Allotment Hens

[bluemoon]

We recently received permission to keep chickens on our allotment. This is something I've wanted to do for years, but once the excitement passed I started to panic a little.
The council's rules say we have to keep them in a shed with a run attached, this obviously means converting a shed to make it suitable as a home for the six hens which we are allowed. I had hoped to buy something purpose built in order that someone who knew what they were doing had made the perches, nest-boxes etc.
Does anyone have experience in doing this type of conversion and keeping chickens in this way? Are there any particular problems associated with keeping chickens on an allotment? (The plot in question is just around the corner so visiting several times a day is not a worry, and a friend who lives close by has agreed to care for them, should it not be possible for me to do so for a time, in the event of illness for example.)
I'd like to plan everything well from the very beginning in the hopes of avoiding problems later, but I'm sure there are loads of things that I've never even thought of. Any advice would be gratefully received.

Many thanks, Bluemoon.

[kirsty b]

Hi Bluemoon

I too keep chooks on my allotment and it has not been without its troubles (none of which caused by the girls themselves).
I have a 7x7 ft shed, for 12 hens with a small sized pop hole cut into one of the sides. The girls let themselves out through this as it goes into a fully enclosed run. It is easy to nail or screw some battens to make perches and my girls nest in old fruit boxes that I got from the fruit and veg bloke off the market. When I am there I let them range, but my site is private, not council and my plot itself is fenced and gated (thanks to the last plotholder).

Fox proofing is an absolute must. Either dig a trench and bury some chicken wire about a foot deep, or if you are buying a run get one with an anti-dig skirt. Get hubby to pee around outside of run, sounds yuk, but scent keeps foxy away.

A 6x4ft shed would be ample for 6 hens. 2x1" battening with the sharp edges sanded slightly round would be good for perches.
Don't put nest boxes under perches unless they are covered or they will get pooped in.
A padlock for the shed would be a good idea and maybe a gate on the run so you can get in to refill feeders, drinkers etc. The galvanised feeders etc are dear, but last much longer than plastic ones. The feeders have little 'hats' on them to stop food getting wet and going sour.

There are loads of us on here who keeps chooks and have learned from experience (search some of the threads), but the most important thing is to enjoy your girls when you get them.

Kirsty

[Saoirse]

Allotment Hens

Hi Bluemoon,

We had hens on our allotment for a couple of years up until very recently. It was great fun and everyone used to like coming to see them. I loved collecting the eggs!

We used a purpose built coop with integral run: we didn't convert a shed. There is lots of info about making a house yourself: e.g. the roosting bars need to be a specific size, rounded off edges and not too high off the floor. Check out stuff on the internet (practical poultry have a site with forum) and there are lots of small cheap books (lots of big expensive ones too!). The one thing we found was that the local city foxes were a nuisance so we ended up having to invest in an electric fence to keep the foxes at a distance from the hens: while the strong coop and run meant they were safe, the fox could still climb on top and terrify them. The fence was the answer for us and worked well. It had the added benefit of allowing the girls to have more space to scratch about in even when we were not there. I gave up quite alot of space to them.

Check out the allotment spec for your coop: I still have our equipment that I would love to go to a good home. The house itself is made of wood cladding and is on legs to give a dry feeding area and is meant for about 4 hybrid sized girls: more small bantams.

Any problems can be overcome with keeping hens: you can get lots of good advise from the various chicken forums so that you can ask questions as you go along, which is what I did.

Good luck,

Nicky

[Birdie Wife]

Hi bluemoon, brilliant news that the council will let you keep hens on your lottie. By 'shed' I take that to mean a chicken shed, so you don't have to convert a garden shed for the purpose. For 6 hens, you'd be looking at something with about 9 square feet (3x3) inside, with a couple of nesting boxes and roosting bars. The run should be a minimum of 18 square feet (3 x 6). Does it get very cold in your area? If yes, then it may be important to fill the house with as many birds as you are allowed, so it doesn't get draughty and really cold in the winter. The size I mentioned here should be fairly snug for 6 birds.
Fox proofing is essential, and if there are rats then make sure the house has no gaps in and is raised off the ground so the rats can't burrow underneath. I would be thinking about vandalism too - is your area prone to it? I can't remember who it was, one Grape had their hen coop set on fire last year, I can't imagine how upsetting that must have been for them and the hens. If your site has a history of vandalism, it would be worth thinking about extra security.

[kirsty b]

Hi bluemoon, brilliant news that the council will let you keep hens on your lottie. By 'shed' I take that to mean a chicken shed, so you don't have to convert a garden shed for the purpose. For 6 hens, you'd be looking at something with about 9 square feet (3x3) inside, with a couple of nesting boxes and roosting bars. The run should be a minimum of 18 square feet (3 x 6). Does it get very cold in your area? If yes, then it may be important to fill the house with as many birds as you are allowed, so it doesn't get draughty and really cold in the winter. The size I mentioned here should be fairly snug for 6 birds.
Fox proofing is essential, and if there are rats then make sure the house has no gaps in and is raised off the ground so the rats can't burrow underneath. I would be thinking about vandalism too - is your area prone to it? I can't remember who it was, one Grape had their hen coop set on fire last year, I can't imagine how upsetting that must have been for them and the hens. If your site has a history of vandalism, it would be worth thinking about extra security.

That was me who had the fire. Not nice

[Birdie Wife]

I thought it was you kirsty, I couldn't remember! How are your hens now?

[kirsty b]

The hens who survived the fire got taken by a fox over the space of a few weeks. I was not a happy girl

About 6 weeks ago got some ex-bats on a rescue and they are doing fine. Moulting all over the place. Got the hump cos of the bird flu restrictions as they can't come out on the plot with me at the mo. Also got a maran and a light sussex chick living in the greenhouse till they are big enough to go in with the big girls. Lots of pics and blurb on the blog.

[Birdie Wife]

Oh yes, I remember now! You really went through the wars. Glad it's not put you off keeing chickens. Love the blog, Boo is so cute!

[bluemoon]

Thanks everyone. you've been really helpful, and so sorry to hear of your problems Kirsty, that must have been heartbreaking.

Yes, I'm afraid we really do have to convert a normal shed. The council have pages and pages of rules and they even send you 'plans' which turn out to be a basic line drawing of a B&Q-type 6x4. There is, however, absolutely no mention of how this should be then converted for the hens' wellbeing - though they do say what colour it should be painted (dark green!!?). Most of the rules deal with minimizing rodents, parasites and nuisance to other allotment holders, which is fair enough, but I would have expected more on the hens' welfare. I expect they think that that's my job, which I suppose is true.

We are going to begin building in the new year although I have to admit that this part will be Hubby's job. (I told him about his anti-fox duties too Kirsty and he didn't object... but then again, I don't think he really believed me!)

I'm so excited about all this, but I really don't want to make any monumental mistakes. It's one thing to be a novice gardener and stick in a row of cabbages to see what happens, but you just can't make those sort of experiments when it comes to livestock, can you?

I've loads more questions I'll need to ask when the time comes. But for now, thanks again, you've all been a big help
love bluemoon

[TPeers]

Converting a shed for hens

The first thing that comes to mind is that you will need to store food, bedding and cleaning equipment - so you might want to partition the shed with a fixed grid screen and sliding door along one side of the shed such that all the hens kit is in with the hens, but not accessable by them.

As for roosting bars - that is the easy bit - get a length of 2"x2", round off all the edges and then either screw through the walls of the shed (two screws each end or it will spin!) or mount 'cups' at each end into which the roosting bar will slot. If you are going to use a 4'x6' shed with the door in the narrow end this gives 6' of roosting bar - enough for 6-8 hens. The bar needs to be around 6" to 1' away from the wall so the hens are in 'free air' sounds a bit daft but if they are leaning against the wall and it is frosty the will get more chilled than in still air inside the shed.

Nesting boxes - I would consider putting a shelf about 2' up, underneath the roosting bar and coming from the wall as wide as the door frame and putting nesting boxes underneath this. Various reasons, when cleaning the house you will have less bending as most of the mess is made at night. Roosting areas should always be higher that nesting areas. Nesting areas should be fairly dark and secluded. Think also about having two open top, high side, nesting boxes - joined together if you want, that you can slide in and out under this shelf. Dimensions would be an approx 12" base square internal with 4" lip (to stop eggs rolling out) and 6"-8" high sides and back to give privacy. The rest of the space will be used by the birds as indoor, covered accomodation - you might want a supplimentary feeder and drinker in this area - at the opposite end to the nest boxes.

Some sort of pop hole will be needed - cutting a square hole in the door and fixing a slider (either vertical or horizontal) would be the easiest route. Hens can cope with a 6" jump to the pop so only start thinking of steps or ramps if the distance to ground is much more than this.

Hope this gives you some ideas of where to start.

Terry

[Snadger]

The first thing that comes to mind is that you will need to store food, bedding and cleaning equipment - so you might want to partition the shed with a fixed grid screen and sliding door along one side of the shed such that all the hens kit is in with the hens, but not accessable by them.

As for roosting bars - that is the easy bit - get a length of 2"x2", round off all the edges and then either screw through the walls of the shed (two screws each end or it will spin!) or mount 'cups' at each end into which the roosting bar will slot. If you are going to use a 4'x6' shed with the door in the narrow end this gives 6' of roosting bar - enough for 6-8 hens. The bar needs to be around 6" to 1' away from the wall so the hens are in 'free air' sounds a bit daft but if they are leaning against the wall and it is frosty the will get more chilled than in still air inside the shed.

Nesting boxes - I would consider putting a shelf about 2' up, underneath the roosting bar and coming from the wall as wide as the door frame and putting nesting boxes underneath this. Various reasons, when cleaning the house you will have less bending as most of the mess is made at night. Roosting areas should always be higher that nesting areas. Nesting areas should be fairly dark and secluded. Think also about having two open top, high side, nesting boxes - joined together if you want, that you can slide in and out under this shelf. Dimensions would be an approx 12" base square internal with 4" lip (to stop eggs rolling out) and 6"-8" high sides and back to give privacy. The rest of the space will be used by the birds as indoor, covered accomodation - you might want a supplimentary feeder and drinker in this area - at the opposite end to the nest boxes.

Some sort of pop hole will be needed - cutting a square hole in the door and fixing a slider (either vertical or horizontal) would be the easiest route. Hens can cope with a 6" jump to the pop so only start thinking of steps or ramps if the distance to ground is much more than this.

Hope this gives you some ideas of where to start.

Terry

I'm also in the process of utilising a hut as hen cree! Mine is about 6 foot square but I intend building the nest boxes on the outside of it so I can collect eggs without entering the hut or the run! Hope to get some chooks in early Spring.............so I'll need to get a move on!!! Hopefully I'll be able to get a bit more done this weekend, as up to now I've been concentrating on foxproofing the run!