Chickens spend their entire day eating and defecating. Nice. In a confined space it can get incredibly dirty and smelly, and in a hot summer the flies can become unbearable. It's no fun for the chickens and it makes it difficult to enjoy your hens if you're being bombarded by insects and fowl smells. Remember, it's not just the chickens that spend time in the coop - so do you when you're cleaning the little peckers out all the time.
The coops on this page are the most common methods used in the UK - although the designs, options and prices are prolific. You may decide to buy off the peg, make your own or grab a bargain from eBay - that's what I did and it's a great little coop for less than a hundred quid!
The coops on this page are the most common methods used in the UK - although the designs, options and prices are prolific. You may decide to buy off the peg, make your own or grab a bargain from eBay - that's what I did and it's a great little coop for less than a hundred quid!
Method 1: Poultry Ark
A conjoined coop and run is a popular choice, and if you have a large enough garden, you can simply pick up this type of coop by using the handles and move the run to a new area of ground as often as you need to. You also have the option to let the chickens out for a run round every now and then. This is the most popular method of keeping a run clean and stopping the chickens from destroying your lawn by all their scratching - just keep moving them around!
Method 2: Fixed Coop and Run
If I wasn't able to do free-range, this is what I would do. This coop is integrated into the run, it can be accessed for cleaning through a good height door and it is surrounded by additional wire mesh along the ground, which will help to deter a digging fox.
You could open the door in the evening and allow the hens to wander for a few hours before bed, which would give them both exercise and additional nutrition.
Method 3: Coop and Free-range
Method 3: Coop and Free-range
This is my actual coop. It has good access and is about the right size for my 6 chickens. It has good roof insulation, doesn't leak and is easy to clean with a pull-out base. I have added additional locks and bolts to the rear door, nesting box hatch and front door. This is to discourage foxes, and also any potential chicken thieves in human form!
I don't bother with the little ramp unless there are chicks around. It makes it a little easier for them, but just seems to irritate the larger chickens. Also, my chicks don't use the nesting boxes. They prefer to lay their eggs in a discarded kennel in the garden! So you can plan, but it doesn't make any difference if your chickens get a different idea in their heads.
On the downside, I have to get up at dawn to let them out every day, and in the summer, that's ruddy early. You can buy special self-opening and closing doors to attach to your coop, but they're a little pricey.
And for those with lots of dosh, the cheeky little Eglu. Even the second-hand ones sell for hundreds of pounds!
Coop Maintenance
Flock maintenance and coop maintenance are closely related. Your chickens spend a lot of time in their coop, and so do many other of their little 'friends'. If you don't keep an eye on both, your chickens' health could suffer.
Whatever coop you buy, you need to scrape it regularly and give it a good scrub and pest treatment at least each season. Wooden coops are especially prone to hiding mites and other bugs, which will feed on your chickens at night and may even wipe out your flock. Even a plastic coop is prone to tiny predators if it isn't cleaned properly.
I use a pressure-washer to blast the various crevices of my coop and literally blow away the cobwebs, but you could just use a good brush and a hosepipe to rinse it down.
I then use a mixture of water and white vinegar (a natural disinfectant) to scrub and cleanse the wood. Once it has dried, I use a plastic bottle with a puffer top on it to dust the coop with DiatomX (Pest Quality), which remains in the coop and literally dries and desiccates the mites and any other pests - including spiders!
If you have an outbreak of red mites, you can buy Red Mite Powder cheaply from any farm stockist and sprinkle this liberally in the coop, rub it into the roosting bars and sprinkle it around each chicken's bum. Yup - that's where mites like to congregate!
You also need to tend to the outside of the coop and apply wood preservative, as well as checking that it is all still in good order and not in need of repair. Screws rust and wood can rot, and it's always a good idea to check that no rodents have created entrances into the coop.
If you keep the coop on the same area, you will also need to treat the ground underneath. Sprinkle red mite powder and diatomaceous earth and rake it over. It'll get rid of the nasties and give you a little more peace of mind.
Flock maintenance and coop maintenance are closely related. Your chickens spend a lot of time in their coop, and so do many other of their little 'friends'. If you don't keep an eye on both, your chickens' health could suffer.
Whatever coop you buy, you need to scrape it regularly and give it a good scrub and pest treatment at least each season. Wooden coops are especially prone to hiding mites and other bugs, which will feed on your chickens at night and may even wipe out your flock. Even a plastic coop is prone to tiny predators if it isn't cleaned properly.
I use a pressure-washer to blast the various crevices of my coop and literally blow away the cobwebs, but you could just use a good brush and a hosepipe to rinse it down.
I then use a mixture of water and white vinegar (a natural disinfectant) to scrub and cleanse the wood. Once it has dried, I use a plastic bottle with a puffer top on it to dust the coop with DiatomX (Pest Quality), which remains in the coop and literally dries and desiccates the mites and any other pests - including spiders!
If you have an outbreak of red mites, you can buy Red Mite Powder cheaply from any farm stockist and sprinkle this liberally in the coop, rub it into the roosting bars and sprinkle it around each chicken's bum. Yup - that's where mites like to congregate!You also need to tend to the outside of the coop and apply wood preservative, as well as checking that it is all still in good order and not in need of repair. Screws rust and wood can rot, and it's always a good idea to check that no rodents have created entrances into the coop.
If you keep the coop on the same area, you will also need to treat the ground underneath. Sprinkle red mite powder and diatomaceous earth and rake it over. It'll get rid of the nasties and give you a little more peace of mind.
