[Rosy]

Hi All

This is my first post as I have been asking (some could call it nagging) my husband for some time now to get a couple of chickens in our small garden.  He has finally agreed and I have seen a hen house that would fit and it says it would house 2 - 4 chickens

http://www.henhouseworld.co.uk/ch102.htm

It is intended to put this on a patio area at the end of the garden which has paving slabs at moment.  Should we take these up to provide a grass base?  Also does anyone have any suggestions as to what type of chickens we should get, they will be pets with the added benefit of eggs (hopefully).  I would really appreciate some pointers as to suitable breeds.

Thanks Rosy

[noshed]

Somebody sensible will be along in a minute but most of these manufacturers claim you can have loads of birds in one little coop, suitable for a hedgehog. Have a look at the poultry facts on this site while you're waiting for a proper chicken person.

Have a look at this: http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=32947.0

[joyfull]

Hi, the minimum run size per bird should be 1 square meter ideally that should be at least two square meters. Going by the minimum this coup would give you 1,53 - enough for 1 bird only. It appears not to be glazed on the door and window so rain and draughts would reach the birds. Therefor in my opinion (please note that this is just my opinion) it would not be suitable. Buy a shed (or try freecycle for one) and convert that into a coup and build a run with a minimum of 2 or 3 sq meters per bird. If you do go ahead with this coup then extend the run by about 3 times and it will be big enough for two hens or perhaps 3 banties. Also don't forget to add something to draught proof the door and window. joyfullxx

[AmandaH]

Hey Rosy.  I can't claim to be anyone "sensible" and I've only had my girls for a month now but my response would be:

1.  The house and run look lovely but I'm not sure that it really would be big enough for two chickens to live in all the time - are you going to let them out to free range the garden?  I have the next size coop up and it's great - but mine are out all day.

2.  I don't think you'll need to take your slabs up but you would need to provide the girls with something to scratch about in.  It's what they do all day!    But then we're back to whether you're going to let them free-range or not because, if you are, then you won't necessarily need to provide them with much in the run if they're not going to be shut in there.

3.  I have ex-battery chickens, which is incredibly rewarding.  I have no idea about breeds, mine are just brown with bald patches    If you would go to a rescue centre if you wanted a cat or dog, why not the same for chooks:

http://www.bhwt.org.uk/index.php

Anyway, this is my two-pennyworth.  Not sure you'll get anyone "sensible" but someone certainly more experienced will be along any time now!



 

[Vonnie]

Welcome to the wonderful world of chickens.  I have had my girls now since January and I am still on the learning curve.  One thing I would say is that this site has some amazing members who really do know their stuff when it comes to keeping chucks.  Their advice is proving invaluable to me all the time even more so at the mo as I have 6 new babies.  As far as the hutch you have seen, its lovely but I do think it would be too small, very pretty but not practicable.  Sheds are great from lots of angles they are easy to clean, plenty of room for them, and very vrsatile in regards to adding perches and other things to keep them amused but if you dont have the room maybe buy the coop you have seen, make an additional run for it and buy fewer hens!!! Good luck anyhow, let  us know how you et on.
Vonnie

[weedo]

Hi.  I bought a similar style and size coop last year for 3 hens. They staid in the run for a couple of days when I first got them to make sure they knew where home was and have not been in it since. Far too small. The house and nest box is ample. Could not have used run at all. They just free range the garden. Once they do that it is very hard to lock them up in anything! It feels cruel.

[lina]

I have 3 ex bats in small urban garden. They are super - get 2-3 eggs a day. They have lots of character - but they just love digging! So far they have dug my garden to shreds. They are now fenced them off in the bottom end of the garden and they have a converted shed as their run / coop.

Those posh house / run look the ticket - but chickens just want space, and earth and  will misbehave if they are cooped up (sorry about the pun).

Look at the big runs that ICE or Dizzy Lizzie have construted to give you ideas. I'm not sure how do do the link but I'm sure one of them will be along shortly

I'm sure you won't regret getting chickens - but you might regret paying £££ for something too small to be of any use.

Lx

[AmandaH]

I have to agree with Lina.  I wish I'd got just a house and fenced off a part of the garden, or built a huge run that I can stand up in.  

I have a Dorking house and two runs (end to end) from P&T Poultry.  I can only not recommend it as I they were the most appalling company to deal with (the two words "customer service" clearly mean nothing to them) but I felt guilty about keeping the girls in the (albeit double-sized) run and so let them have the run of the garden.  

They are trashing it, which I can live with as I am not much of a gardener and only have a few shrubs but there is poo EVERYWHERE.  I poo pick-up every day but the problem is that I have a three-year old and, if I miss one tiny bit of poo, you can bet she'll find it and stand in it and then tread it indoors.  Ongoing nightmare.

Really Rosy, I think your best bet is to buy a small house, without a run, and fence off a part of your garden.  At least then you can contain the chaos!  

[bexy]

Hi,just to put my pennies worth in:
Nooooo,far too small.
I was going to purchase one of those at first and from the same company but when i actually saw one on display i had to laugh.....it would be ok for a rabbit maybe but certainly not chickens,not ex batts anyway,they would be killing each other locked up in a tiny space while pecking order is being sorted!!!

Pennies worth over

[death of rats]

Looks to me like they type of run and house which people think will be allright.
Built for people rather than hens.
Also looke draughty as anything and no facility to darken it which you will regret in summer as they go off at around 4 a.m.
Rather get a small shed and adapt it for your chickens.
Run sizes be generous unless you are allowing them to free range.
My run is 3 square meters and I have 7 chickens and 2 ducks in it, however the run is gated into a 27 square meter uncovered area so the smaller run and coop is just a rain shelter and the birds have nearly 3 meters each.
They love it.

[Evansent]

That seems alot of money to spend on something so small! 

 I would definately recommend the humble garden shed, we have a 4x6ft for our 6 girls, which we got free from a friend (you could try freecycle).

 I have added a perch and they use an old rabbit hutch, with the doors taken off, as a nest box at the back of the shed, in the darkest corner.

The shed opens up into a 4ftx20ft run, made of a double layer of chicken wire (we made it before realising that galvanised wire is better for keeping foxes etc out and will rectify when funds allow).  The top is covered in mesh, it is about 6ft tall, so it isn't a chore to go in and out and clean.

  When we are home , they have run of the garden also.  We have found that if you have some nice open earth for them, they tend to stay away from the flower beds...well, so far...!


sorry to have waffled on.

colette x

[IMOmimey]

That just cannot be described as a chicken coop! By the time you have put down the feeder and water container, there will be no floorspace for the chickens. Getting in to clean it will be impossible. It could only house rabbit/guinea pigs.  I'm afraid it falls into the category of looking pretty , like a dolls house, rather than being of any practical use. Even the very basic, and much cheaper Arks have more floorspace than that.

Besides, the pleasure of chickens is watching their antics and their individual characters come out, but in something that size, they would get depressed, and probably feather peck/fight.

Well done you for asking advice before spending your money. I'm with the others, use a shed or coop, and fence off anarea for them, you'll enjoy them more if they are happy.

[AmandaH]

Hey Rosy.  If you've read all this lot then you're probably feeling a bit deflated by now!  If you've only just managed to talk Hubby into a small hen house, then he's not going to necessarily take the idea of a new shed very well, is he?!  

I would have loved a shed for the girls but it just wasn't practical in our small garden.  We already have one shed, as do most people, and loads of kids toys...  A new shed, however small, just took up too much space.  It must be useful, having something big enough to get inside and clean, but it wasn't for us...

Have you considered the next size up from the one you are looking at?  We have a similar one but bought two runs exactly like that in the picture (we put one in front of the other, hooked them together and took the door off the "inside" one).  The girls are only in it when we're doing something like mowing the lawn or when there are half a dozen toddlers tearing around, the rest of the time, they free range the garden.  Having said that, I am thinking about keeping them in the run in the mornings so they eat more crumbs and not shoot out of the run and scratching about.  Mine are ex-batts so they need to bulk up a bit on proper nutrition!

I think the space issue is more about the daytime space (i.e. the run) than the bedtime space (i.e. the house).   As long as there is a nestbox in the house and there is plenty of perch space then I don't think house size is so much of an issue.  If the house has a removable floor, like ours does, then all you need to do is turn the house on it's side and - bingo - all the access you need.

Oh, and the next house size up has no windows, like ours, so they'll be quiet (ish) on summer mornings.

Don't be put off, you just need a bit of a re-think, based on what is practical for you but also adequate for the girls.