4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[Vanessa]

I am sitting here looking at all the different hen houses and I am very confused. Soon we are suppossed to be getting a walk in run and so I need to buy a need hen house. As Hubby does not want to cube I had thought about a raised wooden one. I would like to include an orpington one day to my stock but it seems everywhere I look/read don't get an raised one as orpingtons don't like to climb ladders. So my lovely omletters tell me about your experience about ladders and orpingtons. I have seen a few of you have orpingtons with the cube.

[bigmommasally]

Hi Vanessa

 

I have an Orpington in a cube and she is fine. Are you really sure you don't want a cube, I love mine it is so easy to clean, my hens have been lovely and snug inside in the cold weather and the risk of red mite is minimal.

 

[Gamebird]

It depends what you mean by 'raised'.

 

I have a Forsham Ark which means that the chickens have to go up a ladder to bed. The ladder itself would not be a problem for an Orpington but the sleeping area would not be large enough for large fowl (lack of head room because of the inverted V shape of the design).

 

My ark looks like this

 

Is this what you mean by 'raised'?

[Vanessa]

I mean like the coop is raised of the ground plus ladder. I just read they don't like climbing ladders.

[Janty]

I have cochins and brahmas (LF that are the same size as Orpingtons). They have no problem with the ladder and they have plenty of room inside the cube at night even though my brahmas are really tall now.

 

I would talk to hubby again regarding the cube.

[BeckyBoo]

I have cochins and brahmas (LF that are the same size as Orpingtons). They have no problem with the ladder and they have plenty of room inside the cube at night even though my brahmas are really tall now.

 

Interested to see your Brahmas go into the cube Janty, my 30 week old boy won't go in the cube, but then all my boys seem to want to roost outside - I just assumed he was too tall for the cube?

Anyway, just to confirm what others have said, I've got a Buff Orpington and she manages the ladder just fine, takes up a fair bit of space but goes in no problem at all

 

Get a cube, go on, you know you want to!!

 

BeckyBoo

[Vanessa]

Well hubby is thinking about something like this

 

http://www.henhouses.co.uk/argyll.html

[chelsea]

my cochins are huge (similar size to the orpington) and they go in the cube fine, they climb ladders that we have made ourselves fine too.

 

The big breeds (orps, cochins, brahmas) need a lot of head height.

[ted]

Dont know if this helps as ours are all bantams but we have a cube and although they all struggled a little with the ladder at first, they all pop in and out quite easily now. (george and Billy, the wyandottes were last to master!)

 

I was looking at wood as my cube is on loan at the moment but the ease of cleaning both regularly and a deep clean are far superior to any wood house that I have so far seen...

[ruth1]

My Orp has no problems with the cube ladder at all, none of my big girls do.

 

when I got her she was 9 weeks and fairly wee so I lifted her up and down for a few weeks but once she was a few weeks bigger she had no problems and the cube gives them lots of room inside.

 

You can always fill in the ladder with wood to make a solid type ramp like some others have done if your worried.

 

Good luck with whatever you choose

[katieandnick]

Our three new Orpy girls climb the cube ladder with no problems at all. In fact they also love using the perches in our walk-in run, so no worries with them climbing.

[Tulip]

Our orp is a clumsy oaf, but didn't struggle with the ladder after the first night. In fact, she's usually first to bed.