Our Weekend Project – Chicken Coop Building

Over the past few weekends, my husband has been putting together our chicken coop and making a run for my dad’s three hens. As you may have read, I lost my dad 3 months ago and he had a small holding. All of my dad’s life he kept animals. The cattle went at the start of last week and now the last animals to go were the chickens that my mum asked me to have.

I used to keep my own chickens as a child so she knew I would be very touched to have dads hens. Keeping hens in the garden is pretty easy. I’d rather have them than a cat or dog. They make excellent pets plus give you fresh eggs everyday. Since Sunday when I picked them up we have had two eggs each day.

We have the perfect spot for the coop in the corner of our garden, it gets some sun in the morning and shade in the afternoon.

I’m a believer in fate and the day after my mum asked me if I wanted the chickens Gardensite got in contact asking if I wanted to review an item for them and on the list was a chicken coop. I chose the Rowlinson large chicken coop for the three lovely hens I was getting.

Features of the chicken coop

• Attractive Country Design
• Comfortably Houses up to Six Chickens
• Integrated Internal Perches
• Three Internal Nest Boxes with Removable Lid
• Slide Opening Door with Hook Support
• Includes Entry Ramp
• Pressure Treated Against Rot
• Natural Timber Finish
• Can be Painted or Stained at Home

The house was fairly easy to build, says my husband Mr B. I would have built it myself if I wasn’t having to breastfeed baby dottie every hour! Mr B doesn’t do a huge amount of DIY so for him to build it from scratch shows it isn’t the hardest to put together. With it being so hot and dry there were a few gaps in the finished house. But when the rain comes and the wood swells these will close. In fact having a small amount of ventilation is good for the hens.

I love the side nest box. The little roof lifts off for you to collect the eggs, my hens so far all use the left hand side nest box! The removable floor seems a handy feature for cleaning out. I have yet to try this.

We got some reasonably priced small fence panels from eBay to make the frame of the chicken run. Then got chicken wire netting to cover the top.

Cornwall is known for being wet most of the year, so we decided to felt the roof of the chicken coop to keep it water tight and warm for the hens in Winter.

Here are the three lovely ladies. One Maran cross and two Welsummers. They are beautiful quiet hens and very docile. It has taken them a few days to get used to their new home. But then they have come from a quiet farm into our garden. Which can be noisy during the day while the workmen are still on site building and doing the road. In the early evenings they love being out pecking around plus it’s cooler then also.

Baby girl is fascinated with them and them with her! She talks to them encouraging them to come out when they are in the coop. When she is playing at her water table they watch her chattering away.

The hens are a wonderful addition to our family. My dad would have loved to see them happy clucking away in the garden. I believe I will now be overrun with eggs, so I will be on the lookout for some new egg related recipes to try.

Thanks to Gardensite for the chicken coop.

 

I hope you have enjoyed this post today and thank you for stopping by.