Revamping the old henhouse

[Penlady66]

I am looking to redo the inside (and outside) of my hen house this spring. It is several years old and has had little done to it other then cleaning since it was built. It also set empty for about 4 years, until this past summer. In other words it needs some work. The nest boxes I have are working, but they are just made of plywood and well, are really hard to clean, especially the top of them. I would love to remove them and put something new in. What are some of your recommendations for nest boxes? I was thinking about using plastic tubs with a hole cut in the front. Make it so I can take them out and thoroughly clean them from time to time.

I am also wanting a way to keep the floor cleaner... it too is also plywood, and it is hard to clean at times as well. I have read about people putting down linoleum. What is your take on that?

And last... I want to improve the chicken yard as well. When it is wet out, the yard becomes a complete muddy mess. My poor Brahams' foot feathers get messy then. Any suggestions to a better substrate for the yard? Also, when it is messy, the girls track the mess into the hen house... and there again make the inside messy as well.

Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions.

 

[superlukee]

Hello! Can you post some pictures of the coop you have?

 

[Penlady66]

Sure will... let me go take some, lol.... I need to run water up to the girls anyway.... will post some in a few.

 

[Penlady66]

I believe it is 8X8 inside the run is bigger and as you can see tall enough for and adult to walk in. The dog is a big girl, too, LOL. There is ventilation in the top as well as the window can be opened in the summer when it is hot out for more. The roof is pretty sound and doesn't leak. It is a nice structure, just wanting to fix it up a bit. I will be giving it a fresh coat of paint once the weather gets nice as well.


























​

 

[superlukee]

Your nesting boxes seem fine to me, but if you want it to be easier to clean you can go with the plastic Bin idea, also on the chickens bringing in dirt in the coop, there chickens they have stuff on there feet. Also, make sure the roosts are higher up then the nesting boxes , you don't want your chickens sleeping in the nesting boxes. and as for the outside yard, I'm not sure what advice to give . And for the chicken run, look up some ideas on this site. My run isn't that great, I have a dirt/ dust bath, and the food and water, but you have a nice amount of space to work with. How often do you clean out your coop? Also what material is the fencing in the run made out of?

 

[Penlady66]

So far I have not had any problems with the girls sleeping in the next boxes. I clean the coop out every couple of weeks. I shovel up the poo and sweep it up the old bedding and put new down. At least during the colder months. In the warmer months I shovel the poop out once a week and change the bedding every other week. The fencing in the run is made of mostly chicken wire, but the bottom half also has some other heavier gauge fencing to help keep predators out. There is also a dense heavy gauge wiring on the roof as well. I need to re-wire from the middle board up on the run, it is quite rusted and could probably be torn open easy. Just waiting for some warmer weather to get out there and work. With my arthritis I cannot stand to be out in the cold for very long.

I have 6 new chicks coming in May, and will be brooding them in the house, then out in temporary coop until they are big enough to move in with the 10 girls I already have. That is what has prompted me to get the hen house fixed up. I will then have 16 chickens there... maybe 20

... (thinking about ordering a few more babies)

Thanks so much for your reply.

 

[superlukee]

So far I have not had any problems with the girls sleeping in the next boxes.  I clean the coop out every couple of weeks.  I shovel up the poo and sweep it up the old bedding and put new down.  At least during the colder months.  In the warmer months I shovel the poop out once a week and change the bedding every other week.  The fencing in the run is made of mostly chicken wire, but the bottom half also has some other heavier gauge fencing to help keep predators out.  There is also a dense heavy gauge wiring on the roof as well.  I need to re-wire from the middle board up on the run, it is quite rusted and could probably be torn open easy.  Just waiting for some warmer weather to get out there and work.  With my arthritis I cannot stand to be out in the cold for very long.

I have 6 new chicks coming in May, and will be brooding them in the house, then out in temporary coop until they are big enough to move in with the 10 girls I already have.  That is what has prompted me to get the hen house fixed up.  I will then have 16 chickens there... maybe 20   ...  (thinking about ordering a few more babies)  

Thanks so much for your reply. 

No problem! Also maybe another member can chime in, but I'm not exactly sure if that hen house is big enough for 20 chickens (I could be wrong) also I'm not sure if chicken wire is safe to keep predators out at night(maybe another member can chime in and give a exact answer for the chicken wire lol.

 

[superlukee]

Look at that picture ^

 

[superlukee]

Also, you should lock the hen house untill you fix the rusted wire, you don't want a animal getting in the coop.

 

[Penlady66]

Actually, it has housed 20 before. When it was first built, it was built for 20 birds (6 production blacks, 4 Easter eggers, 2 naked necks, 2 Yokohama, 5 australorps, and a Norwegian jaerhon) Love my mixed flocks, They are closed in at night and the hen house is pretty secure. The windows and top ventilation are both covered with hardware cloth. We mostly went with the heavy gauge fencing around the bottom because of the neighbors dog was getting in and chasing the last group around, and then I lost my favorite girl when she managed to get out thru one of the holes my neighbor's dog left, and a hawk got her.

I then gave away the rest of that flock and left the house empty. I just got back into keeping chickens this past summer when my friend gave me 7 Brahma chicks. Things have been good so far, but chicken math is getting the best of me so I ordered a dozen polish to split with my friend...

I would love to use hardware cloth over the entire coop, but that can get expensive. Luckily like I said they are shut in the hen house at night, and during the day we have plenty of canine patrols around... between my dogs and the neighbors dogs (that I rehabbed from bothering the chickens), not much comes around.