Hen Houe - Wood Vs Plastic

[Birdie Wife]

All my houses are made from wood as my OH is good at his DIY. I like the look of the eglus but as we're on such a tight budget, even the secondhand ones are too expensive (though I might buy one at £50 ). OH built enough coops to house about 30 chickens at a total cost of around £250, using free reclaimed timber, some exerior plywood, latches and hinges. I'm a lucky gal!

[Pumpkin Becki]

All my houses are made from wood as my OH is good at his DIY. I like the look of the eglus but as we're on such a tight budget, even the secondhand ones are too expensive (though I might buy one at £50 ). OH built enough coops to house about 30 chickens at a total cost of around £250, using free reclaimed timber, some exerior plywood, latches and hinges. I'm a lucky gal!

Ohh! Do you hire him out BW?

[Birdie Wife]

GYO - Get your own !!

[Pumpkin Becki]

GYO - Get your own !!

Classic rebuff! Love it

[Kristen]

Thanks pipscariad, I'm imagining that the fence is 3 or 4 strands 6" or 9" apart (vertically)?

[Pumpkin Becki]

Thanks pipscariad, I'm imagining that the fence is 3 or 4 strands 6" or 9" apart (vertically)?

You can actually get poultry net kits 25m or 50m are standard. They come with everything (net, posts, energiser, earthspike - you just buy a car battery to run it off). Have a look at Electric Fencing Online under electric fencing accessories. Scroll down and you'll see the poultry net options.

[Kristen]

Silly site, uses frame, so cannot easily post link. But I couldn't find something for Chooks, but I did find this to keep foxes and badgers out (its a 3-line fence)

Badger/Fox fencing

I quite fancy the idea of an electric-net-fence, hadn't thought about that.

Googled and found this, so no I see what you mean, looks perfect:

Electric Fencing Kits - 50m Electric Poultry Pen Kits

[Pumpkin Becki]

Googled and found this, so no I see what you mean, looks perfect:

Electric Fencing Kits - 50m Electric Poultry Pen Kits

That's the stuff - it's excellent, and you can easily move posts around to give your girls fresh ground if you want to.

[Kristen]

OK, I've now read your careful instructions and found it! Thanks.

Direct link if anyone needs it:

Electric Netting

[4chickens]

I've got a wooden house as it is very windy where I live and the compost bin managed to fly a field so the omlet house worried me. I've just bought cuprinol shades paint - they even have the same hen house as mine painted in the catalogue and it says it's safe for pets. I think there are pros and cons for both plastic and wood. I am really pleased with mine and, obviously from reading the other posts, everyone else is pleased with theirs. My selection technique was to choose the one with a heart window! If it's not too expensive - go for it. Get some experience, then you'll know exactly what you need next time (in a few years). I'm already planning mine.

[4chickens]

I've got a wooden house as it is very windy where I live and the compost bin managed to fly a field so the omlet house worried me. I've just bought cuprinol shades paint - they even have the same hen house as mine painted in the catalogue and it says it's safe for pets. I think there are pros and cons for both plastic and wood. I am really pleased with mine and, obviously from reading the other posts, everyone else is pleased with theirs. My selection technique was to choose the one with a heart window! If it's not too expensive - go for it. Get some experience, then you'll know exactly what you need next time (in a few years). I'm already planning mine.

[Tracey]

I ordered a wooden hen house and run from Wells Poultry in February. The delivery time was 12 weeks, it's now been 18 weeks and still no sign of delivery. They said they should be able to give me a delivery date mid July. It's very frustrating as it had to be paid for in full at the time of ordering.

[pipscariad]

Thanks pipscariad, I'm imagining that the fence is 3 or 4 strands 6" or 9" apart (vertically)?

Hi Kristen, It's a bit of a late reply, and I see that you've already found some good poultry netting suppliers, but yes, 25m green poultry netting is what I have used. I ordered mine from farmcareuk.com, which seemed to have it at a good price, but it does pay to shop around. I wanted one with a solar battery charger as I didn't want to worry about the battery running down. I'm very happy with it, although some extra poles would be useful as it does sag a bit between poles. There are some excellent tips on how to put it all up well on the net - if you do decide to go for it and can't find any, PM me and I'll track them down.

[Kristen]

Thanks all.

[lainey lou]

I love my eglu which arrived wiv my 3 lovely hens 2 weeks ago. It's plenty big enough for them to sleep in and they have the roam of the garden for most of the day. If you are gonna do this though you must be prepared for a bit of scuffing up of your garden.
Good luck!