3.6m Omlet Chicken Run for sale, Brand New in Boxes, Milton Keynes (MK19)

[midori]

We have very recently got two hens and three pullets and originally wanted some Orpingtons although struggled to find a breeder and decided to go with breeders the 'chicken house man' had reccomended as we knew we could trust them. However, now we have found an Orpington breeder and are thinking about adding a couple. Our main concern is room/space.

 

Our house was described as suitable for six with plenty of room by the builder, but one of the breeders we saw said it was suitable for more birds than that, about ten. I don't personally feel it is big enough for ten birds, but wondered if we'd fit in another two? All five chooks were roosting on one perch last night. We have a smallish run (3ft x 6ft ish), but as I am in during the day the chooks free range our garden from about 10am until 9pm most days. I am also thinking about getting some chicken fencing that can be electrified if we need to so they will have more room when they aren't free ranging. Will this be fairly fox proof? (haven't seen any foxes about during the day, but they must be there, we are rural ish)

 

A friend has offerred temporary housing for a 'quarantine' period, I am assuming we should still quarantine although our hens are all new additions? Also, what happens abour free ranging during quarantine? Do we have ot confine the newbies to a run, or can they free range the same ground, albeit at different times?

 

I really want the Orps, but also want what is best for the chooks. I have lots of pets/animals and their welfare means a lot to me, so feel free to be very honest. This is our house with our current chooks in:

 

 

Thankyou!

[chicken bark]

Just something to throw into the mix...

I think as Orpingtons are large birds they prefer to sleep on the floor not on a perch. So you may have enough room in your coop.

 

I believe electric fencing to be excellent at keeping the foxes at bay. I wouldn't be as bold as to suggest it is 100% safe but it is about as good as you can get if you don't have a WIR.

 

Not sure about free ranging during the quarantine period - but this would only be for a week so maybe best if they are confined to a run for that time (not that I quite managed that but I did get mine all from the same breeder albeit and different times).

 

Good luck.

[meezers]

My Orp, when I had her, never perched.(she would sleep under the perches and get pooed on ) At the moment I have 7 chooks in a 5ft by 2ft house, plenty of room, before that they were in a 4x2 ft house, again, room to spare. I think your main concern will be the size of your run, which is really suitable for 2-3 smallish chooks. If you can guarantee that the chooks will be able to free range every day without fail- what about when you are on holiday ? , then you should be fine. But 7 birds shut in a run that size for more than a few mins could be stressful.

 

Just to add, the chooks should be kept in their run for a week or so after you get them , just so they know where' home' is when you let them out to free range.

[scarlettohara]

Your chooks are lovely - I'm new too so don't have any advice about more but I lost 2 chickens just before dusk and as yours are out till 9 pm thought I would share. If you are supervising though it's not an issue

[Mollie333]

Will this be fairly fox proof? (haven't seen any foxes about during the day, but they must be there, we are rural ish)

Dont leave the girls home alone, even if you haven't seen foxes, there might be lurking somewhere. electric fencing can be good- but foxes can dig, so dont JUST rely on this.

 

A friend has offerred temporary housing for a 'quarantine' period, I am assuming we should still quarantine although our hens are all new additions? Also, what happens abour free ranging during quarantine? Do we have ot confine the newbies to a run, or can they free range the same ground, albeit at different times?

I would seperate them into different coops/eglus and runs, and let them free range together for a few weeks before letting them join houses.

 

I really want the Orps, but also want what is best for the chooks. I have lots of pets/animals and their welfare means a lot to me, so feel free to be very honest. This is our house with our current chooks in:

I wouldn't put them in there, theres not alot of room. Orps are massive.

But you could get another house, suitible for 2 orps! or a smaller house for your other girls, and let the orps have that one. seeing as you want orps, i dont think they will be a bulling problem, since they are bigger than the other girls.. just a few petty pecks to sort out the pecking order.

i hope i helped you, goodluck.

[Redwing]

I cant see the pics as my computer is restricted however if your coop is smaller than 4 x 4 I'd say dont do it

[midori]

Thankyou all. We had decided to get two Orpington hens, using the borrowed house/run for the time being whilst deciding whether to make adjustments to our current run or get a seperate house and run altogether for them. However, as per my other thread, that turned out rather badlty, so we are sticking to the hens we have for now.

 

I did make a huge mistake with the run really. The chap who made our house suggested one twice the size, but as we originally only intended to get 3-4 hens and I am home most of the time to let them out, plus I knew the area under the run would get wrecked, we decided to go for half the size. The run isn't big enough, and although we don't really go away or on holiday as I have lots of pets and don't really trust anyone to look after them, there are times when the hens need to be in, even if it would usually only be in an 'emergency'.

 

We are looking into making a WIR at the side of the house, where we have a gravelled/paved area next to the fence. It is quite shaded/cool there, so there's no danger of over heating in the summer and int he winter is is sheltered from our grim wet and windy Northern Irish weather. The girls willa lso be able to get straight out of the run onto the lawn. We should be able to end up with a run approx. 1m 20cm x 8m, so plenty of room, and as it will be tall we can put perches, shelves etc in to give even more space. They'll still be able to free range most of the time, but it'll give me peace of mind if we do need to go out,and as it will be as fox proof as possible, I can leave the house door open in summer so the girls can come out and go to bed when they want. I might be a bit excited...