Poultry Houses

Chicken coops and poultry houses come in many different shapes and sizes, ranging from simple, basic, functional designs all the way up to luxury hen houses. Just remember you wouldn’t live just anywhere would you? so why should it be any different for your feathered friends.

Before bringing your chicken’s home you will need to ensure you have suitable housing ready and waiting for them.

Whatever type of Poultry Housing you have in mind, there are a few key points to consider:

click here to see a Classic Hand-made Timber Poultry House

• As a rough guide, each chicken will require 3-4 square feet space inside the chicken house, and 8-10 feet of space outside the chicken house to move around.
• Make sure your coop is big enough to comfortably accommodate all your animals and allow a minimum of 1 nest box for every 3 birds.
• The chicken coop must provide protection from predators; not only from foxes trying to force the doors but also rodents trying to get in from underneath.
• Easy access to your hen house is a must, as you want to be able to gather all the free-range eggs your hens produce without awkward manoeuvres.
• Bear in mind also that the easier the hen house is to access the quicker and simpler it will be to clean.
• Talking of cleaning, an incorporated droppings board in your poultry house will speed the job along nicely.
• Chickens are prey animals, and have an innate fear of wide open spaces. Therefore ensure your poultry house is placed in a sheltered spot with some shade, and good drainage.
• Your poultry house will be outside year round, so if opting for timber make sure that it is suitably treated regularly.
• If your house has a run you are likely to want to move it round the garden periodically to give the grass time to recover, so consider how easy the coop will be to move.
• Chickens love to perch especially at night allowing approx. 20cm of space per bird should be adequate.
• There should be suitable Nest boxes within the coop for egg laying where the chickens are comfortable. Some designs slope slightly so the freshly laid eggs roll away from the chickens.

There is a vast range of chicken coops available (a simple Google search on “Chicken Coops” yields over 1.4 million results!), and it is important to keep in mind your available space, budget, and prospective number of residents. As you become adept at keeping chickens (and your friends become used to their supply of organic eggs!) you may wish to add to the numbers of your brood, and it would be a shame if the size of your chicken coop limited you.

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