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Just seeing what you guys think about this one. I know this is a bit scatter brain - my head is thumping


Our GIANT greenhouse has planty of space in it to have a chicken house in the corner... honestly... it is going to be too big for us, for a few years.

What I am thinking is... section off a corner (2 x 2 metres) the full hieght of the greenhouse (again about 2m, not including sloped sides) Instead of putting glass in the sides I can use plywood (have plenty lying around) and have vents around the top to the outside.

JohnM thinks that we will fry the chickens... but surely the chickens won't be even in the house when the sun is out... and the vents should stop them from over heating.

I also thought that maybe it would keep the temperature of the greenhouse up a bit over night... which is good...

They won't have access to the inside of the greenhouse, I'd attach a run to the outside... no free-ranging untill next door's jack-russel is better contained.

It would be a temporary solution, while we are moving stuff, establishing the garden etc and deciding how many hens we want to keep long term, then we'll build them a new home.



Anyone got any thoughts?

so.. it would not actually be *in* the gh, more like attached in a kind of way?
still think it might be a bit warm, if you only had a plywood separationg.. but difficult to imagine. hmm....

This is exactly the standard example that's always cited for permaculture... The hens keep the greenhouse warm, and produce fertiliser on top of that!

As long as you make sure it's shaded well in summer, and has plenty of ventilation, I can't see why it shouldn't work. After all, this is Scotland, not the south of France or so...

I think it would work as long as they have access to outside, and a shady bit at that, as soon as it gets light in summer - remember greenhouses can heat up quite quickly once the sun is on them.

My old greenhouse in winter could be 20C inside when the sun was shining and zero outside. Spring you're talking 30 - 40C and as for summer!

Roast chook!

I know you are in Scotland but even so, didn't you used to fry ants with a magnifying glass?

Millymollymandy.........it might save on cooking costs

Oh I'm a sick puppy. I'll get me coat

On the few days that the temperature here approaches 20 degree, I'm sure the chooks wouldn't want to stay inside anyway... And you can lower the temperature by shading, and creating a good draft. After all, chickens survive in hotter climates - they'll just see it as a holiday in warmer climates if it does get nearer 30 degree one of those days!

Well they wouldn't really be under any glass... I mean the walls and roof of greenhouse at that corner would be made of plywood... Yes they would only have a ply wood wall between them and the rest of the greenhouse but still... surely it wouldn't get too hot

Even in a cold frame that I have the temperature reached 20oC and that was the first week of January, temperature out side was 4oC.

I don't want to cause any chickens any harm, I didn't think it would be so hot, thats all.

Just what I was going to say, Ina - and then I was going to find the link for a very nice website on the whole working layout of chooks and a greenhouse, but I realised that it's on the old hard disk....

Do you know the website?

Cheers
Andrea
NZ

Annpan I can't see how it would not work. It's just going to be a greenhouse shaped shed on the end of a greenhouse. As long as it has adequate ventilation - leave some holes open and cover them with old chicken wire - not so as the prevailing wind howls through, but enough so there is a through draft.

Have you finished it yet?

Thurston Garden wrote:
Have you finished it yet?

Well it has no glass in it..... oh yeah, and it is 20 miles away.... listen, I'll get to it, at some point, OK, it's on the list

Annpan

Why not leave leave the top open with just chicken wire and and the ply at the bottom and a night box with perch for the night . Just a thought.

Annpan wrote:

Thurston Garden wrote:
Have you finished it yet?

Well it has no glass in it..... oh yeah, and it is 20 miles away.... listen, I'll get to it, at some point, OK, it's on the list