Raised Hen House?

[philderbeest]

Sorry if this is a silly question or in the wrong area but looked good to me. Total newb so beginners language please :)

I have a reasonably large wooden wendy house (4'8" X 4'8") that I'm going to line out and convert to a hen house. In addition I also have several aviary panels (6' X 3' each X12) for the run so plenty of space. What I would like some advice on primarily is-
Does the hen house need to be off the ground or are the manufactured ones this way to utilise space underneath?

In addition, any other tips or hints for the conversion would be very much appreciated.

[Emmachuck]

Hi Philderbeast,

I think the main reasons for coops being raised are to stop vermin from nesting underneath (close to convenient food and bedding supply!) and to provide a covered area of run space to put food and water. Also, it does increase the available run area slightly and more is always better!

I'm afraid I have no practical experience of converting sheds to offer advice, but one thing I did read (may not be true!) is that it is best not to line the shed out as chickens do better with plenty of ventilation and air movement (although no draughts). Lining a shed can apparently cause a build up of stale air, which can affect hens' respiratory systems. Hope someone can give you some more detailed help.

Emma

[redoak]

I think those that are built off the ground are usually done like that to use the space underneath. I do like a raised one though as it stops rats being able to burrow and hide under the house. Rats are a potential problem as there's always some spilled food around when you have chickens.

[Mad Chick]

But if you lay the house on a concrete or slabbed base, that should stop any rats from burrowing in

[madmum]

Hi there i would always go for a raised coop!I find them easier to clean and they allow a dry area for the chooks to dustbath and somewhere to put food under cover!! Extra space is always a bonus!!

[Totally Scrambled]

Hello Phil,
We converted the kids old wendy house. It was too heavy to raise so I dug out a narrow trench around it and nailed old slates to the side with concrete behind and in front of the slates to stop anything burrowing under.
I lined the inside with hardboard and painted it white, cut a pophole in the side and fitted a dropping pophole door between the inside wall and outside wall. Works well for us. When the old felt roof blew I ripped it off and replaced it with corrugated Onduline.
Also built a covered run on each side.



Hope that gives you some ideas
Dom
PS Greetings and welcome to The Lane

[philderbeest]

Thanks for all the input, I appreciate it a lot. I'm quite lucky as the house has an extremely sturdy base with a veranda as it was previously on stilts with a slide coming off so raising it won't be too much of an issue. Just wanted to check if it was a neccessity so I think I'll err on the side of caution and raise it.

I've already loved looking at the set-ups in the other thread, some inspirational work there. I'm really looking forward to starting my venture into keeping chooks, just want to make sure I have done enough research. On the ventilation issue..... vented but not draughty, any advice on how to achieve this?

[Steve the Gas]

Put the vents at high level, well above chook head height

[foghornleghorn2]

These soffit vents are good for coops

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/p59214

[HellsBells]

I too used the kids old wooden wendy house and built it on stilts (only about 18 inches off the ground). The chickens sit under it when its hot, it provides good shelter, and you'd think they'd do the same in the rain but they dont cos they are daft. My main reason for doing this was simply to give them extra space in their run, and I have to say, its worked very well and my girls seem totally at home with it :)