Chook Shed

[Webby]

A friend of mine would like me to build her a small Chook shed and I have had a look on the net for FREE plans but have had no luck .So if anybody has some plans or a link that would be helpful.

[Sturdee]

When I was building our chook shed about 15 years ago I found that the local library had a lot of books on chook keeping ( it is very popular ). Most books had various designs from small moveable types to fixed buildings.

Peter.

[bitingmidge]

Try these:

Virginia Polytechnic : Read the stuff then follow the links: their version of "small" may not quite fit the aussie backyard ideal though, but there is some good info.

Urban Chicken Coop No plans but pretty clear pictures.

Or my favourite:
BackyardChickens.com Plenty of options here, and a few scribbled plans as well.

If you do try a library, I would think that any book on self sufficiency will do.

Hope this helps,

P

[bob w]

When we moved here some years ago we decided to keep some chooks and needed to house them. Fortunately we had an area we could fence into which I put a small metal garden shed I had.
Once the roosting rails were installed the chooks were as happy as a pig in s---. Also as it was metal we had no trouble with lice.
Regards
Bob

[silkwood]

Try searching under "Chicken Coop", you'l get plenty of links and info, probably more information than you might want. You thought people got into woodwork too much?



Cheers,

[Robert WA]

Silkwood.

If that picture is of your chookhouse then the place you live in must be pretty good.

[silkwood]

I'm wierd, but not that wierd. This pic is from a US site.

Cheers,

[wombat47]

In a previous life, I was the co-owner of chooks, ducks and turkeys - the other owners were foxes, feral cats and chicken hawks. Something to consider if your friend lives in a rural environment.

If she just wants to have a few hens in a suburban backyard (if council regulations allow it), then she has the choice of a small shed for roosting/laying and a fenced off area for daytime, or a larger shed where the chooks live all the time - a deep layer of litter on the floor keeps them amused. This last option requires plenty of daylight (at least one wall of wire or translucent material) because the laying season is determined by hours of daylight. This isn't a bad option - the chooks can safely be left for a day or two and the old litter makes great garden mulch.

While you are looking at chook shed plans, remember that some of the American self-sufficiency books allows for extremely hard winters and the sheds are built to prevent the chooks from freezing to death.

Hints -
Put your roosting rails on one level (stops the chooks from squawking through the night because one chook is higher than another).
Chooks like laying in dark places so face the nesting boxes away from a light source.
Have the shed high enough to be able to walk into without bending.
A concrete floor a bit above ground level will stay dry during rainy periods - wet chooks smell! Wet chook sh.. smells even worse!!
Use bird wire, rather than chicken wire - no sense in feeding the sparrows. Better still, 1 cm square mesh.

[journeyman Mick]

Webby,
Depending on where you are use snake mesh (10mm square wire) rather than the bird or chicken mesh, at least for the nighthouse as it's not much fun getting up in the morning to find that instead of 6 chooks you have a python with a six chook stomache. To prevent snake, dog, fox etc problems you'll need to bury (or concrete) the bottom of the mesh well into the ground. You will find that as soon as you have chooks that every predator from miles around will be attracted to your back yard. This is not from direct experience (haven't had any chooks yet) but from building chookhouses and runs, removing snakes and goannas etc. Make sure your friend supplies you with some fresh eggs for all your troubles, they taste much better than the supermarket ones.

Mick

[davo453]

We have kept chooks on and off for nearly 20 years, even in suburbia where they are not really allowed, you can (as long as you don't have roosters) keep bantams, just call them cage birds and you can dodge the laws. At least that’s what we did when the ranger called to see if we had a problem with the neighbours dog barking at all hours and noticed the chooks !!!

Aesthetics is always a problem with chook sheds, they will be happy in anything as long as you don't move it around (they hate that). Make sure it has nice high perches (around waste hight is sufficient) and that they are all on the same level, they squabble if there is a perch higher than theirs, after all no one like to be pooped on in the night do they.

We now live in a very rocky rural area, burying the bottom of the wire is preferable but we coped by using large diameter bird wire with an additional lower section formed in to an L shape so it lays against the fence and on the ground, the theory (and practice) being that the dog or fox tries to dig at the base of the fence but hits the wire.

Cheers

Dave

[Barry_White]

Here is one that Better Homes & Gardens did just recently.

http://www.bhg.com.au/home_improveme...01_sendinplans

[himzol]

Webby,

I went through this process last year,

Firstly check council requirements as far as chook sheds are concerned, if nothing else they do have a space per bird requirement.

Next what Mik suggests about the snake mesh, couldn't recomend this any higher. It's a far better deterent against predetors than normal bird or chicken wire.

Then have a look at this site, I used a lot of ideas from this. The main difference was that I used Galv and sheetmetal instead of wood and also made the run full hieght so that I can walk in and clean it.
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ainsworth71.html

hope this helps,

Himzo.

[Iain]

We used to live in suburbia and foxes were a problem, could see them at any time early am, city is the same, in fact I reckon that there are less foxes where we are now than when we lived in Melbournes outer east.
Bear this in mind when putting fox proof wire in the run.

[Potterage]

Hi all
Thought you may be interested in the chook shed that I have just built.
Colourbond roof (seconds), made from R/Pine coated with a couple of coats of paint (Primed), was to expensive for treated pine, have six blocks of treated pine which touch the ground, which should prevent rotting, 10 X 20 mm wire comes down the sides and then protudes out about 800mm under ground and around cage to prevent fox's digging under sides of cage.
Raised hen house with door for easy access and cleaning, slightly angled nest for egg laying so eggs run to rear of nest for easy access and hinged lid.
Though it may not be clear from photo I mounted two axles on one end of cage so that wheels may be attached for moving of cage if ground gets messy (old golf buggy).
Suspended feeder and water dispenser as chickens scratching the ground fills them up with dirt if left at ground level.
This is only a brief description, if anybody wishes more info drop me an email.
At the moment we are housing 4 chickens.
Paul

[Zed]

ask silentc he's up on poultry...