What should a hen house consist of?

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Hi there

We are just starting on our chicken keeper journey!
My husband is planning on building the hen house and run himself (he is a very good carpenter ) I was just wondering about the hen house - do they need perches, if so, how high off the ground? The run will be fox proof so not worried about them being on the ground, but do they need to roost?

Many thanks

They need somewhere to perch at night and somewhere to sit comfortably and lay.

I'm not sure if they need to be a certain distance off the ground though. We have an eglu and the perching bars are only a few centimetres off the bottom in those and it doesn't seem to bother the chickens.

You could probably find a plan to build one on google.

HTH. Good luck

There's a good site called Down The lane - it has some info on building an ark.

Perch height is usually a few inches I think. Think about headroom, as well...and they need good ventilation, to prevent respiratory issues.

Thank you for your help!

Really looking forward to learning more and will have a good read through the treads on here too.

We converted a shed for ours - a 6' x 4' cheapie from B&Q. We've attached some nest boxes on the back and side, cut a hole in it for a pop hole and have hung 2 perches lengthways down the shed. One's about 2/3 feet of the floor and the other is about 4/5 feet up.

Our girls leap up to the lower one, then some leap up to the higher perch.

I don't think the height of perch is too important, based on our experience, but if it helps, I wouldn't use roofing felt because it harbours the dreaded red mite. I'd make sure it's really easy to access to clean out; lots of room to get your body in and as few nooks and crannies as possible.

They should roost at night - and in the summer will need quite a lot of ventilation - much less in the winter.

How many chickens are you planning on? We have 16 and a cockerel which is about perfect for the deluxe shed .

Daisy, may I ask what you used on the roof? I'm just converting our 6x8 old shed (lots of patching of rotten bits!) and have put some new felt on - but over a layber of plastic sheeting, to try and prevent the red mite scenario.
I looked into using corrugated iron, but couldn't figure out how to do the top bit - it's a pent shed, not an apex.

Or would some of that coroline stuff be better? tbh the whole corrugated thing is difficult to manage with this shape roof.

grateful for your advice - and sorry for hijack!

I agree sheds are great...I've only got four chooks, but wanted them to ave somewhere to romp around when it is raining, as their run lets in water.

They are free range btw most of the time, and seem not to mind getting damp, but still - when it's really torrential, an indoor shed with loads of room is nice.

Oh and another thing - putting small gauge chicken wire around the bottom foot or so of the shed will help prevent anything trying to nibble its way in, such as rats.
I'm rat proofing from the inside, which is tricky - but hoping it will be OK!

We used something like this www.wickes.co.uk/Roofing/Bitumen-Roofing/icat/rsbitumenroof which was really easy and for such a small area was also v cheap.

We had an apex roof though, so were able to use the apex moulded bit. I think for a pent roof we would have used some flashing and moulded it around the lumps and bumps.

I forgot that we also put a layer of weldmesh and then some chicken wire under the bottom of the shed which seems (2 years in) to have solved the problem of attack from below.

We did have a problem with mice gnawing their way through the shed though. They managed to get right through the wood and into the house. We had to put some really fine metal mesh all around the base of the house too.

Our chickens also free range all the time - we don't have a run for them, but we do have a secure garden. We've just fenced off a big area especially for the chooks though, because they are beginning to create havoc in the garden - we're having a crack at being self sufficient in veg this year and they're not helping very much.

We need to prepare the ground in their area first - I can't bear the thought of them not having masses of greenery so we're going to sow a fodder crop for them. At the moment, because we've put up a new fence with a badger proof underground bit, most of the ground has been compacted by a mini-digger and tractors and looks pretty rank. The bit that hasn't been squashed is covered with lovely violets and bluebells and has a good crop of nettles growing!

I've just read this with interest. We're just about to embark on keeping chickens and I was wondering about the hen house. Is it better for it to be off the ground? We do have mice, rats and hedgehogs which come into our garage.

Also, is it ok if the hen house doesn't have a removable droppings tray or is it a big plus side really?

Thanks for any advice.

Perches should only be about 18 inches from the ground to stop the birds injuring themselves when jumping off. If you want removable trays, what about those rectangular ones from the garden centre that you stand plant pots in, they come in some quite large sizes, and you could use more than one. A next box or two in a quiet corner is also needed. Try not to put perches over anything that can get pood on, like nest boxes, feeders. Also, a very secure pop hole with no gaps, having seen a ferret get through mine, and murder all my chooks, this is a must! Good luck with the building, I am going to do the same thing. I have been without chickens for a year or so, and I really miss them!

Hi have you tried something like this roofing membrane from
gibbs & dandy

Good price and always worked well for me