Hen's Den

[dedee]

I don't get much time for woodwork and this is more construction than woodwork but I thought I'd share anywy. All screws and glues.

I have not bought the chooks yet, this will wait until after our summer holiday in July, but I have finished building the coop and prepared the site for the run. I've just the cage/fencing to sort out.

The intention is to have 3 small Bantam hens ( 1 for each of my daughters ).
Here are a few pics of the coop and site.

The coop is 4'x2'x2' high at the back. The roof hinges forward to facilitate cleaning. The floor boards are loose fitted also for easy cleaning. The wood came from our old garage doors. The ramp is attached with a lift off door hinge fitted sideways. I am not sure about the angle nor the spacing and size of the rungs
I did not have any plans just loads of ideas gleamed from the web.

The coop will sit at one end of the bricked area which measures 120cm by 2.8m which I hope to be able to make predator proof with 1/2" weld mesh to a height of 90cms with a detachable mesh roof.  The rest of the grassed area will be fenced just to keep the hens in and cut in half so they destroy only one half had at a time.


Cheers

Andy

 

[TrimTheKing]

Looks good.

Regarding the predator proofing, don't forget to let the mesh as deep into the ground as you can because foxes etc are known to dig under them.

 

[dedee]

Mark,
thanks,
On one side of the proposed area for the run the coop/fence will sit on 2 railway sleepers. The concrete breeze blocks will be made level with the ground on the outside which I hope will deter the foxes digging underneath. I hope that will be enough.

Andy

 

[Chris Knight]

Andy - looks great! A real 5-star hotel for them.

 

[mtr1]

Looks good, you only need too bury the mesh 200mm, but you do need to have folded and coming paralel to the ground out from the run by 900mm, a fox will always dig at the fence and down, but not away from it. Hope that make sense.

 

[eoinsgaff]

From the title of the thread I though some one was treating the misses or some thing similar...

 

[Benchwayze]

Will Hawks take chickens? I assume so.

The reason I ask is I want to rescue a few battery-hens, and we have Raptors about the estate. (Saw one on my fence a week or so back. No chance to take a pic mind, so i don't know the exact species. It wasn't a Kestrel; looked more like a Hobby.
So I should put the run where the hens can use the shrubbery as shelter?


:?:

John

 

[shipbadger]

We have buzzards overhead most of the time, they will come and look, especially when we have young birds and they unsettle the hens, but that's all. We had a Peregrine take a pigeon off the lawn but it decided not to take on the much larger hens. Most actual hawks are more interested in rodents unless they are short of food at breeding time in which case they'll be after things like **** and finches. You may have more trouble with jackdaws and other corvids (crow family) nicking the hens food. Rat control is also a must, warn the kids to look before putting a hand into food containers or egg boxes. Not common, but a youngster finding a 'furry friend' will be heavily traumatised. Our district council still regards rat control as important and offer a free service for domestic premises so 'Dennis the rat man' would visit two to three times a year, cheaper than buying your own bait and we could usually get him to do something about the mice in the attic at the same time.

 

[Benchwayze]

Thanks Badger,

I'll warn Grand-daughter.
Plenty of rats about, due to building going on, on recently cleared land. Probably the reason we have Raptors too. Loads of new 'bird-feeders' to atract a food source! I don't intend to breed hens. I just like fresh eggs!
Might get a goose too. Their eggs are delish!. But they don't lay regularly..

Latest rumour btw

VAT on 'unhealthy foods' like dairy products, eggs, and saturated fatty meats.
Cheers.
John

 

[adzeman]

I like it, I like it, I like it!

Did you do any drawings?

Regards

 

[Benchwayze]

Drawings of what Mike?

and is it being told what you must and must not eat that you like?

I know the risks (I f the scientists are right) So I make up my own mind!

Ahhh! I see... My Mistook!


:duno: ccasion5:

:lol: :lol:
John

 

[dedee]

I like it, I like it, I like it!

Did you do any drawings?

Regards

No Mike, afraid, it was a case of "design as you build" with many references to various web sites and fora as I went along. I basically made the 4 sides then screwed them together. The onduline roof sits on its own fame which is hinged at the front with spring latches to hold it down at the back. I've read elsewhere that I need to place mesh under the ridges of the onduline to stop rats getting in.

We have plenty of kestrels, owls and buzzards, foxes, mice and probably, although I've never seen one, rats. The missus saw a stoat/weasel last year as well so there are plenty of predators about.

I had'nt planned on putting mesh down along the ground as suggested by mtr1 but I see the logic. I might have to do something about that.

cheers

Andy

 

[TrimTheKing]

I had'nt planned on putting mesh down along the ground as suggested by mtr1 but I see the logic. I might have to do something about that.

If careful you could probably just slice the turf down to 200mm and lift it, sliding the mesh beneath. Would mean less mess then.

 

[adzeman]

Thanks for the response DeDee my interest is I have a niece who keeps chickens in the North of England. Her partner is a professional shopfitter and he has built a couple of hen houses. We were discussing the trend to take in rescued battery hens and how well they improve when reared traditionally.

There is nothing wrong with bulding direct or as we Northerners say Bi rack o eye an skew of gob my interest was in the thought process. I bet you sketched somthing out on the back of a *** packet?

 

[dedee]

Mike, not even a *** packet but I did have a sketch done by one of my daughters

The thought process went something like this:-

How best to make use of available wood with least resizing. The height of the coop was determined by the old door panels. The width was decided by 2 panels looks about right. All of those pieces of wood are individually screwed to the frame on the basis that I could unscrew and adjust size etc if necessary. When I had the 4 side clamped together I used chalk to sketch out the slope of the roof and the door placements and then cut with a jigsaw.
I wanted the roof to hinge for access/cleaning so I made a frame then attached the onduline. I wanted the door to be openable from outside the run hence the push rod and a universal joint (taken from a shutter winder). The door is MkII as Mk1 (withe the boards running vertically bowed sufficiently to prevent movement in the runners. The positioning of the block to the left of the door is also critical to prevent excess movement. The floor is tongue & groove which just sits on the internal framing and will left out easily for cleaning.

The original sketch in my head was to have the hen house about 2m up in the air with the ramp on a sew-saw mechanism such that the wight of the chicken would allow access to the coop but anything heavier ie a fox would tip the ramp. Fortunately the boss vetoed this idea as crazy.

Hope this helps, feel free to ask if more details or photos required.

I am sure I enjoyed the process of building the coop far more than I will keeping the birds - especially if they don't lay.

Cheers

Andy

 

[Beowolf]

But if they don't lay you can enjoy eating them...

 

[dedee]

Yeah, right. As they have names already (we've not even bought them yet) I think sitting down with my daughters knowing that we are just about to tuck in to Paulette might be more than they can bare.

Our neighbour keeps chooks for the pot and slaughters them. If our first lot are a success and not too much trouble I have no qualms about keeping some for the table and I am sure she would show my how to despatch them.

Andy

 

[adzeman]

Brilliant sketch shows great promise.

Regards

 

[adzeman]

Have put the picture in the gallery.
Lets see what reaction the kids have when they visit Sunday.