Dutch Hen House almost complete!

[rumblebug00]

My little chickies are almost a month old and are eagerly awaiting the completion of their new coop. We chose the Dutch Hen House (plans from SunnyChicken) design for it's streamlined simplicity. My sweet husband built 95% of it while I finished off the last 5% by painting and putting in linoleum in the roost area. We only have the perch to build and the shingles to go on the roof. So far we love it! I'm a little nervous the chickens will be wanting for space to roam during the day but hopefully as time goes on we'll figure out a rhythm or some other fenced area for them to run in. The coop sits on brick pavers and they underlap by a few inches on either side to prevent predator digging. All the latches will be locking to prevent critter apposable thumbs and all that damage that comes with them! Now...anyone from the PNW that can recommend when to put these little buggers in their new home permanently? My hubs is open to running the heat lamp out there but I'm a little nervous about it!

 

[Kevin565]

Looks great

 

[mikecnorthwest]

From Vancouver, WA.... I put mine out at 6-7 weeks of age and I've done this in November and in May without any problems. Two weeks from now when your girls are 6 weeks old should be fine. Hopefully the rain will have slowed down by then.

 

[KimKimWilliamso]

That is adorable! I imagine they will want more room to roam though, sooner rather than later. But that is a great design, which you can easily add run space too. But consider a run space that you can walk into, as apposed to being flush with the roof.

 

[Wolftalk]

Looks Fantastic! I Built the same one. I LOVE it. But I added a 5x10ft run on. It works great!

 

[ChicksinPR]

I am getting My babies next week. This is the coop we plan to build as well. Love the simplicity.

 

[Presidential]

Nice! We put our chicks out at three weeks, with a heat lamp for them to get under, if they needed it. They are FINE! Very healthy. (It has got to be better for them, than a brooder... Right? .. I am no expert.)

Rain where you are? I had to close mine in the coop during rain - i think they didn't like the sound on the roof, so they went outside. They are a little older and are more comfortable in the coop, now.

 

[bairo]

Nice! We put our chicks out at three weeks, with a heat lamp for them to get under, if they needed it. They are FINE! Very healthy. (It has got to be better for them, than a brooder... Right? .. I am no expert.)

Yep..... Presidential is correct. 3-weeks even in your weather is fine if they have a lamp to dive under until the temp reaches 65 in the coop and you keep those gusty winds from blowing on them all night.

 

[ButchGood]

Nice little coop you built there. Your chickies can go out right now. I also built a brand new coop for my chicks. They went outside at 13 days old. I hung the heat lamp in the coop. Mine are now 4 weeks old today and the heat has been out of the coop for 3 days without a problem. They will be soooo happy to be outside in their brand new home.

 

[adelore]

Looks great, how many chicks do you have?