Tudor Chick House In The Romantic Garden

[MumsyII]

This is a unique design for a Silkie chick house. Started yesterday using many materials already on hand. I used to be a historical reenact-or and made my own set props. The style is loosely Tudor from the sixteenth century. But I tend to design as I go so there will be some rustic primitive cottage elements as well.

One of my hobbies is making models in 1:25 scale. I have a few little model houses made in the style I want my chick house to be.

Style #1






Style #2

The floor plan is 8'x7'x8'x7'. All open inside with storage shelves, open ceiling with beams, and pop doors. A full size door, windows with working shutters, and hopefully a pop out and dormer.


Built in the heart of the Romantic Garden with sunny exposure. Established plants surround it.

My husband is working on the foundation now. We hope to have it finished before winter sets in. Here we go!

 

[MumsyII]

The foundation is concrete slab. It was there as the base of a huge dog house built in 1978 before we moved here. It's been used as a tea party pavilion for decades until my children all left home. It became over grown over the years and took a lot of shoveling to reclaim.


The door entrance will be on the West wall.


Windows on the Southern exposure wall. The little gold fish pond and flag stone bridge is on this side.


North side will be enclosed.


East side faces the main garden, gets morning sun, and will have a pop door.

 

[MumsyII]

Two walls nearly framed.

 

[MumsyII]

The set pieces I made in 2011 were in storage all this time. Good thing I took pictures of the process in building them.

My door is made of cheap cedar fence boards. Stained with Walnut.


Before staining. An old deer antler my dad gave me for a handle.



Faux wattle and daub techinque using paint, glue, straw, and stain.


Faux fire place box. I will show the process if anyone asks.


The full set I'm using in my Tudor chick house.

 

[aart]

This will be an interesting one to watch...I love models!

Not sure if you've ever had chickens before, but the dust and poop gets everywhere inside!!
Would hate too see such hard creative work get filthy dirty.

 

[MumsyII]

This will be an interesting one to watch...I love models!

Not sure if you've ever had chickens before, but the dust and poop gets everywhere inside!!
Would hate too see such hard creative work get filthy dirty.

Hello aart.

I have done a fair share of modeling and been raising chickens most my life. The creative bits are only really on the outside exterior of the building. Anything I do inside is purely for storage or architectual. I hear you on the poo and filth that comes with chickens. This is not one of those doll house coops. Its use will be brooder/chick house. I raise my chicks separate from my main coop. Youngsters that I hatch from the incubator are raised alone until they are a few months old. Gives them time to build up immunities slowly, learn to forage outdoors without fear of molestation from adults or predators. And I can feed them separately a lot easier.

I've been using the same chick house for two decades and it is starting to wear out. Door falling off the hinges, rot setting in, ect.


My current brooder/chick house has been used as a tool shed, potting shed, and dove house over the last three decades. For the last twenty years I've used it for a place to grow out chicks.

Two pop doors were built into one wall with access to an outside chick run. It's covered for protection with netting. Currently fifteen Silkie chicks are using it. I have grown out Blue Slate poults, HRIR, and everything else you can think of in this little shed.

The back side of the chick run. I plant the run with new seed every Spring. It's gotten very lush. Good forage and cover for chicks.


My current brooder/chick house and run as seen from the main barnyard and orchard. It's worked well but needs a double. The Tudor chick house will be within fifteen feet of this one on the back side. It will have it's own run. A garden path splits the distance between them.

We got a lot done yesterday until a big weather system moved in with lightning, thunder, and rain. Hope to get more done on it in the next few days.

 

[MumsyII]

All of that rain has taught me a good lesson about the faux wattle and daub on my set pieces. They aren't weather or water proof! I had them out and they started to peel. So back to my modeling lessons and try to figure out how to repair and seal them up before we need them for the build.

It took me a while to locate the image folders. No clues there so then it took another hour of searching to find my model image folders to get some refreshers.


That wall texture is what I'm after in 1:1 scale rather than 1:25 scale.


This is a close up of one of my models exterior. The technique I used is glue, tissue, and paint and dry brushing in layers. The gaps were filled with caulk.

For the set walls I used wallpaper paste, tore up napkins and paper, glue, straw, paint, and polyurethane.


The boards with torn paper glued on.
When I get another dry day, I'll repair the damage and apply weather coating.

 

[MumsyII]

Second weekend with the Tudor Brooder build. The roof is going on!

 

[MumsyII]

Dormer going in.

 

[aart]

Nice!
Have you figured out how to do your finishes in outdoor materials yet?