Shed as a coop

[RichmondHens]

I would put the nestboxes lower than the perches - a foot off the ground is fine, or it can be ground level, as long as it is in a dark place. When hens roost they go for the highest point they can, so yours would head straight for the nestbox as your plan stands at the moment.

Hens like nest sites to be dark - a box on its side is darker. Also, unless the box is made of stout/heavy material and is firmly anchored, if it is upright they will sit on the side of it and tip it over.

You don't need to put in shelves, just perches is fine. Save yourself the work!

[Hilary B]

As Richmond says, boxes opening from the side are darker, which they like, also a top opening means that if (for whatever reason) a bird perchaes above (or on the edge of) the box, poo falls in.....
As long as the floor isn't wet, it's as good a place as any for the nestbox(es), they will probably only use 1 anyway (1 should be plenty for 3 chooks, but even if you've got lots of chooks and 3 or 4 boxes, they will all want to lay eggs in the same box).
A perch made of a suitable sized branch, or 2" x 2" with the upper 'corners' rounded off is very popular.
Ex-battery hens, or POL reared in a perch-less shed, will take a while to learn to perch, you may need to lift them (after dark) for several nights before they get the message....

[jessmorris]

I think Onduline is about £16/quid a big sheet now (I think I got mine from Wickes). As the previous grape says, sawing it knackers your saw (the bitumen melts as the saw heats up) so use an old saw!
Good luck

[icornish]

On the Onduline side of things, add a gutter, and run that pipework to a small water butt/barrel/bucket. The water can then be used as a supply for your garden.

Q to eggs-perts... can the water from a water butt be used for the hens as well? Am assuming that once it's all flushed out, and if you "store" it in a bucket/butt to allow sediments to settle, it should be quite clean, as it's only rainwater.

[RichmondHens]

... can the water from a water butt be used for the hens as well? Am assuming that once it's all flushed out, and if you "store" it in a bucket/butt to allow sediments to settle, it should be quite clean, as it's only rainwater.

Hens should really only have fresh water. Roof water is ok as long as it has come from a fresh rainfall, the roof was clean to start with, and it has not sat around brewing algae soup (like most butts do). The trouble with water from roofs is that wild birds poo on them and this gets washed down into the butt. Wild birds can spread many viruses so you do take a risk using water collected in this way.

[chris]

Thanks for the tips/info peeps - just seems a bit of a waste of space with the height not being in use. I'll come up with some other plans and post them up shortly !

[petal]

what a fuss!! I just fixed up an old broom handle as a roosting pole and gave them a cardboard nesting box(disposable if the red mites move in!!) They enter and exit via the normal door.

[lettucegrow!]

They're not that fussy are they.petal? As long as they have somewhere dry and sheltered where they can get cosy they're happy.

[Hilary B]

Thanks for the tips/info peeps - just seems a bit of a waste of space with the height not being in use. I'll come up with some other plans and post them up shortly !

The height will not be wasted, not when you have to go in there to clean.......

[OverWyreGrower]

The height will not be wasted, not when you have to go in there to clean.......

Just what I was thinking!

'Specially this weekend, when it was monsoon-weather outside and I was stood in the hen-shed cleaning out (with all the hens around my feet).

Kneeling on the floor, in the wet grass, in the rain is not fun, especially since you end up having to do it for 6 months of the year!

[OverWyreGrower]

what a fuss!! I just fixed up an old broom handle as a roosting pole and gave them a cardboard nesting box(disposable if the red mites move in!!) They enter and exit via the normal door.

It's so windy where we are, we couldn't leave the normal shed door open - it's been blown clean off it's hinges twice in a year!

[SuzyB]

Well the colanders worked!

[chris]

cool - I'll probably copy that idea definately then!!

Good point about the height. Well, I've started to empty it now, i've dug out two massive stumps where I'm going to move it to (new idea now) - but that'll also mean cutting 50cm off the length of the shed [as a bonus I'll have that extra wood to fix up the broken/rotten bits].

I'll have to shorten the doors, but hopefully doing this means I can strenthen it up (was reading about a fox ripping slats off a shed to get into a shed coop).

I may fix the left hand door shut permenantly, replace the floor (I have chipboard flooring sheets I could use, paint and seal) then have a roosting perch running from the door in wards, with the opening to get out below (in the left door).

Next stage is to think how I can make the run fox proof for when we're at work (I've a 10' by 3.5' raised veg bed that I'm going to use as a "base" for the run - probably line with slabs half in and out so they've still soil etc to scratch in. Problem now is that the ground is sloped, and as I'm so an*l about everything I do I want it to look right It's right next to a tree too, so hoping that'll provide mottled shade in the summer, and perhpas some roosting space when they free range (hoping they wont use it to hop the fence! - may put some chicken wire up higher around it).

So, that's my plans for today (i.e. avoid work, and plan this out!)

[chris]

This is crazy.. we've got rid of the little one for the night so we can have a nights decent sleep - and a lie in... and what am I doing? Up at this daft hour because I'm excited about building my coop! What's wrong with me, grr!

Anyway.. I was thinking.. do I need a 'window' in the coop? It's quite dark in there - so far the only way light would be able to get in would be via the pophole if open, and the corrigations (is that a word?) in the onduline roof stuff (quite cool, not sure how eco friendly that stuff is though?)

Would it be worth lining the inside of the coop with chicken wire? The shed is old (not sure how old - previous owners left it here) - so some wood is beginning to rot, which I've pretty much replaced (the floor needs doing next, for example)... just wondering if a fox could get one of the slats off and then make its way in?

[chris]

For the nosey lot of ya, here's my updated pics!

Started to resize (I really couldn't be bothered to cut down a large tree - the stump is almost 2.5' wide!).. didn't really want to, but I've already dug 6 trees out of my garden, so sorry chickens - you'll have to cuddle up a bit closer, though I'm sure there's still bags of room in there for them it's like 1.5m x 0.9m:



Bit later on after making some mistakes and chucking one of the doors down the garden in anger, chicken wire over the roof area to stop any rodents getting in.. probably should have put the brace on afterwards, but hey ho:



Roof on, broken bits fixed and patched up:



Started work on a removable perch:



... and that's all I could get done before I had the mrs harping on at me to come in. "I wish I had a husband" - normally she can't wait for me to goto work!!