A chook house/pen

[FenceFurniture]

Well, I'm finally going to build a vege garden again, after 5 years without one.I'm thinking that because I'm lanscaping the whole middle area of the yerd (retaining walls etc), and have to enclose the vege garden in chicken wire (heaps of possums, birds, cat scats) I may as well go the whole hog and add on a chicken pen as well.

I quick internet search seems to show that 4 square feet per bird (or part thereof :D) is about right. That means 6x4 feet for 6 chickens which seems way to small.

Haven't seen or heard of any foxes around here but it wouldn't surprise me to learn that they are around. I'm thinking of digging down about 30cm to start the chicken wire underground, but would that be far enough to deter predators? Is buried chicken wire enough to stop them? I suspect that even though it's gal treated it wouldn't last very long underground. Maybe some concrete sheeting would be better underground? I could actually screw concrete sheeting to the .....let's call them joists for want of a better description....that would run around the perimeter of the pen.

It'd be grand to produce one's own cackleberries!

[Chief Tiff]

I think that the area you quoted is the the minimum required for something like "free range" classification but would be expected to be used for dozens and dozens of schools. 6 chooks in a 6 X 4 enclosure will be fine but as much room as you are willing to give them would be much better. My enclosure is about 8m X 4m and only holds two birds; the grass was knee deep when they moved in but 3 months later they were living in a dust bowl; I could not believe how destructive chickens are!

I hope you don't mind me asking, but why do want 6 birds? My two give me about 10 eggs a week which is fine for my family of three, you could be looking at 30 eggs every week!

[FenceFurniture]

I hope you don't mind me asking, but why do want 6 birds? My two give me about 10 eggs a week which is fine for my family of three, you could be looking at 30 eggs every week!No, maybe 2-4 chooks. I was just using some numbers to illustrate how small I thought 4 sq feet per bird is.

[HUON]

I've found that laying something like ringlock fencing wire on the ground (pegged to the ground) outside your chook run and tied to the perimeter fence is quite effective at preventing foxes and dogs etc feasting on chooks. Another thing to keep in mind is that foxes don't like climbing loose fences, so don't try putting up a "waratah" fence. Another thing you might like to consider is putting up some corrugated iron around the chook run, just tie it to the wire, the fox might be able to smell the chooks but the little vixen wont be able to see them.
Another thought just occurred to me, If your vegie garden is big enough, could you divide it up into sections so that you could allow the chooks into a section that is lying fallow. They could then turn over that area and also fertilise it and debug it.
Just my two bobs worth.
Cheers and enjoy your bum nuts and cackle berries.

[FenceFurniture]

Another thing to keep in mind is that foxes don't like climbing loose fencesI've read that possums don't either.

[I_wanna_Shed]

If your vegie garden is big enough, could you divide it up into sections so that you could allow the chooks into a section that is lying fallow. They could then turn over that area and also fertilise it and debug it.


My neighbour is a veggie patch guru, and he does this. Why dig it over yourself? :B

I'm planning a largish chook pen. An old aviary which is about 4m x 2m will be enclosed to be the sleep and laying area, while I will enclose with chook wire an outside area of perhaps 18 square metres. I will also enclose the top of the outside area as there are lots of ways cats could climb in. I was thinking of taking the wire down into the ground, but if I brought it down the side of the pen and then folded it back and ran it along the ground 50cm, I figure it would be far less digging and just as effective.

I'm hoping to get at least 8 chooks. My wife is a cake decorator and can use up to 60 eggs a week.

I just look for chook pens on Pinterest and Google Images.

P.S. The bigger the chook pen the less lawn or weeds you need to take care of!

Cheers,
Nathan.

[cava]

I also have an area allocated for a chicken coop and have been scratching for months for a good workable design.

So, when you figure out a design Brett, just post it here. :D

[Glenn.Visca]

Had a friend with quite a large chook run. When he built it, he did a fence about 6 feet tall, buried in ground to a shovel depth.

Some time later, the foxes pulled the wire put of the ground, and ripped the heads off 6 chickens.

He then reopened the trench and reset the wire, this time in concrete. Problem solved.

Another friend had a coop with a little solar powered door opener. At sunrise the solar hoodickey opens the door so the chooks can roam. At sunset, it closes the door. The chooks put themselves to bed.

Good luck !

[Luke Maddux]

Initiate Rant -

I'm just glad to hear you're keeping them in a pen. Everyone I know with chickens just lets them wander around the neighborhood like dogs. They eat valuable plants, scratch the soil out of pots, and just generally wreak havoc on everything.

And apparently that's ok...?

I mean at least drop off some eggs from time to time if we're going to chicken-sit for you while you're at work!

Rant: Complete

[HUON]

Luke when you start building your chook palace, consider making your egg boxes lower than the perches (they prefer to get as high as they can at night).
Also on the subject of whether to bury your wire or not, my thinking is that it will rust out in no time. The concrete idea does work, worth a go.
Something else I thought about to stop predators from digging under the fence is to use a product called geotech, something they use as erosion control on cuttings and embankments etc. Just tie it to your chook fence, lay it on the ground and weigh it down with gravel or even soil. If you've ever tried cutting the stuff you'll know how tough it is.

[HUON]

Sorry Luke, I meant fencefurniture, cava & Nathan. And yes the larger the run the less mowing, chooks are into bare earth policies, no grass allowed. Something else you could consider is to fence off a narrow patch in the run and plant some beneficial herbs, so that as the herbs grow through the wire the chooks can pick at them without destroying the plants. You could even put thornless blackberries, raspberries & Jerusalem artichokes behind the wire as well.

[cava]

Foxes are one thing, but mice and rats is another.

We are on 4 acres, and you would be surprised at how much rat/mouse poison we go through without any chickens. :(

[cava]

Something else you could consider is to fence off a narrow patch in the run and plant some beneficial herbs, so that as the herbs grow through the wire the chooks can pick at them without destroying the plants. You could even put thornless blackberries, raspberries & Jerusalem artichokes behind the wire as well.
I like this idea and had been considering rhubarb. Even though it's leave are poisonous, I would have thought that chickens would be sensible enough to leave them alone - but then again they are chickens.:rolleyes:

[pjt]

I'd also recommend laying a strip of wire mesh/netting (or geotextile) on the ground about 300 wide on the outside side and clipped/tied to the btm of the enclosure netting, also netting projecting out from the top of the vertical netting (only required if the top is open) and if that doesn't keep the foxes at bay electrify the fence.

Chooks do like to eat greens and dig/scratch so try to rotate them around different sections, something like a spoked wheel with a central hub (chook nesting home) but then individual areas could be opened up to allow them in or kept out of.



Pete

[HUON]

cava, I use automatic feeders, it stops a lot of wastage which seems to reduce the rodent problem which then reduces hungry snakes from hanging around.
Oh another thing, I also use automatic drinkers, it keeps the water fresher and cooler in summer.

[HUON]

cava, regarding chook house plans, have you checked out the similar thread section at the bottom of this page. might be something of use to you there.
Cheers
Brendan

[HUON]

automatic chook feeder

[HUON]

I think I prefer the Laucke feed to the large pellets, especially in this automatic feeder. Come to think of it so do the chooks. I think over the years I've lost about half a dozen birds choking on large pellets.

[dmac666]

Hi,

This is how we did our chook yard, it's about 12M x 5M (we have plenty of room) and fully enclosed in wire. I used a 600mm wide roll of vermin wire around the edges that has about 200mm laying on the ground to prevent anything digging underneath.

It's been about 2 years since this photo and all 8 chook's seem pretty happy.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/fLu_ZB9pv50cskOV7HN6KVbOjPFGsKfha9O1UHTeVME=w745-h556-no

There's definitely no grass left inside now.

[cava]

cava, regarding chook house plans, have you checked out the similar thread section at the bottom of this page. might be something of use to you there.
Cheers
Brendan
Thanks Brendan, I have checked those previously and felt that they were not what I was after.

I am sure that I will get there.:rolleyes:

[HUON]

Cava, any idea yet as to what sort of materials your going to use, if you're going to use timber and it's rough sawn give it a good coat of paint or lime/sulphur wash. Red mites especially love hiding in the cracks of timber during the day and then coming out after dark to feed on the birds blood.

[cava]

Cava, any idea yet as to what sort of materials your going to use, if you're going to use timber and it's rough sawn give it a good coat of paint or lime/sulphur wash. Red mites especially love hiding in the cracks of timber during the day and then coming out after dark to feed on the birds blood.
We have a cypress pine milling operation not far from us, and I was hoping to use their wood.

Not sure if the cypress pine would repel red mite or not. More research me thinks. :rolleyes:

[Trav]

I had some chooks, but they got foxed. Despite digging the chicken wire into the ground a bit, and with the ground made from big pebbles, they got in. My plan is now to run 900mm chicken wire horizontally around the perimeter of the run, tightly wired into the fence (1800 wire, not taut).

TrV

[HUON]

Trav, check some of the above posts regarding what other folk have used as a deterrent to fox predation

[HUON]

Cava, still think a lick of paint might help even on cypress pine (native).

[fenderbelly]

When I bought this place in April there was/is a chuck run at the bottom of the garden.
It now has four very young chucks in it and hopefully soon I will get some eggs.
My problem ATM is whoever built the run didn't use chook wire but a larger diameter wire hence I'm
feeding half the sparrows in town.
I have acquired proper wire and when the weather/time allows will put it up.
I may have a problem with foxes in the future as the fence line backs onto farmland.

[HUON]

Hey Fred, check out some of the previous posts on the first page of this thread. It might help you out regarding foxes.
Cheers