New windows and perches for our hen house

Mac in Wisco

Antagonist
15 Years
May 25, 2007
3,479
93
356
SW Wisconsin
I've been doing a bunch of upgrades. The hen house only had four windows on the north side. I just added eight to the south side where there were none. What a pain. The walls were heavily spray foamed before the liner was installed. I removed the liner panels, laid out where the windows were to go, and spent days cutting through the foam with a fillet knife and breaking out chunks with a pry bar. The trim was the killer. Including exterior and interior trim, I hand cut 64 pieces of steel trim to fit. The inside photo didn't turn out too well...

I've also been installing perches. The photo show 360 linear feet of perches on a steel framework. I fabricated them in 8 foot sections and they actually hinge upward and fold flat against the wall for cleanout. I still have to do the same for the opposite wall.

2328_dscn0732.jpg


2328_dscn0730.jpg


2328_dscn0725.jpg
 
Quote:
The hen in the front and center is employee number 1634...

We keep them on deep litter that is cleaned out once a year, but this is what it looks like at any given time of year. The litter just gets a little deeper, after a year it probably averages six to eight inches deep. I'm not sure if we'll get droppings on the walls with the new perches. The perch closet to the wall is about 6 or 7 inches away.
 
Last edited:
Quote:
There are more photos on my BYC pages. This one was taken last February. There are actually two double-sided rows of nest boxes in there. The first photo of this thread shows less than a fourth of the interior. The house is actually as wide as it is long.

Thanks, and yes, it's a good portion of our mortgage.

DSC00279.jpg
 
How many buildings like that? That house only has about 400 chickens, should be 4 more like that, right?

Are the eggs collected by hand or is it a roll-away nest, maybe to a conveyance?

So your chickens are floor raised, cool. I think free-range is more natural for the bird but opens a farmer up to other risks like predator loss.
 
Quote:
There are more photos on my BYC pages. This one was taken last February. There are actually two double-sided rows of nest boxes in there. The first photo of this thread shows less than a fourth of the interior. The house is actually as wide as it is long.

Thanks, and yes, it's a good portion of our mortgage.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g215/mgmccarty/Barn Photos/DSC00279.jpg

Are those ISA Brown hens or Sex-Link?
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom