We had been talking about getting a few hens. It all started when the
eggs from the shops were rubbish, they smelled distinctly off. The eggs
from the next shop were the same, and the next.., and the next! A
domestic "discussion" then erupted when my OH wanted me to drive 7 miles
away to buy some direct from the farm that his mum used to buy her eggs
from (perfect mother-in laws!) As this was not about to happen every
week he decided a few hens would be just the thing, scratching gently
around the back garden.
Now normally I would jump for joy and say "yeah, more animals!" but I don't very often eat eggs and I knew it would be me left cleaning them out etc. Also going away from home becomes hard when you are asking the neighbour "could you feed the cat while we are away? Great, thanks, .............oh and the rabbits, and the hens, it's really easy, no work involved, not much, no really...."
So we did say no. Then yes, then no, then yes. We got a shed for nothing off Gumtree which sat in bits for a year, propped against the fence. Then a burst of activity! Great! Even better, I was away and missed the hard work. How nice to come home and find it up and just needing painted. My brother had given us a very good American book called Living With Chickens, over there they all seem to use sheds to house even a few chickens, which made more sense to me. They give you far more ventilation, you can stand up in it and, given the price of purpose made coops, more space for the money.
My OH lined the inside with plywood to give some insulation and make it easier to clean, then built a run around two sides of the shed.
The pop-hole at the bottom is for ducks, the inside is raised so that there is space underneath for ducks or for storing the bedding.
It did cost around us £200 for the materials but to buy something this size would be at least double that. It should survive for many years as it is super duper solid! I think he builds with nuclear war in mind.
The nesting box got moved about, he put them far too high up so they got put attached to the outside instead which has been fine, everything else has been working well. The window props open for ventilation and I clean the poops every day, it only takes a minute and it keeps the coop always smelling fresh.
Now normally I would jump for joy and say "yeah, more animals!" but I don't very often eat eggs and I knew it would be me left cleaning them out etc. Also going away from home becomes hard when you are asking the neighbour "could you feed the cat while we are away? Great, thanks, .............oh and the rabbits, and the hens, it's really easy, no work involved, not much, no really...."
So we did say no. Then yes, then no, then yes. We got a shed for nothing off Gumtree which sat in bits for a year, propped against the fence. Then a burst of activity! Great! Even better, I was away and missed the hard work. How nice to come home and find it up and just needing painted. My brother had given us a very good American book called Living With Chickens, over there they all seem to use sheds to house even a few chickens, which made more sense to me. They give you far more ventilation, you can stand up in it and, given the price of purpose made coops, more space for the money.
My OH lined the inside with plywood to give some insulation and make it easier to clean, then built a run around two sides of the shed.
 |
| Hard at work |
 |
| The inside getting lined |
The pop-hole at the bottom is for ducks, the inside is raised so that there is space underneath for ducks or for storing the bedding.
 |
| Chook house on top and storage/duck house below |
The nesting box got moved about, he put them far too high up so they got put attached to the outside instead which has been fine, everything else has been working well. The window props open for ventilation and I clean the poops every day, it only takes a minute and it keeps the coop always smelling fresh.
Time to buy some chickens!!!!!!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.