realy knowing anythink i paid fo it and got 2 chucks i was gob smacked how little space there actualy was, although i did buy large chickens you might be ok with a few banties, to be honnest though i think you would need bigger, you could always add to it a bit of wood and welded mesh makes a great run :D
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Hi James.
Sorry, but I hate these coops with a passion! They have been designed by someone who doesn't know anything about poultry husbandry.
For three or four bantams, you are going to need a run at least 9mē (So something almost 5m x 2m and NOT 2.5m x 0.75m) It does seem like a lot of space, but once you see how destructive chickens are you will begin to see the need.
Although not necessary, if you can get into the run space without scratting around on your hands and knees, it will make general husbandry much easier.
In the coop itself, the window in the door doesn't do anything except provide a draught hole! Chickens actually do not need windows in the coop at all. They go in the coop to sleep and to lay (and most chickens prefer a small quiet, dark, place to lay), so as long as there is adequate ventilation (above head height) then they are fine in the dark!
As for breeds, the really ownly bantam breeds I have any experience of are wyandottes and sabelpoots. Wyandottes are lovely, friendly little birds, which lay 40-45g eggs. As for noise, well, that is really an individual trait, not necessarily a breed trait!
Good luck, and don't be put off by poorly designed coops. do a bit more research, and I'm sure you'll find something more appropraite, at a competative price :)
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i bought the same coop and have had to change it .Works great as a house ,had to put wood around the door to keep the chill out and bloked out the windows added more vent holes and made a new ladder as the one provided was not hardy enough.We ended up cutting off the run and making a bigger higher one that we could walk in to easier to clean.