[gracie]

Hubby has been busy. Hopefully it will be treated and mesh added by the weekend. There will be a run added on the left hand side at half height with a mesh roof. It will have a concrete footing with a layer of bricks, then bolted onto that so hopefully will keep the pesky foxes and rats out.
There will be a tray in the bottom of the house for easy cleaning, the birds will walk/hop along a perch style base 10cm above the bottom and there will be roosting perches higher up. I am hoping they will use the covered area under the house for a dust bath. Do you think they would like an outdoor perch in the sheltered area under the house.
Any ideas will be well received. There is roofing still to be added to the nest boxes.

[joyfull]

wow hubby has been very busy indeed 

[Mulberry1990]

wow wish someone would build me something! My dad can't even do flatpack =(

[hillfooter]

Looks good.  Chx only perch when they roost so no external perch is needed.

Some internal photos would be interesting
HF

[jinty1911]

wow your hubby did that??? Mine can only build brick ones that aren't really suitable for chickens. Well done that man   

[Lindeggs]

That looks lovely - just a wee bit bigger and I could live in it!   

My chickens generally only perch to sleep, but they do like to have different levels to hop on and off just for fun.  My Phoebe especially likes to hop up onto things to survey her domain - the wheelbarrow handles, an upturned bucket, a saw horse, anything above ground level.

Maybe when the house and run are finished you could think about putting a branch or log in there for them to jump on and off.  A daytime perch is certainly not essential though.

[gracie]

Yes, the external perch was only to keep them amused, as i had read on here that some of your chickens like to move about a bit. I will add an internal photo when he has done something in there.
What sort of entrance to the pophole have you found your chickens prefer, a ladder or a slope?

[hillfooter]

What sort of entrance to the pophole have you found your chickens prefer, a ladder or a slope?

An elevator!
HF

[gracie]

chicks now hatched, i will get them later in the week. Just thought i would give you an update photo or two of their new home. The footings are being concreted and bricked in tomorrow, to assist with fox proofing, then the next job will be to complete the inside when it is insitu.

[hillfooter]

Are you going to roof the extension run?  The reason I ask is that there doesn't look to be enough height under the house to hang a feeder.  It needs to be at back height to prevent fouling and the main house run looks too high for the roof to provide shelter from the rain for food ie it will blow in from the sides.  So the extension looks to be the only place you can suspend a feeder.

Are you planning to house a few days old chicks in this house?  I doubt they will negotiate the ladder/ ramp up to the pophole untill they are several weeks old probably 8 to 10weeks.  Usually a brooder coop is at ground level.

HF

[gracie]

The new chicks are going in a room in the back of my garage for 6 weeks. The entire house and run will be covered in the wire mesh, it just hasnt been added yet until it is in situ. I have bought red feeders and drinkers, (the plastic ones) though i would try  my luck at car boots for galvanised at a later date. Do the plastic ones need to be hung then? i thought they could do both, luckily i have approx 5 weeks to get things perfect for them.

[gracie]

I should just say that the side of the house and run that is already meshed is going to be flush against the house wall, with the chimney breast blocking against the run, so hopefully the inside of the run etc will stay fairly dry.

[hillfooter]

The new chicks are going in a room in the back of my garage for 6 weeks. The entire house and run will be covered in the wire mesh, it just hasnt been added yet until it is in situ. I have bought red feeders and drinkers, (the plastic ones) though i would try  my luck at car boots for galvanised at a later date. Do the plastic ones need to be hung then? i thought they could do both, luckily i have approx 5 weeks to get things perfect for them.

Plastic feeders and drinkers are perfectly adequate and my personal preference would be for plastic over galvanised.  They are much easier to keep clean and the better quality ones are very durable though obviously not as durable as galvanised.  Unfortunately the cheap red ones are poor and have no UV protection in the plastic so quickly go brittle if exposed to sunlight.  The green "Crown" types are good.  see

http://www.chicken-house.co.uk/acatalog/5_KG_Green_and_White_Plastic_Chicken_Feeder.html

There's a matching drinker.  When sizing feeders work on 120grams of feed a day per bird (unless bantams) and 200ml of water.  Allow for 4 days supply to see you through a long weekend.

This is the poor type which go brittle

http://www.chicken-house.co.uk/acatalog/6_litre_Red_and_white_chicken_feeder.html

The more expensive heavy duty red ones are good though.  Joyful uses these I believe.

You need to hang the feeders at back height to prevent the hens fouling their feed and also deter rodents.  The red types don't have handles also so can't be hung which is useless.

The drinker needs to be stood on bricks at back height ideally.  If you hang them they spill with the chx constantly knocking against them so need to be stood on the ground.

The feeders need to be provided with rain cover against driving rain.  Obviously your house will provide a lot of shelter as long as the prevailing wind isn't into the open side.

HF
HF

[gracie]

My red feeders do have handles, but as I would stand the water on bricks could I also put the feeder on bricks. Must admit I was pleased with what I paid for them especially as the supplier had solely high positive feedback. Obviously as time goes by I can see how well they do the job and replace when required.
Really appreciate all your ideas, its interesting to hear what different people do when looking after their chicks.

[hillfooter]

My red feeders do have handles, but as I would stand the water on bricks could I also put the feeder on bricks. Must admit I was pleased with what I paid for them especially as the supplier had solely high positive feedback. Obviously as time goes by I can see how well they do the job and replace when required.
Really appreciate all your ideas, its interesting to hear what different people do when looking after their chicks.

You can put the feeder on bricks but they are more vulnerable to rodents and if they are desgned to be hung they might not be very stable if they don't have tripod legs.

I've no experience of the red ones with plastic handles.  Most feeders/drinkers come from China and are unbranded so are dificult to refer to.

HF