[Skywise]

Hi there
 
I've just persuaded my OH that keeping some chickens in the back garden would be a Good Thing. 

The problem now is that I'm completely confused as to the sort of housing we're going to need for them.  I know that a lot of people say Eglus are the way to go but, to be honest, I would like something a little more "traditional".  Also, my OH and I both work all day so the girlies would have to be enclosed in a run for most of the day and only able to come out when we're home in the evenings and on weekends.  Also, the run will need to be static with a wood shavings floor - will that be OK?

I've looked at the wooden coops for sale on ebay and, IMHO, they look a bit flimsy to me and the runs look a bit small for the 3-4 hens I want to get.

Is there a concensus here about how much room they need (4 sq ft doesn't seem much to me) and the best materials to build a coop with as i think we'll be going down the DIY road

I really want to have a nice snug, spacious home for my chickens that will last a good few years, so sorry about all the questions and *any* advice would be much appreciated, also any pointers towards free coop plans there may be on t'internet .

Sky

[Lewjam]

As a rule of thumb most people say 2mSq per bird minimum.  You can always buy one of the coops with a small run then extend it.

I bought one with a run, then built a larger run with tree stakes and chicken wire very cheaply.

Have a look on this thread for examples of different ways people have extended runs for small runs:

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=73179.30

[Dominic]

I self built a just shy of 12sqm run, cost was under £100.
In two sections, its just about moveable by an over weight accountant and an engineer.

Grass lasts about 6/8 weeks until 4 chooks reduce it to bare earth, mine are in their till about 6.30 during weekdays.

Eglus may not look traditional, but they are simple.
I am the laziest person I know.
I clean mine every couple of days, its that easy.
2 minutes with a hosepipe, job done.
You just cant do that with wood.

If you do self build, joins are the enemy.

Others with more knowledge will be able to help in regards to static run.

[indianrunner88]

I bought a cheap house on ebay (£100) and regret it.  After 18 months it's falling apart.  I'm now going to have to spend £500 on a decent one!

With regards to flooring, although my birds have a third of the garden the ducks soon destroyed all the grass by 'treading grapes'.  I put wood chip down.  It was £40 for a couple of tons from a local fencing centre.  I didn't put a membrane underneath.  It's full of worms and insects and all the birds adore scratching and digging in it.  It prevents mud and keeps their feet clean.  They scratch poo into the ground and it stays remarkably clean.  It drains ok and dries out in hot weather.  You must use WOOD rather than BARK chips though as bark chips can give hens respiratory diseases due to a mould that grows on them.

[daisy1990]

I would agree to buy the best quality you can afford.  Red mite is the enemy of chicken keepers and the design (and ease of cleaning) is a factor in eradicating it.  The floor needs to be easy to pick poo up from and as other have said a thick layer which can be changed is preferable to leaving them just on grass (which soon becomes mud and is messy and smelly).  We use hemcore in our coops which smells nice, composts well is relatively cheap and doesn't harbor fungal spores or dust (which is harmful to the hens)

When choosing your coop think how easy it will be to clean, we have one which is much easier than the other as the egg boxes come off the side so that access to the main coop is easy.  The other coop you have to lean right in to clean it out which can be unpleasant!

Finally make sure whatever you buy is draught proof and water tight, chickens can be killed by cold draughts

Enjoy your girls they will be worth it!

[GrannieAnnie]

As a rule of thumb most people say 2mSq per bird minimum. 

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=73179.30

minimum of 2sq metres is for run space.  The question was for coop space I think, unless I really am going nuts. 

1sq ft per bird in the coop is the absolute minimum, as is 2sq m for run space.

We try to get people to give their chickens as much room as possible.  The space in your coop depends on whether you want them to have their feeder in the coop or outside, do you want them just to sleep in the coop, or to have room to go inside and maybe have a little dustbath if its raining, etc.

You won't meed so much space in the coop, if you can cover at least half the run so it stays dry in the rain.

My OH made some of our coops, the others are recycled old sheds, into which he has put perches, nest boxes and popholes

Give your birds as much run space as you can, as they are birds and like to run around and fly if possible! 

There are so many things to think of, so pleasae take time to look at some of the information on these pages, we have a lot of very experienced people on here.

And Finally.........    GOOD LUCK!!

[Skywise]

Thank you so much for all of your advice - we'll be spending the next few weeks researching buying v building and all the different materials we can use to make life pleasant for both our birds and ourselves.

I've no intention of actually getting any birds at all until I'm happy that their prospective home is suitable and the run big enough!

I've had a look at the thread showing all of your various set ups and am so impressed - it's really making me think very hard about what will be best for the chickies and not just what would be easiest for me - although a happy Mummy makes for happy pets I think 

Anyway - thanks again and I'll let you know when we finally have the housing right and can finally start thinking about getting some chickens to live with us - so many different types of chickens and only room for 3 or 4 . . . . . . . . . . Oh the agonies of choice!

[JaK]

We opted for building our own and used as much reclaimed wood as we could. I think our build cost was just under £60 in the end. I was advised buy a couple of local breeders to paint the inside of the coop white as this would help to show up any sign of red mite easily.
We built a raised coop and run so that the chickens always had an area of shade and this also gives a little extra room for them in the run. We meant to make the run bigger but ran out of wood, will extend in the spring.  I'll find a pic.....