[ToHellWithWeeds!]

hi all ive got a hen house and im collecting it tomorrow well excited   just got  a couple of questions :?  :?  :? should i clean it befor i put my ladies in???if so what should i use??? i did read sonewhere that i could paint it with gloss paint!! also how deep should i put the wire fence in the ground???  around the edge of the coop

ive been given six silkies crossed with a bantam havent seen them yet as they are still with there owner. they havent started laying yet so are still quiet young oooh i just cant wait going to get every thing sorted down the allotment today and hopefully i should be the new owner soon      
 all advice would be welcome thanks

[Selkie]

hi again

hope it all goes well for you! when are you getting the hens?

is it a new or second-hand henhouse? ours was new so i didn't clean it before we got the hens. we (ok, my husband) just used wood stain on the outside.

don't forget to take photos and good luck with it all.

[SnooziSuzi]

Congrats on the hen house!

Re painting it; I read in the Katie THear chicken book that you should look out for paint / wood preserver that's OK to use for bats because if it's OK for them then it's OK for the chooks  

Re the wire fence;  get as thick wire as you can afford; the thinner it is the quicker it will degrade and dig it in by about a foot; you need to keep Mr Fox out and he can dig!  Also try to make it as high as you are allowed - my association lets us put fences up to 8 feet tall which is about as high (I've heard) that a fox can jump.

Unfortunately, a really determined fox would find a way so make sure you keep checking that there's no gaps etc otherwise one day sooner or later you'll be chickenless  :cry:

Hope this helps!  
Su

[daveinmanc]

hello there,

i was told by muntjac and a couple of other forum guys to just paint the outside and leave the inside alone.

i used a water based wood treatment from B and Q which has been fine for all the outside surfaces and the brushes just wash off under the outside tap too.

for the inside i have used a thick vinyl type sheet on the floor, stapled to two lengths of batoning wood (like a stretcher lol) the idea is to pop it in and open it out, cover it with wood shavings and straw, then when its messy just fold it and lift it out with all the mucky stuff  inside, so its easy to clean out.

sounded like a good idea to me when i thought of it  . . . . . . . we'll see how it copes in reality after monday when i've got the ducks lol      

[slowef]

sounds brilliants Dave let us know how it works, shame it wouldn't work for my stable :? I would never lift it