treating the outside of the coop

[tlck9]

Hi all

I opened up my hens yesterday, we'd had a heavy day of mist and rain of a night....

its an arc, purchased a month ago, by the opening side and the far side, water had seeped in

What can I do to prevent this, it wasnt even heavy rain, so I'm worried that this will get worse when the real weather comes in.

I havent got any where to keep the hens while I treat it as the house is within the run and they are so nosey and into everything even when i'm just cleaning

Any ideas?

[janeyo]

You need to try and add more of an 'overhang' to prevent the water coming in.

[Glutton4...]

I bought my first 'coop' from a company that claimed 'We keep Chickens, so we know what we're doing' Yes, they do - they sell inferior houses (inferior in design and build) to unsuspecting folk like us. We buy what looks pretty and suitable for our needs, and is within our budget.

I was advised by a Chook-keeping friend to get a Shed and convert it, and I didn't listen. A month later, after an unsuccessful 'Coop' purchase, I bought a shed and converted it - No draughts, no leaks, and plenty of space!

If your garden is sheltered put up a Tarp or Gazebo until you can get it sorted. Good luck!




Sorry, just read it back and it sounds 'snotty' and I didn't mean to - I hope your 'Laydees' are fine!

[Snadger]

I bought my first 'coop' from a company that claimed 'We keep Chickens, so we know what we're doing' Yes, they do - they sell inferior houses (inferior in design and build) to unsuspecting folk like us. We buy what looks pretty and suitable for our needs, and is within our budget.

I was advised by a Chook-keeping friend to get a Shed and convert it, and I didn't listen. A month later, after an unsuccessful 'Coop' purchase, I bought a shed and converted it - No draughts, no leaks, and plenty of space!

If your garden is sheltered put up a Tarp or Gazebo until you can get it sorted. Good luck!




Sorry, just read it back and it sounds 'snotty' and I didn't mean to - I hope your 'Laydees' are fine!

It doesn't sound snotty, Glutton4...........just sensible advice!

[Glutton4...]

Aaaawww thanks Unca Snadge! I've always had a tendency to get on my 'soap-box' and have a rant, and it often doesn't get received as it was meant! (Speshly if I've hit the sauce!!!)

How's the 8-sided coop doing?

[bluemoon]

Glutton is right, you see these pretty chalet type things for sale on a certain auction site for £99 (I'm not suggesting that yours is one of these, Tick, I'm just using it as an example) and you wonder why some other companies charge more than double for something similar. Well the answer is, because the build quality of the cheap ones is so inferior. A local pet store has jumped on the bandwagon and is selling these things and frankly I can't see them lasting more than 12 months. We built our chicken house 'on the cheap' and I was given the marine-quality ply which makes up the bulk of it, even so the additional wood needed, the preservative, screws, strong latches and roofing came to way more than £99. I think you definitely have a case for demanding a refund or replacement as by law anything you buy should be up to the job for which it is sold. A chicken house which leaks after a month is shoddy and definitely not capable of keeping your hens secure, warm and dry, which is the purpose for which it is intended. Sorry, this probably sounds snotty too, but it makes me cross when manufacturers see a market for something and produce it without any thought to the people who buy it, just to making a fast buck.

[Glutton4...]

The company I bought from are no longer registered with eBay (unless they have started up under another name ). The Coop I bought said suitable for up to 12 birds, until I read the small-print when it said 'Bantams, or 8 Large Birds' which is why I reduced the number I was originally going to rescue.

The T&G roof started to 'lift' within a month and both the main and ventilation slider doors have virtually disintegrated in the last 6 months, causing me to treat it with several coats of wood preserver in case I need it for quarantine/emergencies! A decent second-hand 6' x 4' shed on eBay cost me less money, and making nest-boxes and perches cost no more than putting the original piece of .... right would have!

[Hashette]

A converted shed sounds like a great idea, but I've got to ask - how do you stop red mite if there's that much wood to treat? I don't know if I'm going OTT but I spray every surface of the inside of our coop with poultry shield every week, only because I was told to by......er, hang on...... well, by the place I buy my poultry shield from actually.

Hmmm, I think I might just have answered my own question! Seriously, though, how far do you go with spraying in that big an area?

[Suechooks]

A converted shed sounds like a great idea, but I've got to ask - how do you stop red mite if there's that much wood to treat? I don't know if I'm going OTT but I spray every surface of the inside of our coop with poultry shield every week, only because I was told to by......er, hang on...... well, by the place I buy my poultry shield from actually.

Hmmm, I think I might just have answered my own question! Seriously, though, how far do you go with spraying in that big an area?

Hashette - I spray all my huts with |Poultry Shield every week and 2 of them have no birds in them! Also my ark which is emergency accommodation. They've all been creosoted too. I use a 5 litre sprayer (B&Q) and one fill of that does all of them twice over at least - so thats 500ml of Poultry shield every fortnight. I also use a smaller hand sprayer and spray under perches and ends of perches every morning in the hut in use. My biggest hut is 6x4, the others smaller (5x3 and 3x2) ark is 6'.
With the influx of red mite this year I think it makes sense at least till the first frosts when they should start to diminish. It's the first time I've ever had red mite and I hope I never get it again or at least manage to control it better in future.

[RichmondHens]

If you can build your own (or know someone that will do it for you) then that is the best bet. The less joints etc the better against the dreaded Red Mite! Our big houses are basically a kind of box shape with hinged lid for top access, made from ply treated with creocote on the inside and a different weatherproofing agent on the outside. Roofs on a slight angle and overhang so the rain runs off. They are on legs (so nowhere for rats to hide underneath) with a ramp up to the pop hole. Nest boxes another simple rectangle fixed to one side or back with external access via a lid. Broody coops are a variety of box plus run combinations including a large triangular one OH made this year which is my favourite. They may not be pretty, but they are practical, don't let the weather in and (apart from the biggest house) are easy to move.

I agree with Bluemoon, you should try and get your money back.

[tlck9]

I bought my ark after seeing some of lesser quality. It was a good quality ark, even in the opinion of my hinny a cabinet maker. He was too busy to make kne at the time. Cost me over £200.

In hind sight it prob wasn't the best design, but now I'm stuck with it, can't see me being able to sell it for enough to get another built

[Glutton4...]

One good piece of advice I was given was to gloss paint the inside. I did this up to half the height of the shed, so above waist height (and I'm a short-@rse!). Several good coats will fill most of the 'nooks and crannies' that Mites or other parasites will live in.

This also makes the whole thing much easier to clean - just scrape out the dung from under the perches, and change the bedding in the remainder and in the nest-boxes. The whole thing can be jet-washed or hosed off very easily. Those cheap and nasty plastic jet-washers (£19.99 if you're lucky!) from your local DIY/Garden Centre are perfectly good-enough for this job.

I don't spray that often, just when I clean them out. I use a product called 'Red Mite Spray' from Barrier Animal Health. It seems to work, but then I haven't (so far) had a problem. I guess I've been lucky. I will be buying some 'Smite' as soon as I can get hold of it, just in case .

[Glutton4...]

I bought my ark after seeing some of lesser quality. It was a good quality ark, even in the opinion of my hinny a cabinet maker. He was too busy to make kne at the time. Cost me over £200.

In hind sight it prob wasn't the best design, but now I'm stuck with it, can't see me being able to sell it for enough to get another built

If you manage to get sorted with something else (try eBay, free-ads or Freecycle) then at least you can use the original one for quarantine/emergencies!

Hope you get it sorted.

[beulah59]

I have a gap in my ark above the door, that lets in both rain and light. I bought some pond lining, which I plan to pin across the gap (there is still plenty of ventilation through the roof) ... I don't get my chickens until Sept 6th but I'm trying to think of everything before they come!