Choosing a Chicken House

As a family we have kept chickens for many years and we have used this experience to write this page.  If you are new to chicken keeping or are considering keeping chickens we hope this will help you make an informed choice when it comes to choosing the right chicken house.

All chicken houses need a few essential features to ensure they function well and provide the correct environment for your hens.

• Safe and secure at night.

• Dry and weatherproof.

• Well ventilated (not draughty).

• Easy to clean!

• Sufficient perch space per hen with plenty of space above their heads when they are perching.

• Nest box or nesting area.

We have thought of a few key questions and then answered them as fully as possible to help you choose the right chicken house.

·      Why do you want hens?
Do you just want 2 or 3 chickens as pets for the children or are you planning on going into serious egg production! If you want a couple of hens and the eggs would be an added bonus then you can choose a small hen house and site it close to the where you can see them so you can enjoy them everyday (consider bantams). If you want an egg supply now and into the future then you need to get your ‘hen to house ratio’ right. Choose a 6 to 8 bird house and get 2 to 3 hens or an 8 to 16 bird house and get 3 to 5 hens, this way there will always be room to add more chickens in the future to give you continuity of laying.

 How do you want to keep them?
Will they be free to range or contained either some of the time or 24/7. A free range chicken house can be sited in your garden and when you let your hens out in the morning they have your entire garden to roam. You can have a poultry loft and let them out whenever possible or a designated, fenced area with a free range house inside or a large aviary with a covered roof where they can happily live 24/7.

How much space can they have?
There is a chicken for almost every situation and a chicken house to go with it! You could have 2 or 3 hens free ranging in any sized  garden or a small flock in a fenced off area or anything in between. It's all a matter of choice and budget.