The Poultry Keeper

milkmaid · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 7424 Location: isle of lewis

no still try to source my chosen breed the white dorking ,although may have to talk to hen-gen about that one Wink

,buy a slightly more expensive incubator than i had the first couple of years ,as i wasted a lot of money on eggs ,was not bad incubator just couldn't cope with the heating and conditions in our house
build more carfully on the breeds i want
unfortunately the hens have other idea go off into the undergrowth and come out with 5 to 12 chicks of good knows what as dad ,they freerange totally Wink

,and haven't realized my plans Laughing

Chris Kurzfeld · Joined: 29 Oct 2007 Posts: 1712 Location: Carmarthenshire

Definately go with the shed - we have a converted summer house which is great, but we paid loads of money for a large coop first that we then had to adapt to make it weather proof and fox/rat proof.

I would have made sure I had a few broody/sickbay coops/runs BEFORE I needed them.

Another thing I would have done differently is to weldmesh everywhere - sides of coops/coop doors/under runs/tops of runs - from the beginning.
Not been taken in by 3 so called CLB,s in a cage that gave Coccidiosis to all the other girls - luckily they all survived.

Other than that, I just wish i had got them years ago Laughing

.

privatehire · Joined: 13 May 2008 Posts: 39 Location: West Yorkshire

bigger land
more girls
less mud(only coz sick of washing my wellys)

Bradders · Joined: 13 Aug 2007 Posts: 1011 Location: Cambridgeshire

I haven't started keeping my hens but if i was already keeping hens then i would bigger land and give the hens more things to do Wink

pjred · Joined: 15 Jun 2008 Posts: 253

I would defo go with the shed, I am fed up getting on my knees to clean and collect the eggs Smile

My brother in law is going to build a shed for me in the New Year. Then come Mar/Apr get myself another 6 girls Very Happy

jaydee67 · Posted: Mon Dec 15, 2008 12:06 am Post subject:

I have the shed - so glad! If I was doing it again I wouldn't put it at the bottom of the hilly garden - mud central in the rain.

justin · Joined: 16 Dec 2008 Posts: 3 Location: Essex

I would have fitted an electric fence sooner.....

I built what seemed like a really secure pen and a hen house to house up to 6 chickens in my garden and the hens came out and ranged during the day.....

But after having them for about 10 moths, 4 ex batts that had now become both good egg layers and excellent family pets, a fox managed to chew its way through the outer pen wire, move a sliding door to the side on the hen house and kill all the chickens.

we were left with a few bits and feathers in the garden.

We now are starting to get some more together 1 cuckoo maran, 1 bluebelle and 1 black comet (we think he said but from this site looks like a copper maran could be the same thing for all I know) and are now waiting for some ex batts to come in at a place near us.

They are now protected by security lights, very strong weldmesh wire, a lock on the sliding door to the hen house and an 8000 volt electric fence that comes on at night..................It was not cheap but having learnt my lesson I think it was worth the spend.

My moral is make it secure straight away!!!!!!!!!!!

Newboy · Joined: 12 Jun 2008 Posts: 68 Location: Cork

I'm with you guys on the shed, i bought a Eglu with is great(but expensive) and looks very cool but to be honest you just can't keep enough girls in it!

I'm going to buy a decent size shed after Xmas and then build a six foot high fence around a good portion of a field i have. Then I'm going to try and hatch another 6-10 birds next March. If i can make myself do it I'll keep the girls and eat the boys.

I'll keep the Eglu for the broody or a couple of bantams which will be pets for my boys.

patch · Joined: 27 Oct 2008 Posts: 22 Location: south west

I've only been keeping hens for nearly 2 years but it's been a dream all my life.
I'd have started by fencing off a larger area with quality proper stuff rather than letting them roam and trying to plug up holes and gaps in fences and hedges with chicken wire and gawd knows what.
I'd have the run on a more sheltered corner so that when the wind changes it doesnt whistle through the run!.

We're looking for a new house and chicken space is important. I'd like a shed instead of a house too, it's bad for the back being slightly bent!!!

As for breeds - i like the lucky dip approach! Every chickin has a diff temperament even within breeds.

dont you love em!

mojo · Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2008 6:11 pm Post subject:

i would never ever never ever started with chickens..............................i would have had emus and paid someone else to look after them...............seriously ....more land .had pens built professionally and paid to import decent stock ....oh yes and not told mrs mojo of the cost

Woodburner · Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2008 1:31 pm Post subject:

Well I'm the odd one out on the shed thing: I would not prefer a shed to my coop, but that's because I designed and made it to my own standard, after a lot of reading.
It has a bunch of features that make it ideal for my purposes, but most people seem to be 'anti-coop' because of problems with cleaning out. My coop has the floor 3 foot off the ground, with a removable panel at the back so no bending or crouching to clean it out. Smile

If I'd had more money, I'd have bought more stock, but that's still true, if I had more money I would be buying more instead of trying to breed up from just a few birds. Very Happy

jaydee67 · Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2008 3:35 pm Post subject:

The problem I find here with a coop - and we have one for growers - is the inclement weather that always comes on at cleaning out time. In the shed I can be inside out of it!

Dusty · Joined: 07 Jan 2008 Posts: 1042 Location: St. Asaph

I did a lot of research before I got chooks and converted a 5'3' tool shed raising it off the ground with the double doors at the back to open up for cleaning and it's been ideal................but it's almost outgrown because the planned number of chooks has been exceeded and it would be nice for the girls to have somewhere of their own to be in if the weather is bad (plus I could get my polytunnel back!!!!!!) Rolling Eyes

But.......... I saw a 7' x 5' T & G shed on offer in B & Q for £120 and OH didn't mind me getting it so come the spring............... Laughing

I am also planning to take Mojo's advice and use gravel in the run which gets mucky even though they free range Evil or Very Mad

Bhindi · Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2008 10:00 pm Post subject:

I would definately not brought an ark... forsham or any kind.

Big D · Joined: 06 Sep 2008 Posts: 361 Location: Cumbria

Careful with BnQ sheds Dusty.
We got that one for the allotment a couple of years ago. It has now shrunk and warped so badly I can get my hand through some of the gaps!(and we had painted it as well)

You have done exactly what I did Woodburner.
However I will be going down the shed route in the future as the flock size increases as I don't think there is a cost effective alternative.