[Pep]

Hello Everyone,

I know you have better things to do on a Sunday evening than advise a silly woman who can't tell left from right but I would appreciate your comments.

I am in the process of making a hen house.  Bearing in mind that the only plans I had were in my head, I have used a screwdriver and drill on a few occasions only, but never in my life used an electric saw, I was feeling pretty smug.  What do they say about pride before a fall?

Now my problem.  Either the next box is on the wrong end or the pop hole is at the wrong end of the front.  You will see from the photo that, when assembled, they will be very close together.
 

The dimensions are as follows - 48" wide, 24" deep, 37" high at the front and 33" at the rear.  The nest box is 11" square but 13" high because I went wrong there also!!

I wanted the roof higher at the front in case it rains and the birds get dripped on.

Do you think I should leave it at is is and carry on, exchange the back for the front and cut it down in height, exchange the back for the front and put more lats on the bottom to retain the same height?  The latter option would make the nest box quite high up.  I don't want to build new sides as they took me ages but, I want what's best for the chicks.

Please help?

Thank you, Pauline (Pep)

[jack russell]

IMO  :?

I would not change it now it will be ok with them that close i can not think of a reason why it would cause problems.    ok aesthetically it would be better on the other end but hey ho

it is very well made buy the way and i hope you enter it into the comp

[azubah]

It looks like a good solid job to me. You should be proud of yourself for having a go. My hen house also existed only in my head and I made mistakes but it turned out quite well and I am sure that yours will too. Did you fasten it all together with screws? If you did it would not be too hard to move the pop hole across to the other side of the panel. You would only need to take off a few slats and reposition them. If you don't like that idea I would just put it together as it is. I don't think the hens would mind too much. I put a fringe curtain over my nest box to give privacy and reduce the risk of egg eating.

[CMFAM]

HI, you could remove the 7 planks of t&g on the side with nest box which are attached to the nest box, remove the 7 planks from the other side panel and swap over

clare

[Pep]

Thank you both of you.

Jack russell, I wasn't aware there was a competition and it's truly a compliment that you think it's good enough!!  Thank you.

Azubah - It is all held together with screws (I've ruined my husband's screwdriver bit, it has so many!) but all the tongue and grooves are glued as well so sliding the pop hole across wouldn't be possible.  Good thought though!!  I must admit I'd never have dreamt of giving them a curtain.

Thanks again, Pauline

[azubah]

A curtain makes the nest box darker and they like to see what they are eating..hence they are less likely to eat the eggs if you had that problem.

[Pep]

Thank you Clare.  You've given me the idea of sawing the top two t & g, swapping them over, together with the legs.  That way, if a perfect seal can't be obtained, at least it will be high up and act as ventilation

Thank you for the explanation Azubah, I'll certainly keep it in mind when I get more chicks.  It's looking more like my present three are all males :shock:  

Thanks again.

Pauline

[babe]

looks pretty dam good to me. wish i was that clever..... are you taking orders pep?  

[CMFAM]

Hi again, like you said you could saw the top 2 t&g, and add another 2 pieces of t&g to the bottom of the sides and swap them around , it would not be as high as orriginal, but would still fit

clare

[Pep]

Thanks Babe,

Don't put ideas like that into my head, my husband would never forgive me if I took over his workshop completely!!

I tell you what though, depending on shipping costs, it might not seem such a daft idea.

120 mts of tongue & groove, 87 leva
8 mts of 10cm x 5cm, cut for frame & re-inforcement, 15.60 leva
3 pots of external glue, 4.80 leva
Screws ( nicked from hubby) but if I had to buy, say, 5.00 leva
Corrugated sheeting for roof, half required, 9.20 leva

One leva is, even at today's terrible exchange rate, 40p!!!  So, in UK terms, less than 50 quid. Not bad eh?

Pauline

[Pep]

Hi again Clare,

It would work, but the nest box would be really high and they'd probably use it instead of the roost.

Thanks for still thinking though.

Pauline

[mdueal]

Jease - at that cost - you could totally undercut ebay coop prices - even with shipping and make good profit.

[poultrygeist]

Brilliant Pep !!

If that's your first go at it you've got nothing to worry about.  

It HAS to go into the photo comp before Saturday. And I agree with Azubah about the curtain over the nest box.

Keep on hammering.

Rob

[Pep]

Thanks Rob.

I know absolutely nothing about this competition. Will you let me have the details please?  There's a lot to do before Saturday as I still have to make the rear doors, top and bottom but, if it does get finished in time, I may give it a go.  As regards hammering, there's not one single nail gone into it, just loads of screws!!  It's a standing joke out here as the Bulgarians use nails for everything and even a screw would get put in with a hammer  Look forward to receiving details of comp.

Pauline

[Vember]

Absolutly fantastic

Well done you, I wouldn't know where to start  

can't wait to see photo's of your hens in their palace