Patridge bantam chicken poorly foot?

[bluekarin]

Hi all,

I am new to all this chicken keeping lark and was wondering if anyone can help. I have just had my wooden chicken house delivered

 

http://www.elbecgardenbuildings.co.uk/index.aspx?section=product&deptid=355&productid=1788

 

and was wondering if it would be okay to paint inside the sleeping area with an exterior paint, probably in white, the help spot the red mites easier. If thats okay, is an exterior paint okay? I would also like to varnish the exterior to weatherproof it more. Again, any exterior varnish okay?

 

Also, I am a bit worried about them being attacked from underneath their house as I have been reading about 'things' attacking them this way. I was thinking of adding some chicken wire as a floor to the house but the problem I can see with this is it would trap any flooring (like Hemcore) and make cleaning problematic.

 

Look forward to sharing my chicken highs and woes with you all!

Karin.

[Egluntyne]

Welcome to the forum bluekarin.

 

I believe gloss paint can be used for the purpose you describe. I imagine you would have to leave ita while for the fumes to disappear before putting hens in it though.

 

Chicken wire tends not to be predator proof. Why not get some weldmesh, and put it underneath the coop?

[bluekarin]

Thank you Egluntine! Love the names of your chickens.

 

We won't be getting the chooks until Saturday at the earliest. I am hoping this awful weather will have cleared up as predicted from tomorrow, and I shall be erecting the house and doing the painting this week so I think it will be fumed out okay by then. On some other sites I looked at I couldn't believe they were suggesting using creosote!

 

I have thought about the weldmesh, but I would still have the same problem with it retaining a certain amount bedding etc. Does the 'skirt' on eglus runs actually work, as they are open bottomed.

 

Karin.

[Egluntyne]

Seems to.

[tiggerlady]

Hello there and welcome to the wonderful world of chickens! We have one of those houses and I wished I had painted it before the chooks came..might do it on a good day next summer..if we get one that is We have it on slabs which makes cleaning much easier and also keeps the girls as safe as they can be from diggin' critturs! One thing I would say is that pleeeeeese dont be led by how many chooks 'they'say you can have in the house..we have only 2 and its only just big enough really..they free range every afternoon which compensates a bit,but we will probs put another run bit on it next year(or get a cube ) Good luck!

[tiggerlady]

Sorry forgot to say that I think the chicks in the publicity photos are either bantams or young girls,so dont forget when you see them at the breeeders that they will grow!!!

[BarbaraJ]

My next door neighbour bought one of these from another supplier. She also fell for the 'how many chooks it would hold' and bought 4 hens. way too small as she would have to leave them in there week days so day after she bought the hens she extended it herself to double the length. 2 hens at a push i would say but only if freeranging too!

[The Dogmother]

A friend of mine sells wooden coops (would much rather sell eglus though) and she always recommends varnishing them inside and working it well intot he corners. It is important as Egluntine has said thouigh to make sure that it is well aired and free of fumes before you put any chooks in it.

 

Looking forward to seeing pix of your new girls.

[chickenanne]

Exterior gloss paint for the inside is a great idea.

Externally, I use wood preservative, like you'd use on garden furniture or fences, etc, although you might be better waiting until spring/summer once the wood has had time to "settle"/

[bluekarin]

Hi all,

 

I have been painting today. A bit fumed out, but luckily the rain has stopped and it is sunny so I can have the back door open. We've gone for a cream gloss inside. I think white would have been just a bit too stark. We have also got some wood varnish which will apparently last longer than yacht varnish - we shall see. And we bought a really bright torch today as we have no outside light so we can see either where the little darlings are hiding, or whats spooking them.

 

I wasn't planning to put more than three (famous last words, I am sure!) in the house as it does look too small to me for 6. We have decided the best thing for us to do regarding the base. We are going to make a frame the same size as the house base, put wire on one side which will face the grass. Put Hemcore or similar on top and then bolt the house on top of that. When we want to clean we can take the house off, clear out the muck, and pop the house back on. It sounds like it will work in theory, but we shall see. . . .

 

And last night I had my first chicken related dream! The chooks weren't in it, as we haven't got them yet (hopefully Monday now - the kids social calendar is getting v.v busy!). I think my dream was about trying to clean the cage.

 

I too look forward to putting my pics up on here.

 

Karin