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I eventually got round to bashing together a few scrap peices of wood and have created this

The front, featuring the chooks door and a ventilation pannel - obviously there is no door on it yet.


The rear, the top will be a drop down door for access to clean and the bottom will be a removable nest box for access to clean also.

Inside there is a perch (2x1) and a shelf under it, both removable for ease of cleaning.

I will cuprinol the outside, should I also treat the inside?
I also plan on perhaps slating the roof, though I don't know yet as I think I want it to be movable.

JohnM has cut me some lovely legs out of some big branches we had lying around and then I'll need to make a run too....

Still, at least I eventually got it started




people with more knowledge that me (which is most of you) What did I do wrong?

Nice work. If you want the roof to last, given the type of material you have used, I would use roofing felt.

Thanks Possum but I was told to avoid roofing felt as mites live in it ???

Annpan wrote:Thanks Possum but I was told to avoid roofing felt as mites live in it ???

Maybe they don't have these mites in NZ?

It looks great, Ann!

looks good!

It looks good Annpan - my only concern would be that it is quite tall so what happens when it is windy?

Nice one! how many chooks is it going to house?

Millymollymandy wrote:It looks good Annpan - my only concern would be that it is quite tall so what happens when it is windy?

It will be positioned near some hedges, providing quite a bit of cover... and in such a way that the wind sweeps over the top of it maybe... I can always anchor it to the ground I guess.

tim&fatima wrote: Nice one! Wink how many chooks is it going to house?

I haven't done the maths yet but possibly 3 or 4 chooks, or maybe 6 bantams... I just used the wood I had to the best of my abilities, so it wasn't a planned size.
My plan is to get a few hens to start with, then, if we get the bug, we'll plan a more substantial set-up for more hens... this one can be turned into a broody coop.

I painted the inside white with gloss so I can really scrub inside, it also seems less gloomy- if a chicken cares about interior design that is!

kind thoughts
Deb

ina wrote:

Annpan wrote:Thanks Possum but I was told to avoid roofing felt as mites live in it ???

Maybe they don't have these mites in NZ?

It looks great, Ann!

erm, dunno about that, yes if you were planning on doing the inside with roofing felt, I could see that it could give a home to various mites (not that you would want to do that anyway), but on the outside, I can't see how that would be a problem. If you were at all concerned then using a silicone sealer round the edges would stop anything crawling under.
(btw only been in NZ for 18 months, 37 years spent in old blighty before that)

I think we get the red spider mite here and it's a bit of a pest to chucks isn't it?

I think that hen house is fab, well done

Sky wrote:I think we get the red spider mite here and it's a bit of a pest to chucks isn't it?

It does? I thought that only effected plants.

Annpan wrote:

Millymollymandy wrote:

tim&fatima wrote: Nice one! Wink how many chooks is it going to house?

I haven't done the maths yet but possibly 3 or 4 chooks, or maybe 6 bantams... I just used the wood I had to the best of my abilities, so it wasn't a planned size.
My plan is to get a few hens to start with, then, if we get the bug, we'll plan a more substantial set-up for more hens... this one can be turned into a broody coop.

You will get the bug!

we also out grew our first hen house, we currently have 5 layers in a 6x4 shed conversation.
and we have converted the 1st house into a broody box which is being used by a silky and 7 eggs.

have fun.