Chicken huts

[mcreek]

Hi everyone

I'm planning to get 3 or 4 chickens for the first time soon and I'm building the chicken house as a summer holiday project with my son James (aged 14) We've used as a basic plan the house I found on here by tpeers, with a few adaptions. I'm now getting very confused about where to put the roosting bar, some sites say 8", others 18", is it better in the middle or to one side, I thought of using some planed 2 x 1 wood. Is it better if it's removable?

I also want to paint the house but someone mentioned that some paints can be poisonous to chucks...is the usual outdoor paint ok?
Any help or suggestions would be great

Cheers

[Snadger]

Everyone has there own favourite layout. Mine is a converted shed with two roosting bars staggered at 3 foot and 4 foot high. they prefer to roost on the higher bar but use the other as a stepping stone. deffo keep the roosting area to one side for ease of cleaning
If you keep the roosting area well away from the nesting area you'll only have to clean one area, the roosting area, as this is where they do all there pooping!
My roosting area floor gets cleaned out once per week but the nesting area only gets new straw once per month!

I would say that 2 inch X 1 inch is too weak to take the weight of the birds.......better to go for 2 inch by 2 inch with rounded top edges.

[Bramble-Poultry]

We always put the perch to one side of the house - that way if you get a bird who prefers to roost on the floor or has gone broody then she is not below the others getting pooped on! (having said that the dumb creature will probably sit under them anyway!)

We also use "square" wood as opposed to a broom handle - but round the edges slightly so it is more comfortable for their feet, just knock the edge off with some sandpaper.

Height of perching is obviously dependant on breed - 18" high is usually ok for a standard chicken, if it is a heaver breed then lower so they don't hurt themselves and bantams will need a smaller perch and lower also.

being removable is neither here nor there its personal preference - when you clean the house you may find it gets in your way and being removable makes them easier to scrub (they get very mucky), But we have houses with both types of perching and personally prefer neither design, we have just adapted to cleaning out each house in its own way! So make whatever you prefer and is easiest for you!

Painting is sensible because it prolongs its life in much the same way as any outdoor timber. Don't use household paint but the shed and fence paint is fine and make sure it is very dry before you put your chucks back in.

Hope that helps a little and I'm sure that tehre will be many other suggestions for you because what works for one may not for another!

[Hilary B]

Perches need to be higher than the 'doorway' to the nest-box. I would put them at the level where the chooks can walk under (but not necessarily where they can stand tall underneath), and a 'chicken-length' from the wall.
2 x 2 with top corners 'rounded' has always worked for everyone I know that has used it.
Modern alternatives to creosote are as good a treatment as any.

[mcreek]

Hi
Thanks for that, I'll get the roost in this afternoon! The paint will have plenty of time to dry as I've still to make the run! We're hoping to be ready for chucks at the end of the hols, I've still to decide which chickens to get, a friend has offered the possibility of 'borrowing' a broody hen and some eggs, afterwards she'll take back any cockerals, the broody hen and we just keep the number we want, it's tempting, the thought of fluffy chicks, but it's a long time to wait for eggs!

[Flummery]

Been thinking about this! Sometimes when they all want to lay together and the nest box is full, one will queue up on the perch waiting to get in. If she's 'caught short' she will drop her egg straight onto the floor. The fact that our roosting perch is fairly low means we only get the occasional cracked egg - and never right through to the membrane. We must get at least one a week in the house rather than the nest box. The nest box will take 2 and we only have 4 birds!

[MaureenHall]

Regarding nest boxes, I think it's recommended to have 1 per every 4 birds. There's 4 on my big coop for 11 hens and they all queue up to use the same one!! If desperation takes over though, they will nip into one of the others

[Polly Fouracre]

I think the height of the perch depends upon the weight of your bird. My old Speckledys like to roost at about two feet, the Indian Game who are very heavy at about one foot(any higher and they won't bother) and the bantams as high as they can go!!

[mcreek]

I was thinking of light sussex chickens, my friend has a couple in an eglu and said they are nice and calm with kids. My daughter has banned me from getting 'brown' hens as she had a bad experience of them when staying on a farm with her dad!
I think I'll put it just above the level of the nest box and keep my fingers crossed, I could always move it if necessary. I've put in a nest box that'll seat 2 for 3 or 4 chickens.
I was planning to put a piece of vinyl on the floor of the henhouse to make it easy to clean, but James has come home from school (14 year olds are talking chickens at school!!) saying the hens will eat it.
By the way, will they eat bindweed??!

[Suechooks]

Unless you stick it down VERY well the vinyl will provide a wonderful hiding place for Red Mite and you really don't need that. It will hide in any cracks and crevices (under roof felt is a favorite) so using Onduline or similarfor the roof is good but needs good support or it'll sag.
Mine sadly don't eat bindweed! They'd have a banquet if they did!

[MaureenHall]

Don't let them eat bindweed!! It's poisonous to chooks

[Jardiniere]

we have just finished making a new roosting house for our birds ...will take a picture later when its cooler.....................

[Flummery]

Brown hens are BEAUTIFUL!

[bluemoon]

We painted ours using the Cuprinol Garden Shades range, OK, so I wanted something a bit different and we have a jade green and lilac house and the other one is yellow and turquoise, but they do bog-standard colours too and they've been great. They're fast drying too, which means that if you do have a bit of touching up to do you don't have to spend all day keeping the chooks away from it. We painted the insides white though (technically 'Pale Jasmine' I believe) this makes the most of available light indoors, and also means you can see if a red-mite problem develops.

[walldanzig]

I built the one from photo's that T Peers put on here and it is great the only thing I had trouble with was the doors. I but the perch about 5 inches high between the door and the nest box