[cherrypie]

Hello again, i'm after advise about which chuck house to buy, my budget was around £100 but i've decided to up it to £500 (inheritence from granny -won't she be pleased!) i could put in a bit more if necessary,
my plan is to have 6 chooks within an area about 6m x 9m for a run. i could extrend this area if necessary.
i'm struggling to choose the right house for them and have picked out two that might be possible,
 the lenham 504 http://www.robharvey.com/domestic/lenham-poultry.htm
or the burwell. http://www.poultrymad.co.uk/housing/burwell.html
the burwell has the advantage it has an enclosed covered area and OK i'm a little bit worried there might be regulations put into place about AF so it would make sense to get it right from day one. (i'm not actually worried about the AF just the regulations!!!) I like the thought that i could go away for the weekend and the chooks would still be out and protected even if they can't get into their open space.
the lenham looks "nice" and has room for me to get carried away if i want more chooks next year, but i think i might paying for a lot of extras. but it sounds as if a lot of thought has gone into it's design.
i know i'm going to have to buy fencing for around the enclosure to give them the free range space so that'll be part of the extras budget.
also to add to the equation my daughter wants a buff orpington so i'll need good space.
i keep looking on ebay but they all seem quite small.
if i were to find a local carpenter to build my own to my spec i think i'd probably end up paying similar money plus am i really going to get it right being as i'm a beginer.
over to you guys, any comments appreciated or suggestions for other housing worth looking at. thanks
cherrypie

[alan42]

wow the price of them is unbelivable so expensive i personaly would just buy a 6 x 4 shed cut a hole in the side and fit with nest boxes which could be cardboard boxes so when dirty throw away. i would fit purches so the birds can roost and hey presto a chicken hilton much more room than both those things and more easy to clean and for 150 ponds up or even free on freecycle.
you can buy me a pint with the money saved lol
fancy mularky things like that are made for chicken owners not for the chickens themselfs.
alan

[Bagpuss]

Hi Cherrypie,

Sometimes there's just too much choice in life isn't there. I bought a house that looks similar to the lenham, but is off the floor with a run attached that goes underneath the house. (Muncjac, I believe, recommends a house raised up as you get extra run space). It said it was for 6 - 8 birds and I have four and wouldn't really like to put more than that in there.  The great advantage is that I can go out and they can be in their run safely and there are  lots of places that open to make cleaning easy.  The burwell looks ideal if you have the room for it, as you can go inside to clean it.  What alan42 says is right, but like you I had a bit of extra money come to me and I enjoyed spending it on a hen house, and I wouldn't have had the room or skills to convert a shed.  I'm sure someone with much more experience than me will be along shortly with more advice.

Good luck making your choice and I hope you really enjoy having the hens.

[cherrypie]

thanks alan and bagpuss,
alan, i'd willingly buy you a pint if i have the courage of my convictions to go with the shed option, trouble is i'm married to a perfectionist who loves to start a job but rarely finishes it and who has drummed out every last ounce of heath robinson i ever had, he takes one look at what i'm doing and makes well meaning helpful comments like "you want to do that like this other wise this will happen" all of which he probably is right about but i just stop because i can't do it to his standards...think i might need some marriage councelling, are chickens good listeners... anyway i do love my hubby dearly and i'm hoping that by waving the intended cost of buying the hilton in front of him he'll offer to make me one.
but going back to the make your own option,
why do nesting boxes need to be on the outside, i know birds like their privacy and with a little 4x2 house it makes sense to give them more room on the inside for roosting but if i had a shed couldn't i just screen off  a corner and that way my cardboard boxes won't get soggy in the rain.
in the mean time i shall continue to ponder because like bagpuss says if it gives me pleasure then maybe it will be worth it.
and thankgoodness for wet bank holidays it means i can browse the internet without feeling bad about not digging the garden!

decissions decissions...
cherrypie

[Aunt Sally]

I'd go for this one:

http://www.omlet.co.uk/products_services/products_services.php?view=Eglu%20Cube

Space for up to ten birds.  You can buy it with or without the attached run.  Very hygienic easy and quick to clean.  Very very little risk of red mite infestation and thorough cleaning or jet washing would eradicate them.  I love a simple life without too much hard work.

I do have to say I'm biased having had a eglu for 2 years,

Fox proof too  :!:    

[cherrypie]

aunt sally, it just looks too small for chuck comfort, i've got a nice big garden they don't need to be cramped, just secure. i'm not convinced.
cherrypie

[richyrich7]

I'd go with Alan so easy to do, my 3 are in the back half if an 8x6 shed so they get about 6x4, and are quite happy even if I don't let them out in the run.
When I see things like the eglu cube thing makes me wonder how much room they have in there.
The other advantage of a shed is that you can supply light in the darker winter months without fear of them falling out in to small a space.

[Bagpuss]

The eglu cube looks like a funky gypsy caravan for hens.  You need never worry about going away again, just tow it behind your car and your hens go with you.

[Aunt Sally]

It's not an eglu cube THING Richy, and it is very spacious.  If you saw how my two sleep all snuggled together in their eglu, you'd think you could fit ten in that  

[babe]

i must admit that i am desparate for the PINK eglu cube. when i first saw the eglu's i just fell in love with them. i think they are so cool. and when i get back from holiday in mid june i wil be saving like mad for one.

what is there to not love about the eglu, they are cheerful, great to look at and easy to clean

why shouldnt chickens have a funky designer home, the normal eglu is just the cutest thing ive ever seen, but just isnt big enough for all my chooks. so when they brought out the new cube i actually danced around the living room.

[richyrich7]

It's not an eglu cube THING Richy, and it is very spacious.  If you saw how my two sleep all snuggled together in their eglu, you'd think you could fit ten in that  

   I can see how appealing and well designed they are Aunt Sally, but they seem to have very little space inside  for when they get up in the morning eg summer 4am , 10 birds means less than 1.2 sq foot each or are they dark inside and the hens only get up when you open up?
Having experienced cannibalism in hens I'm always wary of space when they are locked up.

[babe]

hello richy, just read what you said and totally agree. i never shut my chooks in. they have their own enclosed garden so get in and out as they please. surely the eglu cube will be ok for them.

wont it?

please say yes, i so want one........ its pink !!!

[Aunt Sally]

 I can see how appealing and well designed they are Aunt Sally, but they seem to have very little space inside  for when they get up in the morning eg summer 4am , 10 birds means less than 1.2 sq foot each or are they dark inside and the hens only get up when you open up?
Having experienced cannibalism in hens I'm always wary of space when they are locked up.

I leave my two in their eglu untill about 7am Richy.  It's quite dark inside.  Light will of cause go in through the ventillation holes, but they seem to remain reasonably subdued.  I don't know of any eglu owner [and I know a lot of them] who has had a pecking problem while the hens are in the eglu.

[richyrich7]

Thats probably it then Aunty if they are in subdued light they will be more subdued themselves, that answers a big question/worry for me, so
 



I've just entered a comp to win a cube as well, fingers crossed then  

[Aunt Sally]

Thank you for the lovely flower Richy.  

I'd love to have a cube and a few more hens, but they are too big for my garden  :cry: