Another step nearer

Today we laid the flooring of the permanent run and Himself manufactured a secure raised platform for the hen house. This gives the chickens a sheltered place to feed and I can hang their feeder from the rafters so the food is at beak height and is less likely to be kicked onto the floor or pooped in. First task, though, was to level and fasten down the gravel boards and bolt them to the run uprights.

While the platform was under construction I was levelling the floor of the run and covering it with landscape membrane. The logic behind this is that the gravel won't sink into the soil and disappear. The run will be covered with wood chips for scratching around purposes then the flagstones and gravel can be hosed down when the whole thing needs a good cleaning out. We brought the flags through from the front garden (delivery point) to the back using my trusty wheelbarrow, then laid them in the run. It would have been an easier task if we had made the run an even number of flags wide and deep but then we would have lost valuable run space. The extra area is made up with gravel. This means also that I can cut through the membrane here and there to knock in supports for perches and the like.

Tomorrow (or later if it's raining) I will paint the supporting structure with a weatherproof brown paint. Then we need to make a ramp (with added claw-holds) to the pop-hole, a door for the run and then to rig the run with weldmesh, sides and roof. Then it's chickens for us!

Just to set the scene I've put two of my stone chickens in to try it all for size.

Starting the chicken-run

Friday morning we undid the pack of 3 metre lengths of galvanised construction angle that will form the basic framework of the chicken run. There's some tanalised timber involved too - for the door frame and gravel-boards for the bottom of the mesh sides so that the wood chippings can be contained. Himself drew up the design - I specified what I wanted the design to include. He cut the angle-iron, I dug the holes. What a team!

By mid-afternoon we had reached this stage. The blue box is a fish box which will be partly sunk and filled with sand and compost for dust-bathing purposes. The house - moved for the duration to the fence, will go along the back wall of the run, elevated on a sort of upturned box with 3 sides. This will give the hens a sheltered feeding area. Much of the area is protected by pathways which can't be dug into, and where there is no path, there will be netting underneath.

There is also going to be a paved floor in the run so we can sluice it out from time to time. When we'd knocked off this afternoon we went to order pavers and some sand which will be delivered on Wednesday. One day next weekend (Friday if it's fine) we'll be flooring the area.

After a good soak we took ourselves off to the local pub for tea. A grand day altogether!

Run on hold

After a protracted design session a couple of days ago, Himself was awake for several hours last night re-designing from scratch.
The good news is - it will take much less time to build. It will be tall enough to walk in (and take a chair in and play with the hens and share my lunch with them - they are welcome to the lettuce from my sandwich).
The bad news is - the new design has to gestate for a few days, no materials will be bought this weekend. He won't start it till March becasue it's too wet underfoot at the moment.

D'oh!

The Hen-house is finished

We had a lot of fun yesterday afternoon putting together the new hen-house (when all else fails, read the instructions!) It seemd like a good design - it's from PandT poultry n Wales - and was easy to construct. I would prefer the roosting bars a little higher - I might adapt this as we go along - see how the hens get on with it first.

After much Umming and Ahhing I have come to the conclusion that the only way we can be sure the hens are safe from foxes is to make a permanent run for them. Having made the decision - I'd like to make it bigger than our first plans (have to convince Himself that he's making a run that goes round a corner!) I'm still working on whether to floor it initially with gravel on which I can strew a thick layer of wood chip or straw. Any ideas welcome.

I also bought a light activated automatic pop-hole opener and it seems brilliant. It closed up at 5.00 p.m. last night and was open when we looked out this morning (Saturday - a bit of a lie-in!) This is going to make life so much easier, particularly if we go away for a few days. It's one thing to ask my sister to feed the hens before work - quite another to expect her to be up at crack of sparrowfart to open the pop-hole!

Getting the gear

I had my 60th birthday yesterday and here are some of the presents (with my stuffed chicken - imaginatively called chicken) sitting at the front. The two bins are really for sorting recycling materials but I thought they were ideal for holding layers' pellets and mixed corn so that to get at the underneath one you don't have to lift and shift the one above. There are feed and drink containers, louse and red mite powder, apple cider vinegar, limestone flour and poultry spice. That should start me off.

The hen-house is ordered so should be on its way shortly. It will come flat-packed so when it's erected we can design the run to accommodate it. After that it's time to phone the lady!

News Flash - Latest!

I have decided to buy, not make, a hen-house. We have spent each weekend (and in my case, a big part of some of the weeks) since September, working on the people house. In spite of a trail of joiners/gas fitters/plasterers which still continues, we look like having to carry on with the work till Christmas. I have a Big Birthday (complete with bus pass!) coming up in January so I have decided that I'll buy the house and we'll make the run which will take a lot of the pressure off.

The once I fancy is

http://www.forshamcottagearks.com/poultry-housing/lenham-503-poultry-house.htm

It is the smallest of this range, suitable for up to 6 laying birds. In spite of the fact that I know many small-scale poultry keepers can't help adding to their stock (!) I know we can't eat more eggs than 4 hens will lay - and even then the family will be getting some. I'm choosing this for its ease of cleaning - we still intend to put it on a raised platform, about 18" off the ground, so there will be no bending to clean out or collect eggs. Good when you are queueing up for your bus pass. It can also be moved as it has big sturdy handles front and back so I can include the hens in the Crop Rotation!

Haven't decided when to buy. Ideally there's no point in storing it for months but nevertheless I'd like to have it for my birthday - half past January. What fun!

Looking at hens in the countryside

We went for a visit to Spurn Point today and in Easington we saw several groups of hens, some free ranging like these and some in mesh enclosures. I think the lady above is a black rock and the little madam hurrying across the field below is a Light Sussex.

I'm still debating what hens to start with. I thought of retired battery hens as it seems like a good life to give them but from advice on the Poultry Chat forum - address on the right - I understand it's preferable to have some experience with other hens first, so you can tell if they are exhibiting 'normal' chicken behaviour or something problematical due to their un-natural lives so far. I havent totally made my mind up. I will probably go with whatever is available first.