What makes a chicken coop easy to live with?

[sallyj]

I have had my 4 girls for 2 weeks now and love having them My OH and I have decided to have a WIR which he is going to build in the next couple of months. I know alot of you are very experienced and I wondered if there was one thing that you would suggest as an absolute must have? I have already decided to have my cube outside the run for easy cleaning, have a roof, put the run frame on top of a solid base but leave the run floor as soil covered in Hemcore. Any suggestions welcome? Isn't this site addictive!!

[Redwing]

A roof is my must have followed by perches

 

A door that can be shut and locked smoothly is another, nothing worse than fiddling with catches when its cold and/or raining

[Olly]

I've been rereading the 97-page sticky 'We're all planning WIR's thread (I haven't had time to get through more than 17 pages, and that's just Part I! ).

 

I have been thinking about a WIR since February, so I'm very interested in the replies on this thread; mine got put back because I wanted to get bees.

 

The points I'm thinking of in relation to mine are:

- how many hens do you want to have altogether? You could just build to the maximum size available, depending on your garden, but it would be a shame to build a run for your current hens and then get the bug and decide you want to add another six and not have room ...

 

- what are you going to base it on - slabs, a concrete base, slabs under the perimeter with earth in the middle?

 

- do you want access to the poo trays/eggport from outside the run, or are you prepared to walk into it every day to collect eggs (I see you've already decided, like me, to put the Cube outside the run which avoids this)

 

- solid roof or mesh roof; Omlet shades or other shades; how will you shelter the sides from the rain, if it's in an exposed place?

 

- guttering and a water-butt; what will you hang the Grubs and Glugs on, do you want to put perches in to vary the level; there are sooo many options

 

I know that for everyone who swears that slabbing it over totally is the answer, there's someone else who says leaving earth in the middle is best - a lot depends on how you keep your hens in the Eglu or Cube, and what you prefer.

 

ANH is the expert on planning WIRs, she'll have some suggestions I'm sure! I think she has a stable-type door on hers, which is something I fancy.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

 

I'm certainly not the only one though . There are far fancier runs than mine out there .

 

I was restrained by space so made 2 levels to make the most of the available space. The garden bench is great - they can scratch about underneath it and perch on it. You can also attach things like branches, ladders etc to it.

 

The stable door is fab . Not having to worry about escaping chickens when you're needing access to the eglu is great (not an issue if it's outside the run, of course!)

 

The guttering is essential - even over the summer months my waterbutt has been full a few times (and I've had to invent an overflow ).

 

Having soil in the middle works for me - it stays nice and dry and they obviously enjoy scratching about in it. The path round the outside is also a big success - the chickens don't have access to it so it stays clean and I can collect eggs/put feeders out in my slippers!

 

I've put a couple of large slabs just inside the main door with a broom permanently inside the run. Each evening when I bring the feeders in I give it a quick brush so we don't get poo on our shoes.

 

I've discovered that planks of laminate flooring are perfect for holding the feeders - the groove is just right for the hooks to hang on . You have to fix it to the run somehow though. (Mine sits behind the table legs which hold it in place perfectly.)

 

I still love talking about WIRs - how sad am I .

[Olly]

Ah - slabs INSIDE the door, that's a smart idea. I keep buying slabs, and still don't have enough! I'm wondering about a little port so I can reach in for the Glug and Grub without having to go right into the run.

 

I love the idea of a stable door, especially as you could open it and lob in treats without going right inside.

[sallyj]

Thanks for all your suggestions everybody . I've just found the slideshow of ANH's WIR. It looks great and I can see lots of detail very clearly How do your roller blinds blinds work and do you use them alot?

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Yes, I use the blinds loads - it seems to be always windy or rainy here at the moment .

 

I leave them in place permanently but roll them up when the weather's good. They get very dusty and grubby but they would be easy to wash down occasionally.

 

They do work really well but I'm discovering that the tarp tape I used doesn't actually last that long. It's peeling off despite them proclaiming its weatherproof properties . I've now decided that putting eyelets in each corner and using small bungees to fix them works better. I still use the hooks screwed into the wood to loop the bungees round.

 

Here is Milly modeling the indoor step

 

and the laminate flooring grub/glug holder

[sallyj]

Thanks ANH for your great ideas

[Space Chick]

My inner double doors have proved invaluable, particularly as I am on my second set of introductions. When they are fully integrated they can be left open, but for times like now, I can effectively split my run into 2 with no hassle. (a large run, and a smaller intro run)

 

I also use old pasting tables inside as mezzanine levels

[Cooks]

concrete base, cube on outside of run for ease of cleaning/access, roof with guttering, strong enough weldmesh for the girls to be safe from mr fox, bespoke metal holders for my glugs/grubs made by my hubby for me as they are so cool and work great

[sallyj]

A mezzanine level ! Very cool . I like the sound of separating the run into 2 for introductions but I don't think I'll have enough room. We'll see

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I don't have a lovely big run like Space Chick ( ) so I've done a temporary separation which is working well in a small space. I've used the old Omlet run but you could rig up something cheaply, I'm sure .

 

[sallyj]

I like your idea of using the omlet run for separations ANH, I think that's what I shall try and do at some point. Thanks for your photo. I can see exactly what you've done which really helps

[xScrunchee]

I'm using the Omlet run for intro's too. Well half of it anyway

 

I am using the half with the door in it. I have butted the open end against the wire of my WIR and I am using the Eglu run door to let them in and out, food, water etc.

Works a treat but I find that the skirt on it is sort of annoying and the shape seems to take up a lot of room with not much height-plus I'm back to the pre WIR days of having to crawl in poo .

 

I'm saving to get an introduction pen from Tony that fits inside the WIR but folds up when not in use

[katieD]

 

I'm saving to get an introduction pen from Tony that fits inside the WIR but folds up when not in use

 

 

they sound good- how much are they?

[xScrunchee]

Think he said it's £89.00 plus £30 delivery.

At least I would know that it would be of outstanding quality and stand the test of time

[Janty]

Tony will also make the introduction pens whatever size you want. I ordered a larger one than he advertises to house the quail in. He was very accomodating and even agreed to a pick up when he was working in our area so that I didn't have to pay postage.