Would You Live in Your Hen House?

This question is asked as you may have already guessed, to set you thinking. Does your hen house provide the factors of environment which you want in your home? If it does not then it is also unlikely to be a suitable place in which to keep your hens. 

Ask yourself these questions :

Is your poultry house well ventilated?
Does it provide an abundance of sunlight?

Is there shade available for very hot days?
Can you keep the floor dry in winter?
Are the birds protected against severe weather conditions?
Is it sanitary?

Hens, like humans, should be kept happy and healthy if you are going to expect real work out of them. There is probably no such thing as one best house for all conditions or all locations but it does make sense that a flock crowded into dark, damp, filthy quarters are much more likely to have worse health and happiness than a flock living in airy sunny clean quarters.

Tips To Keep Your Chickens Cool

Some Ways To Keep Your Chickens Cool

• Shaded areas
• Electrolytes in their water (if they are panting / drinking a lot) will help replace the electrolytes they are losing.
• Fresh water throughout the day (water left out in the sun will soon be warmed, so it is nice to replace it with new cool water every now and then if you can). A few ice cubes in the water can help keep it cooler for longer. They will probably be drinking more than normal so it should be checked on to ensure that it does not run out.

Cool fruits such as water melon, can help cool and
refresh your chickens on a hot summers day.

• Ventilation in the coop
• Frozen ice packs - freeze 2 litre plastic bottles of water (or similar) as something cool that can be hung or laid on the floor of the coop or in a shaded area of the run for them to sit by or perch on if they want to (if you can place the bottles in something like a zip-lock bag then they should be kept clean so that they can go back into the freezer ready for another hot day).
• Cool fruits such as watermelon (straight from the fridge for extra coolness!) will help cool and hydrate your chickens.
• A fan in the coop. A well ventilated coop may not need a fan, but in very hot weather if there is no air circulation the heat they expel from their own bodies can increase the temperature even further.
  

Chicken Ark and Run

Thanks to Amy Wardwell for sending in photos of her completed chicken coop. The coop and run itself have been made from the chicken coop plans from our website, but Amy has also added several of her own homely touches - including a hanging basket! :-)

The pansy beds lasted about a week before the chickens ate them. :-}

The Chicken Ark Plans used to build this coop.

More photos of this poultry ark can be seen here

Playhouse Coop

Thanks to Cheryl Kubista for sending in photos of her recently completed coop - the new home to 3 barred, 3 golden comets, and 6 rhode island reds.

The coop has been adapted from an old playhouse that a friend had donated for the cause. A 16’ run has been added so that they would be protected from any hawks or eagles that are around the area.

More photos of this coop can be found here :
Playhouse chicken coop photos

Chicken Ark and Run

Thanks to Barry Woodruff for sending in photos of his completed coop built from the plans available on this site. He has used the basic dimensions of the plans but generally beefed it up a little (most 1x became 2x etc.)

It has been built completely from "recycled" (scrap) lumber and leftover wire (there is still some leftover Elk Prestige roofing which is also going to be put on). The only purchases were long deck screws which were used in place of any nails.

More photos of this coop can be found here :
http://www.self-sufficient-life.com/u.php?16

Chicken Coop - split level design

This coop was built entirely out of scrap lumber by Jennifer Grunklee whose previous building experience was a simple household shelf!

A poultry ark with a few surprises :

"Both roof-sides come off for easy cleaning, and both roof ends open; we used 4x4's to help reduce intruders through the bottom of the coop; we also used a cable that comes through a hole in the top so we can pull the ramp up at night for their security."

Chicken Coop Photos

Here is a photo of the newly finished coop belonging to Cara and Jason Spath
- designed and built by Jason himself.

The chickens love their new home.

Click to view more photos of this coop.

Chicken House and Run 'Chalet de Poulet'

These chicken coop photos have been
sent in by Bret Edwards.

He has used the traditional chicken house and run plans but has added a couple of dormers and hidden lift hatches over nesting boxes. Very ingenious!

Here are the new chicks settling in to their new home (view is from the keeper door). A mixture of Black Australorps, Silver Laced Wyandottes, Buff Orpingtons, New Hampshire reds and Dominiques.

Click here to view more photos of Bret's 'Chalet de Poulet'