Locking Bar Eglu Classic

[Mushroom]

I'm currently considering ways to convert my old wooden wendy house into a chicken coop (its just sitting at the bottom of the garden doing nothing at the moment), as mum has finally decided, after a lot of begging and doing alot of house work for her, that, providing I get this job on Wednesday, I can adopt some Ex-Battery hens

 

I generally know how im going to do it, add some nest boxes on the side wall, and perches in the corners, but after reading something online about animals being able to bite through some wood, I'm now worried that the playhouse won't be predator-proof?

My main problem would be Fox's, althought we don't really see them in the garden any more since next-door got their dog (a terrier, he's lovely, but incredibly hyper), they are still around and also the odd cat, although our cat tends to shoo them off pretty quickly.

 

Should I line the inside walls of the playhouse with mesh of some-sort? or would that cause other problems?

I'll also be making a WIR to attatch to the house.. with the help of ym dad hopefully.

 

Thanks x

[Redwing]

I'd maybe use a staple gun to attach some wire to the lower parts of the walls outside and bend it round in an L to create a skirt (like the Eglu run) on the ground which you can peg down

 

dont wire inside as it will make it harder to clean

 

low plastic mushroom trays, storage boxes, cardboard boxes, cat litter trays etc.. make good nestboxes which can be cleaned or replaced easily, dont compromise the structure of the house to accomodate them if you can avoid it, not only do you increase the places red mite can hide you increase the chances of leaks too. if you need to access the house from outside the run then make a door or access hatch and secure it properly

 

Plastic standalone nestboxes can also be purchased

 

Add a perch that is higher than the nestboxes and not directly above them

[Mushroom]

I may look into the plastic standalone Nest-box's, would certainly make an easier alternative!

 

Do the nestbox's have to be off the ground?

 

And I'd be able to do the wire thing on both of the side walls, but the back of the playhouse actually backs onto a fence, leaving a little bit of space (big enough for a skinny cat to squeeze through at the bottom) so I'd struggle to create the skirt on that wall, would it be Ok to staple the wire mesh on, and then lay lots of heavy rocks on the ground to prevent him from digging under?

 

Also, would they need a chicken-door (have no idea how I'd do that), or would they suffice with the normal big door?

 

Sorry, lots of questions. Just worried about getting something wrong

 

Thanks for the quick reply.

[Redwing]

the plan for the back of the playhouse sounds ok

 

The nestboxes can be on the flooe, I have a coop where the nestboxes are simply wooden frames that sit on the floor - the more removeable the better for cleaning!

 

They should be ok with the big door openduring the day and closed at night, if you feel the run is fox proofed enough then the door can be left open all the time if the coop is quite sheltered but they'd benefit from having it shut on windy nights, they can stand cold very well but dont like drafts!

[Mushroom]

Aah thankyou, I'll go for the plastic nest boxes then

 

I don't think i'd dare leave the door open at night, even if im certain the run is fox proof (hopefully their'll be wire on the ground of it, with concrete slabs over them, so nothing can definitely not dig under).

 

Now off to buy me a chicken book,

 

Thanks x

[Guest]

Hi my current coop is a wooden Wendy house, someone made a pophole in the side for me (which opens into the run) and I use the stable door for access for cleaning and egg removal. I use old bakers delivery trays as nest boxes.

 

The house stands on bricks (I would say a standing up breeze block height).

 

To try to make it clearer we have sited the house sideways on so the original front door is at the side and the pophole is at the front in the run. There are some pictures on my facebook page somewhere but no pics of the inside. I painted the inside with some leftover magnolia just to make it look less like a shed

 

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000122919640