Recycled plastic hen house

Discuss, share and chat about all things relating to keeping Chickens including health issues
Post Reply
Jakki_1234
Learner Laner
Posts: 3
Joined: 19 May 2016, 19:59
Gender: Female

Recycled plastic hen house

Post by Jakki_1234 »

Hi

We are looking to buy a hen house. Investigated lots and thinking of going for recycled plastic- does anyone have any recommendations? It would be to house 3-4 chickens.

Swithering between Solway and Omlet but have viewed a few others.

Thank you

Jakki

User avatar
p.penn
Moderator
Posts: 33921
Joined: 07 Jun 2008, 21:46
Gender: Female
Location: Rural Sussex

Re: Recycled plastic hen house

Post by p.penn »

I have a Solway hen loft, which my friends all clubbed together for on my birthday last year. I am very pleased with it and Solway themselves. I managed to lose one of the fastening clips ( don't ask!) and they sent free replacements really quickly.
Helen xx

3 children, 3 grandchildren, 3 chooks, 3 fish, a shrimp that thinks its a prawn and a dappy dog.
http://www.acountrygrandma.blogspot.com
Jakki_1234
Learner Laner
Posts: 3
Joined: 19 May 2016, 19:59
Gender: Female

Re: Recycled plastic hen house

Post by Jakki_1234 »

Thank you for the reply, that's great to know. Do you have a run with your loft and how many chickens does it fit?

I'd looked at the loft but wondered if we should go for the slightly bigger Eco one either the run on it so if we were out they would be safe. Or was thinking of the loft but with a walk in run, although we would prefer to be able to move the hen house around so the ground doesn't get too trashed and they have lots of fresh vegetation.

Thank you, have been overwhelmed by the power of Google.

Jakki X
User avatar
Mad Chick
Moderator
Posts: 12882
Joined: 27 Jun 2008, 21:22
Gender: Female
Location: Mortimer, Berks

Re: Recycled plastic hen house

Post by Mad Chick »

We had a Solway hen loft in a walk in run )t'
I couldn't fault it, cleverly designed, so easy to clean, fab customer service and a very good price.
Lucy x


Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut - Ernest Hemingway
Jakki_1234
Learner Laner
Posts: 3
Joined: 19 May 2016, 19:59
Gender: Female

Re: Recycled plastic hen house

Post by Jakki_1234 »

Thank you so much for your replies. Great to hear recommendations. I am very tempted by the loft, it's just having to build a run separately that then is a thought. How many hens have you got living in them, a couple?

I like the idea of 2 nesting boxes which it and the Eco both can have as we have 2 children.


Jakki X
User avatar
Mad Chick
Moderator
Posts: 12882
Joined: 27 Jun 2008, 21:22
Gender: Female
Location: Mortimer, Berks

Re: Recycled plastic hen house

Post by Mad Chick »

I had 5 chickens in our loft and could probably have fitted another in (and two of them were Orpingtons so pretty big). They all had their patch - the Orps would be on the back perch, Rosie on the front perch with Freckle and Boo cuddled up in one of the nest boxes. So we still had half a perch and a nest box free {rofwl}

The thing to watch for with built in runs is they are often not really big enough. Hens need a minimum of 10sq ft per bird of run space - more is even better if you can manage it. So if you were to get 3 chickens you'd need the run to be 10ft X 3ft as a bare minimum. The more you can give them, the less chance of boredom which can lead to bullying. It's a good idea to provide them with branches/logs to jump on (height can therefore be a problem with many built in runs), dust bath areas and somewhere to keep feeders/drinkers.

Built in runs do have the advantage of making the whole package more portable meaning you can move it around the garden so the chooks always have fresh grass. A permanent run, unless very big, will probably have no grass left within a few weeks but you can then fill it with wood chips etc to give them something fun to scratch around in. If you have a built in run and want to keep the grass, my advice would be to move it every couple of days as they will dig up the grass and poo all over it tirelessly (and they're not easy to crawl into to poo pick).

Pros and cons for both, it's just a matter of deciding which would work best in your garden and then ensuring it's big enough and secure enough. We built our run utilising the existing garden fencing and house wall. We had a little area (about 12ft sq) at the side of the house so it meant we could just fence across the front using heavy duty trellis panels which we attached wire mesh to. One of the panels we hinged to form a gate. Only took a morning to build and we then put a clear plastic roof on it the following year as it stopped predators jumping in and kept it beautifully dry and mud free.
Lucy x


Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut - Ernest Hemingway
User avatar
Mo
Legendary Laner
Posts: 15368
Joined: 30 Apr 2007, 09:39
Location: Cheshire (nr Chester)

Re: Recycled plastic hen house

Post by Mo »

Yes, pro's and cons of both.
My first hen-house was a wooden arc 3'x3' with 3'x6' run built in. We went to a poultry show and chose one with poles sticking out that we could lift. Some were less 'portable' than others. Then gave them a run made of flocknet surrounding it. As you say, shut them in when we were out in the evening before they had gone to bed. but we found
A) moving the house was more of a chore than we expected and definitely a 2 person job (so much easier to do things when they need it if it's just you)
B) moving the flock-net was a pain, as I had them in the orchard most of the year so if there was a tree in the way I had to roll it all up then untangle it
C) although we were moving then fairly regularly they did make a mess - not just eating the grass but scratching deep holes making grass cutting difficult.

So then it was a permanent run. Like many of our members. Have a look at our pictures
If you do build your own do not be fooled by the term Chicken Wire. The modern stuff is so flimsy that it rots near the ground and IS NOT FOX-PROOF.

Have fun - they are worth keeping despite all the problems
Dance caller. http://mo-dance-caller.blogspot.co.uk/p/what-i-do.html
Sunny Clucker enjoyed Folk music and song in mid-Cheshire
User avatar
p.penn
Moderator
Posts: 33921
Joined: 07 Jun 2008, 21:46
Gender: Female
Location: Rural Sussex

Re: Recycled plastic hen house

Post by p.penn »

I have my hen loft in a permanent walk in run. I have 5 chickens at present - they say 4 but it just happened that way. There would easily be enough room for another in the coop too if I needed, but I like the run to be plenty big enough so wouldn't do that unless I had to.
Helen xx

3 children, 3 grandchildren, 3 chooks, 3 fish, a shrimp that thinks its a prawn and a dappy dog.
http://www.acountrygrandma.blogspot.com
User avatar
HedgeHugger
Legendary Laner
Posts: 1942
Joined: 28 Jun 2011, 18:25

Re: Recycled plastic hen house

Post by HedgeHugger »

I'm another with a Solway loft. I did buy an eglu originally but it was tiny and not suitable for my 3 ladies, so got sent back asap.

I bought a 2nd nest box for it after a year or 2 but the girls have not used it once in the 2 years since! They prefer to moan about having to share the one. Silly Chooks!

We have built a walk in run, and this is what the Solway sits in, but these days they have free range of the garden all day. Shut them up in the Solway @ night.

Here's some photos of the run in it's early days.
http://s361.photobucket.com/user/ferret ... w/chickens" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It has a more solid roof and some see through corrugated plastic on a couple of the sides these days, for a bit more protection.
User avatar
Mo
Legendary Laner
Posts: 15368
Joined: 30 Apr 2007, 09:39
Location: Cheshire (nr Chester)

Re: Recycled plastic hen house

Post by Mo »

Runs do get muddy in winter, and impossible to poo-pick unless that have something over the top.
Dance caller. http://mo-dance-caller.blogspot.co.uk/p/what-i-do.html
Sunny Clucker enjoyed Folk music and song in mid-Cheshire
ChookDee
Learner Laner
Posts: 23
Joined: 17 Jul 2015, 20:15

Re: Recycled plastic hen house

Post by ChookDee »

I also have a solway hen loft in a walk in run, very easy to clean and with it being on legs not to much bending down to clean out. I also have a cosy coop that came with a run that you attach, this is not as easy to keep clean as it has ridges on the floor, as others have said the runs that are supplied with these houses are not big enough for the hens and are a pain to try and poo pick. I use the cosy coop as a temporary house for introducing new hens.
User avatar
p.penn
Moderator
Posts: 33921
Joined: 07 Jun 2008, 21:46
Gender: Female
Location: Rural Sussex

Re: Recycled plastic hen house

Post by p.penn »

Here is my hen loft - spot the 5 chooks {rofwl} Crazy things, I have just cleaned out the coop and they are all inside inspecting it {rofwl}

The second photo shows my run too :-D

Image

Image
Helen xx

3 children, 3 grandchildren, 3 chooks, 3 fish, a shrimp that thinks its a prawn and a dappy dog.
http://www.acountrygrandma.blogspot.com
User avatar
sandy
Legendary Laner
Posts: 9915
Joined: 13 Oct 2008, 21:59
Gender: Female
Location: Bristol

Re: Recycled plastic hen house

Post by sandy »

Interesting washing?
The Pink Ladies..Audrey,Ingrid-Bergman,Madeleline,Norma-Jean,Dora,Janice,Jo,Robyn,Chrissy and Joyce
The Peds…Mork,Mindy,Bell,Saphire &
Vorky ,Blueped,Ginger,Ninger &Linky

Sunny Clucker was ere July 12-21 2012
Sunny Clucker was ere July 6 2016 to Sept 9th 2017
Sunny Clucker is here , rehomed Aug 18th 2018/
User avatar
p.penn
Moderator
Posts: 33921
Joined: 07 Jun 2008, 21:46
Gender: Female
Location: Rural Sussex

Re: Recycled plastic hen house

Post by p.penn »

sandy wrote:Interesting washing?


I did try and crop the photo on my phone, but it obviously didn't work!
Helen xx

3 children, 3 grandchildren, 3 chooks, 3 fish, a shrimp that thinks its a prawn and a dappy dog.
http://www.acountrygrandma.blogspot.com

Post Reply