# Chicken housing.



## ameliajane (Mar 26, 2011)

I'm planning on getting 4 chickens in the near future and am just looking for suitable housing.

Does this look like a reasonably good quality chicken house for 4 (probably ex-battery) chickens? CH103 Chicken Coop with optional Hen and Chicken Run I was thinking of the larger size house.

I will be building my own run as all the runs i've seen are really small.

Any comments about this house?


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## AnnC (Apr 18, 2009)

Nice looking house, generally looks well made. Its not one of these cheap Chinese fall to pieces in first puff of wind things. It seems a good price too. 

Only thing I'd say is that firstly Tongue & Groove will encourage the scourge of every poultry keeper, red mite. If you don't know about RM, do your research. To know your enemy in advance is better than finding out the hard way. 

On the subject of RM, I'd request the manufacturers to finish in in traditional creosote before delivery and once you've done your research into your enemy you'll understand why I've suggested this. :yikes:


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## ameliajane (Mar 26, 2011)

OH MY..! I've just done some more reading..! 

I was aware of red mites and the problem with felt roofs but didn't realise Tongue & Groove was such a problem. I've just read of quite a few cases of people ending up burning down their T&G chicken houses to get rid of the mites 

Thanks for the advice and i think i'll keep looking...


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## AnnC (Apr 18, 2009)

T & G is a very common way of building poultry huts. If you have the ability to make a run do you have the ability [or ask a local joiner] to make a hut for you in exterior ply wood. I have all my huts made out of this, being smooth there fewer nooks & crannies. I still treat the interiors with traditional creosote as its the most effective means of dealing with RM.

Professional wood workers usually can get it, it is illegal for the general public to use it due to the substances in it. There are many good products out there to deal with them, including Ficam W and Lime wash the interior.

RM don't take any more kindly to lime than they do creosote and it doesn't make the interior dark, cost as much or smell as strong and is more easily available.

If you apply the deterrent before you get poultry that will put a sign up to the RM no welcome here, but still be vigilant.
Whatever material your hut is made of, the RM will still come in on the poultry.

So just make sure you treat before the birds go in and then check regularly, armed with white kitchen paper torch for any dark recesses is the best way of detecting them.

RM always stay near their host ready for the night feast.

I know of a few people who swear by the recycled rubber huts, such as green frog http://www.greenfrogdesigns.co.uk/
as the whole thing can be dismantled and cleaned. But even that said RM can still take up residence as they come in on the poultry and it can only take a few days in the right conditions to have an infestation due to the breeding cycle of the RM. If you would like to be put in touch with someone who has used one of these type huts for several years send me a message and I'll direct you to them.


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## ameliajane (Mar 26, 2011)

Thanks - I really appreciate your advice 

I can't find _any_ chicken houses for sale that are made from plywood - they are all T&G and I'm not sure my DIY skills are up to building my own (suspect the chickens would not thank me) but it would be possible to have one made locally.

However, I'm leaning more and more towards the plastic ones - the only issue is the cost - they are all very expensive (was hoping to keep house cost to £200 maximum) but it might be worth the extra money in the long term to have a house that is easy to clean and (relatively) free from mites, especially given that the chickens will be kept adjacent to a line of conifers that are very popular with nesting birds - I assume this might add to the Red Mite problem.

Will need to price up approximate cost of having plywood house made and compare.


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## AnnC (Apr 18, 2009)

I'd suggest then you stick to your original idea but ask for it to be untreated on the interior and then either lime wash it yourself, treat with woodworm treatment several times to ensure it soaks into the wood or apply Ficam W [very effective].

T&G will be fine provided you put the deterrent in before the birds and the huts are well soaked in what ever you use as a preventative. You then just need like everybody else [even with recycled plastic coops]to keep a regular eye out and renew yearly.

Bog standard ant powder is very effective against RM under the ends of perches and is a good general treatment against fleas, you can sprinkle it over your poultry at night and into the shavings. 
This might sound horrific but its only got the same active ingredients as flea powder. 
The Poultry Keeper Forums • View topic - red mite dilemma !
The Poultry Keeper Forums • View topic - Green Frog Designs Chicken Coops
http://tinyfarmblog.com/liming-the-chickenhouse/
ficam W | eBay

Red Mite need two ingredients 
1 chickens
2. dark crevices.
They don't care if you keep your poultry in a converted orange crate which cost 50p or a luxury des res complete with chandelier which cost millions and come to that neither will your birds.


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## AlexArt (Apr 25, 2010)

I had a smaller version of one of these and it lasted a year before it rotted, the metal tray rusted to bits as the water could blow in underneath, there was also nothing to stop the tray sliding backwards so a fox with little effort could have got in. The perches I found were way to close together to actually fit a bird on and so they prefered to roost on the edges of the nest boxes and in them as they are the same height as the perches so I was forever cleaning out the nest boxes which they then didn't want to lay in as they were roosting in them! 
I also found the little roof of the nest boxes rotted very fast with the run off from the larger roof and all the lamination of the wood underneath the roof came away within months leaving a gap for more water to get into the nest boxes. All in all I thought they were a useless design and poorly made, luckily mine was just a temporary breeding box for 4 bantams but it was supposed to fit 6 large hens - there is no way they would have fit in!!! I got mine from P&T Poultry so wasn't that cheap either and I did review the house on their site and needless to say it was removed!!!

So I wound splash out on a longer lasting hen hose as it will save money and time in the long run, search your local adds and see if you can find someone who converts garden sheds - it means the perches can be higher than the boxes, you can easily stand in it to clean and de-bug it, there's space for your birds to sit and pootle about on a rainy day!! I bought a converted garden shed 14 yrs ago it cost me £450 and fits 45 birds, you can get smaller ones, and it's still going strong, is easy to clean and lots of space to collect more birds as they are very addictive!!!


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## AnnC (Apr 18, 2009)

How about this ad? If you can get help with transport.
Preloved | 10ft x 6ft shed for sale in Wolverhampton, West Midlands


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## ameliajane (Mar 26, 2011)

OK, I can see I am going to be better off (and my chickens will be too) if i raise the budget for the house. I've been reading a lot of good stuff about the plastic houses, especially the ease with which mite infections can be controlled and the durability and lack of ongoing maintenance. People who've had them seem to swear by them and say they'd never go back to wooden houses.

I did think about a shed (thanks for the link ) as i've seen lots of people recommending this but i didn't really want anything so big. I will have to stick to about 4 chickens as when i sounded my neighbour out about the idea (i have promised him eggs) he seemed a little anxious, asking whether i would have a cockeral and repeatedly stating that three chickens is enough for a garden. I think a shed might be a bit much for just 4 chickens?

I've found these two plastic ones that are a little cheaper than the Green Frog ones. They seem to get good reviews. The blurb suggests they would be fine for 4 chickens but i know sellers often understate the amount of space needed.

Do these two seem OK size wise? The Arkus has an internal floor size of 100cm x 72cm and the Solway 98cm x 75cm. There isn't the room for the chickens to 'pootle about on a rainy day' of course, but if i built a run with the back and roof covered and just the front open would the chickens be happy to go outside in bad weather? It's now a toss-up between a small shed and a plastic house with covered run.

Arkus 6-8 Chicken House / Coop recycled Plastic | eBay
Standard Eco Hen House | Solway Products Hen House


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## Awesome (Jun 13, 2013)

We make all our chicken and duck houses out of shiplap and it's all pressure treated and tanalised to reduce any red mite infestation. Touch wood (no pun intended) we've not had any red mite in any of our houses in the 4 years we've been keeping our own flock and making our own houses. I'm not a lover of felt roofs and we tend to go for more traditional roofing methods such as blue slate, Onduline or even thatched roofs - yes, really!!! I do varnish all the floors with a diamond hard exterior varnish on both sides and all edges to seal the exterior grade marine ply that we use for the floors. We do what we can to reduce red mite, although it is down to the poultry keeper to ensure they keep the house properly clean and refresh bedding regularly, it's not all down to the manufacturer.


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## AnnC (Apr 18, 2009)

I don't like the look of the Arkus at all, I'm sorry to say. There appears very little head room, no room for the poultry to move around and no space for perches, which all poultry like. Its like a dark tunnel. Personally I think its the most unsuitable chicken house I've ever seen. Think about the hours in winter they'll spend in there locked in.

As for the other one, its hard to say as there's no photo's of the interior. 


Awesome said:


> our chicken and duck houses out of shiplap and it's all pressure treated and tanalised to reduce any red mite infestation.


That won't stop red mite, you've just been fortunate. Check your poultry at night with a torch, you'll soon find out if you've got RM or not.
A peice of white kitchen roll wiped along the underside of perches and in hard to reach recesses such as between the over lapping boards will again soon show if you are clear or not. If there's red streaks on the kitchen roll that means you've got RM and they've been feeding on your birds [RM's natural colour, without feasting on blood is grey]. It never pays to be complacent, even if you've never had an infestation before eventually you will.



Awesome said:


> it is down to the poultry keeper to ensure they keep the house properly clean and refresh bedding regularly, it's not all down to the manufacturer.


Yes whilst cleaning out is important, that won't stop red mite either.
I'll agree whole heartedly that red mite can strike in any house any where, regardless of what material its made of or by whom.

Some people claim Diamatus earth sprinkled into the shavings stops RM by cutting through their waxy coating, but personally I prefer good observation, checking around regularly in all the little areas RM are likely to gather and breed as well as treating poultry and shavings with ant powder. Any poultry that are not kept for egg laying such as cockerels or breeding stock can be treated with Ivermectin, which is a cattle pour on, so only a few drops are needed. This makes the bird poisonous to any blood sucking parasite.

There are a multitude of specialist red mite treatments which are varying in their effectiveness from totally useless to only partially effective.
It also appears to vary according to areas as well as to what will work and what won't, as well as the amount of times you've used it.

The thing with red mite is that you can check one day and be totally clear, you check again in only a day or two and you can have an infestation on your hands, they breed so quickly.

Before I creosoted the interior of our small huts we always used to get RM on the tops of the doors, just where they fit into the frame of the hut and just under the roof, even though the roofs are made of onduline.

I used to go to all the trouble of mixing ant powder with water and painting it anywhere RM where gathering, but since creosoting I'm fortunate in not having that problem, though again I check regularly just to make sure.


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## ameliajane (Mar 26, 2011)

Definately not the Arkus then. Looking at the other plastic ones none of them have room for the chickens to move about - they are all basically a box with perches and only enough room for the chickens to go in and sit on the perches. They are purely a place to go to roost and lay eggs.

This is the medium Green Frog, which seems to be the most popular of the plastic ones, Recycled Plastic Chicken House Medium and looking at the picture taken from above of the three chickens on the perch it all looks a bit cramped. and i can't see how any more chickens would fit in on the other perch. Or is this how chickens like to roost?

With all of the plastic houses it seems that in the winter, if the chickens did not want to go outside they would be forced to do so or be confined to just sitting on the perch.

Hmm, after yet another rethink, perhaps a small shed might be best and just apply good husbandry and vigilance to the Red Mite problem.

I really do greatly appreciate all the advice - I know i'm making a lot of fuss but having never kept chickens before i really want to get this right.


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## Awesome (Jun 13, 2013)

AnnC said:


> I don't like the look of the Arkus at all, I'm sorry to say. There appears very little head room, no room for the poultry to move around and no space for perches, which all poultry like. Its like a dark tunnel. Personally I think its the most unsuitable chicken house I've ever seen. Think about the hours in winter they'll spend in there locked in.
> 
> As for the other one, its hard to say as there's no photo's of the interior.
> 
> ...


I didn't say it would "stop" red mite, just reduce the possibility. Having been breeding chickens for many years, I do know what I'm looking for and, yes I have been fortunate to not get any red mite. But, I am a bit fastidious in my cleaning regimes and my birds have more room than they really need so they get plenty of space and keep cool in hot weather too, which does help.

I do agree with you, creosote is great at sealing the timber and also smells lovely too (perhaps I'm too old, I love that smell!!! ). I've not tried the ant powder + water mix, I might give that a go - thanks for that little tip. I love places like this, always great for picking up hints and tips.


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## AnnC (Apr 18, 2009)

ameliajane said:


> With all of the plastic houses it seems that in the winter, if the chickens did not want to go outside they would be forced to do so or be confined to just sitting on the perch.
> 
> Hmm, after yet another rethink, perhaps a small shed might be best and just apply good husbandry and vigilance to the Red Mite problem.
> 
> I really do greatly appreciate all the advice - I know i'm making a lot of fuss but having never kept chickens before i really want to get this right.


No you're not making a fuss, you're just trying to get things right and since you're planning on investing a lot of money into this then you're sensible to do as much research as possible before hand.

I'd strongly suggest an old garden shed. No need to go for anything hugely expensive. I used one for my poultry and the only alteration we had to do was to put in a perch. Obviously this has got to have slots made to secure it to the sides of the shed, so it does require a little DIY. Maybe if you know someone local you could bribe with the promise of fresh eggs!!! You'll need a pop hole putting in at one end as well.

You are wise to consider the idea of keeping the poultry in at times. 
Whilst the issue of the H5N1 [bird flu] virus hasn't raised its head for quite sometime, thats not to say that at sometime in the future it won't.

If it did strike in your area you would be required to keep in your birds for several weeks or have a bio-secure pen. Having kept poultry for a number of years and gone through the threat of this and read peoples posts who were living in these areas its well worth having the option there if needed.


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## SpotOn (May 7, 2013)

Has anyone had any experience with Eglus (Made by the company Omlet)?

Chicken Keeping | Shop | Omlet UK


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## ameliajane (Mar 26, 2011)

I have decided to get a small (6' x 4') shed. It will probably be a new one as i don't have the means to transport a second hand one or the skills to reassemble it! Even so, i've priced up a good quality shed including having it delivered and erected and it comes to not much more than the small plastic houses! (And considerably cheaper than the Green Frog and Eglu...)

Good point about what would happen if the chickens had to be kept in - it would be impossible with a small house with only enough room to perch. There's also the fact that in the summer the chickens will wake up earlier than me and with a shed they will at least be able to move around whilst they wait to be let out.

Just looking into how to convert sheds now 

Bit worried about the sheds roofing felt and the redmites but if it becomes a serious problem maybe i could remove the felt and fit a different type of roof??

Thanks again for all the first hand advice - it's been invaluable


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## Awesome (Jun 13, 2013)

ameliajane said:


> I have decided to get a small (6' x 4') shed. It will probably be a new one as i don't have the means to transport a second hand one or the skills to reassemble it! Even so, i've priced up a good quality shed including having it delivered and erected and it comes to not much more than the small plastic houses! (And considerably cheaper than the Green Frog and Eglu...)
> 
> Good point about what would happen if the chickens had to be kept in - it would be impossible with a small house with only enough room to perch. There's also the fact that in the summer the chickens will wake up earlier than me and with a shed they will at least be able to move around whilst they wait to be let out.
> 
> ...


That sounds like a sensible plan. If you want to remove the roof, it's easy enough to "peel" the felt off and replace it with Onduline (the bitumin corrugated sheets). I did that on our big cat house and it looked so much better too.


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## ameliajane (Mar 26, 2011)

Thanks. I've had a look at the Onduline and i'm going to try asking the shed company if they'll put this on the roof instead of the felt, or leave the roof off altogether and i'll fit the Onduline.

I'm _really_ worried about red mites getting under the felt (there are some true horror stories on the internet) and as my shed will be underneath two big trees and adjacent to a 15' hedge of conifers that are very popular with nesting birds I am expecting trouble!

Going to limewash the shed (don't think i'll be able to get hold of creasote) clean weekly with poultry shield, put down ant or mite powder, vasaline the ends of perches and keep my fingers and toes crossed


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## AnnC (Apr 18, 2009)

Here's a recipe for Lime Wash 
Fias Co Farm/Recipes- whitewash
You'll get Lime from builders merchants. 
As for perches, nothing fancy needed, just a length of timber and making some perch rests. Its particularly under perch rests that you'll need your lime wash. RM will always gather in dark crevices close to where the poultry roost [ready meal, no need to travel].


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## mudassar1 (Jan 10, 2014)

It is so cold today in New York so it must be even colder up by you!! These images made me feel super warm! I need to get a coffee cozy too!

I have a friend with Chickens by me and she insulated her coop too! They are soo cute!!! =)


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## Rachel103 (Aug 7, 2014)

Don't know if this thread is still live but oh well it might come in use to somebody! I have just got rid of RM, i have a large fenced off area with a homemade coop, i tried to use as little wood as i could to avoid RM but ended up getting it anyway  it's an A frame style with 3 metal sides (back and sides) with a ply floor and door. I thought i'd be safe from RM but obviously not when i brought home a new chook who was infested and i was silly enough not to check :mad2: i usually dust all my new birds and quarantine them but can't figure out why i didn't with her? Anyhoo, i ended up having to treat all my birds daily with Diatom earth (worked wonders!) and power washed and disinfected the coop with a strong disinfectant and once dry using a might killing poultry disinfectant and covering with diatom earth, all my feeders etc were also disinfected. Massive pain but got rid of the pesky RM!


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