[moogie]

Hi, i have a few basic questions, they have probably been asked a hundred time but here goes - im due to get my first chickens next weekend, what should i use in the nest boxs, straw? and what about on the floor of the hen house, wood shavings?
I have just finished building the house, it is 5ft x 4ft so should hold about 9 - 12 chickens. Does this sound about right?
Thanks for any replys, Noel.

The new hen house.

[JACDORE]

Hi there and you'll never look back when you start to have ur own set of girls.  Its such a fantastic hobby/lifestyle.  In our hen house we use woodchip, then newspaper, then chopped straw. The straw is horses beddown (dust extracted).  Great looking house by the way 

[bantam novice]

Hello Noel and welcome to the forum  

Your house looks lovely   however I'm not too good at judging dimensions.  What have you used for the roof?  Internally what I have read is that you will need 18ins perching space for each hen.  If they can squeeze up cosily in the winter they keep each other warm.

From your picture I can't see any ventilation.  Is there a ventilation grill at the back?

Will you be letting your hens free range or have an enclosed area?  You will need a minimum of two square metres of ranging space for each hen, preferably three.

I use dust extracted wood shavings both on the floor of the coop and in the nest boxes.

Hens love to scratch around and it is important that they have an area where they can have a dust bath.  If you are keeping the coop where it is you may want to consider a large tyre filled with a mix of sand and earth where they can dust bath.

What anti-predator measures are you taking?

Good luck with your new hens and keep us posted  

[moogie]

Thanks everyone. 

The roof is made of felt shingles over 18mm waterproof plywood. The singles i made from a roll of mineral felt cut up into 250mm x 150mm rectangles and nailed on like an ordinary slated roof.

Along each side if the house there is a 1 1/2in  gap for ventilation, its up behind the fascia board, so should keep any vermin out and still supply plenty of air. I would be quite happy to spend a night in it without fears of suffocating.

The hens are going to be kept at my mothers house which has a 3/4 acre garden for them to run about in, just need to keep them away from the flower beds!
I will also be starting to build a pen this week, it will be 9m x 3.5m with the fence at about 5ft tall. Its only going to get fine chicken wire on it at the moment but i plan to add welded wire mesh around the bottom at a later date. Also there will be paving slabs around the outside of the pen to stop any foxs digging their way inn.
Do you think this would be a good enough deterrent?

Noel.

[moogie]

Just a little up-date.  

Finally got the pen made. If i didn't get help from my two mates i think i would still be trying to sledge the posts in !!   :blink:



Could anyone help with identifying my hens? i haven't a clue breed they are.

This one seems to be on the top rung of the pecking order, she lays a pale blue egg.
I go to all the bother to build nice laying boxs, where does she lay ? under the Laurel bush !!  



This is my favorite, could she be a Black Star ? hope i got that correct.  
Still only a young hen, but she laid her first egg this morning, soooo proud!



This one i haven't a clue about, but she is a beautiful blue/gray colour.



Thanks, Noel.

[Spacey]

Hi, I have two of the grey hens. I did a google images search and think they are 'bluebells', but if anyone knows any differently.....

Your blue egg laying girls looks similar to my girls and I think they are cream legbars, again if anyone thinks differently I'd love to know.

Your run/coop loves fantastic, your hens are very lucky girls

[Sassy]

I agree about the breeds of your hens.

It looks a great set up. The reason you were asked about the roofing was that although it looks great your roof could become a haven for red mite. I would keep a very close eye and if you get them, then you will need to strip the roof off and replace it with something with no nooks and crannies or felt for them to get under. And of course treat for red mite. Good luck

[Helenaj]

Hi welcome to the forum. Your ladies look lovely! Your Blue lady is a Bluebelle (as already stated), your little Black one looks like a Blackrock and the other is a Cream Legbar. She looks as though her tail feathers have been plucked out - you'll need to get some anti-feather pecking spray on that as if the other two ladies have not done it they will start - bare flesh to a chicken is like a red rag to a bull!

You may need to raise your fencing if it's only five feet high - hens (and foxes) can clear that height with no effort at all, even with clipped wings. Most times they don't bother, but if they see tasty morsels the other side of the fence, no flower will be safe!

[moogie]

You may need to raise your fencing if it's only five feet high - hens (and foxes) can clear that height with no effort at all, even with clipped wings. Most times they don't bother, but if they see tasty morsels the other side of the fence, no flower will be safe!

Over the hedge behind the pen the neighbors also have chicken, they only have a 3 foot fence around their chickens. The way i see it is, i dont need to make my pen fox proof, just need to make it harder to get into than next doors!    

My plan is to put netting over the entire pen at some stage, if the fox's become a problem.
This morning i found next doors rooster patrolling the outside of the pen trying to get into my girls, my three were following his every move.

Noel.

[Lindeggs]

Oooh sounds like there's trouble brewing in your neighbourhood!  The lad next door will try to tempt your girls away with his good looks and melodious song!  My sister had a never-ending battle trying to keep her hens at home when next door got a rooster. 

Your setup does look lovely.  The chickens should be very happy there.

[moogie]

Up-Date.
Thought i would treat the hens to a bit of fresh grass so i built them a mobile house that can be moved around the garden. They will also be helping me to clear out all the moss thats in the grass. 



It should easily hold 6 hens or up to 9 if they want to be cosy with each other.





Noel.

[Silkychicks]

Wow! Where did you learn to build!? It all looks like it is comming from a shop! I like the colour as well..

Have you got easy acces to the pen? At first some-one made me a really cute looking coop; but I had acces to it, which became a bit a problem when I needed to. It took me 3 days of walking around frustrated and I ordered another coop through the internet  (now the must lay the double amount of eggs to make up for this  )

In the first message some one said it is so much fun to have chickens: I agree. They came about 4 ago and I would miss them so much if they where gone!

Enjoy. This is a really good and enjoyable forum: so much information..

[Springlands]

I like your mobile house - that is the way the farmers wives used to organise their hens so that they would get fresh grass. 

[Silkychicks]

In permaculture the mobile houses are also used a lot, to clear the soil and manure it.

A 'chicken tractor' 

[moogie]

Wow! Where did you learn to build!? It all looks like it is comming from a shop! I like the colour as well..

Have you got easy access to the pen?

Thanks for all your comments. It has so far taken me about four Saturday's to make it and there is still a couple things i need to do to get it complete. It even amazed me how much work there was in making it and i'm a joiner by trade !
Just behind my father and daughter in the first photo there is a an archway through the fur trees, which is big enough for me to wheel the coop through to get to the main pen.