[p00rstudent]

hello all.

i have been thinking about keeping chickens for a while now but not had the space or setteled enough for it to be fair on the hens.

I was hoping to keep them on the allotment as several other plot holders have chickens on their plots, i will be sharing them with a friend of mine so there will always be at least one of us to tend to them.

we were thinking about keeping 3-4 hens and a simialr number of bantams.

q1) is it ok to keep bantams with other chickens or will they need a seperate enclosure? i believe they can be kept together but just want to make sure.

q2) i was thinking of either buying or building a house something like this http://www.elbecgardenbuildings.co.uk/product.php?xProd=1787&xSec=355&jssCart=0a92ea93d6b63ba0fe8577f28337ba29
can any one see any obvious design flaws with it?

q3) around this house we are intending on building an enclosure 15meters by 10 meters though this can be made larger if necceassary, we will also be able to let them loose on the empty 5 acre field at weekends, but obviously only when we are the to supervise. is a 10m by 15m enclouser large enough for 6-8 chickens?

the reason for these questions is i want to ensure we create a suitable enviroment for the chickens long before actuallly get around to getting the chickens themselfs.

all advise will be greatly appreciated, and thank you for taking the time to read this post.

yours faithfully

Paul

[Foxy]

Coop looks OK  but will be awkward to clean out though if you have to lift off the roof  I prefer full size doors much easier!-and how secure is the roof? Sheds are a very good option. I have the B&Q lads sheds for £125.

Fine for the amount of birds you want to keep though( and a few more!),if you introduce them at the same time you wont have any probs.
Bantams and large fowl live quite happily together I have allsorts. 15X10 metres will be a good size run too!

For security against the fox I would be tempted to get electric fencing around the henhouse you can get poultry netting in 25m and 50m. It wont take Mr Fox y long to work out you have chickens unfortunately and if their are chickens alreadyon the allotment I would think he knows already!
Make sure also that someone is there to let them in and out mornings and evenings so that means 2 visits per day.
Look forward to hearing about your chook adventures

[Chookaholic]

Hi Paul
I'm getting everything prepared for when I get my chooks too.One thing I can tell you from experience is whatever amount of chickens they say the house is suitable for,don't believe them!They always exaggerate!I bought a chickenshack RS709S.They said it would be suitable for 4 Rhode Island Reds (quite a large bird I think)or 5-6 bantams.When we got it put together I couldn't believe how small it was.  So then I had to buy another coop & run.Now I need to try to sell the first one.I would say it's ok for 2 RIR's or 3-4 bantams.My new coop says it will house about 8 chickens,& I'm only getting 4.I don't want to be caught out again.Hope this helps

[poultrygeist]

Good advice chooky. What's scary is they quote the house as suitable for 20 birds but the optional run is only about 2sq meters - that'll be big enough for 2 !!  :shock:

as you say, very misleading. The house does look ok except as Foxy says. If you can build it to a similar standard, you should be ok, but I would second Foxy's suggestion about a shed. I built similar to that on long legs but we still have to reach in to clean the crevices and it makes your back ache. If you can manage a shed, go for that.

Best of luck

Rob  

[Foxy]

hmmmm dont think it would suit 20birds -the measurements included the nestbox?
Agree with PG -it seems that if you have the amount of birds they reccomend they will be  very cramped, the more room in the henhouse the better really! A good guide is 1foot sq per average sized bird and 9" perch room, for the run 1msq per bird an absolute minimum.

[p00rstudent]

thank you all for that, i think i will go for converting a shed instead then. i will let you know how i get on.

on a slightly differnt note has anyone used automatic door openers for a chcken coop? are they any good?

[poultrygeist]

Foxy's the expert on that one !!

Rob