"Invisible" coop-need a small scale, year round henhouse

[Markp1964]

If we get hens I'm going to have to fly under the radar-zoning is against me and there is a neighborhood association, too!
We have a pretty typical suburban set up, 1/2 acre lot with the house in the center, half the lot is front yard, the rest is back yard surrouned by a 6 foot tall board fence. I want hens for the eggs and the manure.

I need some ideas/suggestions/plans for a coop that will:

* hold a max of 3 hens
*is unobtrusive-it cant stick out. Sheds are not allowed in my neighborhoos=d, though dog houses and kids playhouses are. This knocks out tall coops or anything up on stilts.
* the birds will live here year round.

 

[DoctorGoose]

Ooh! I want to know the answer to this too! I've been looking for a coop for my grandmother--I'm getting her two hens for her birthday...

Chickens are contagious! I've found quite a few appealing coops that are in England, but they won't ship over-seas. Personally, I really favor the Boughton they make, but it's too small for three chickens.

 

[Newchickenmom&kids]

I know I've seen others in the US but here is one:

http://www.backyardfarming.com/products.html

Here's the other one:

http://www.forshamusa.com/

 

[BeckyLa]

A kid's playhouse works well. Just add a nest box, a roost, and a feeder and there ya go. Depending on your situation, like if you don't live on a hill where the neighbors can see over the board fence, I would try to put it in a corner with no dogs on the other side to dig under the fence, then put a chicken wire run around it. On the outside of the chicken wire I'd put a nice painted trellis to grow vines on to hide them. But the biggest problem will still be that chickens cackle when they lay. Noises the neighbors are bound to notice. Try to find the quietest breed you can. The only thing I can say there is that I had black Maran hens that were very quiet until I moved and had them around other breeds that were noisey.

But the very first thing I would do would be to put a for sale sign in the front yard and make plans to move to a place where I can legally have all the birds I want. For if there are restrictions and a complaint is made (maybe a neighbor is checking his roof and sees them) you will have to rehome your babies. By then it's too late, you're heart is already attached to your precious pets.

 

[biretta]

There's a henhouse called a Chick-N-Barn that's plenty big enough for up to 5 standard hens. It's a bit on the pricy side for what it is but looks nice and all you need to do is assemble it; it's around $300. I have the same problem as Beckyla--the chickens are obvious to neighbors in my residential neighborhood only because of the squawking and cackling, which is why I recently had to rehome 3 of the 5 noisiest hens I had.

 

[Dawn419]

We have a modified Chick-N-Barn & Yard. We bought it to house our 21 (6 wk old) Banties a couple months ago, it is now home to our 5 Bantam Silkies as the rest of the gang moved into their new home last night.

 

[tiffanyh]

I got a really cute unfinished dog house, extra large with shipping was $125. Threw on a door, some paint and voila! A hen house!

 

[LoneCowboy]

What about the eggloo, or however you spell that. looks like a kitty litter box. Nobody would expect that.

 

[RebelsHope]

I am actually using a play house that the people before me left. It is actually big enough for about 12 hens. Check out some building plans for children's playhouses. If you fence is tall enough and you can not see through it, I doubt anyone will bother you. If they do slip them a few "farm fresh" eggs and see if that changes their mind.

 

[barg]

My neighbor has a Fake Frog that makes frog noises.
I can hear it from a few houses away.

Maybe if you get a plastic chicken and put it in some conspicuous place, your neighbors might think the cackling is a recording coming from the plastic chicken.

It's a thought