Which Chicken Housing Is Right For You?


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Ok, so you have decided that keeping chickens is for you and have read our "An introduction to chicken housing" article, so you know the basics about chicken welfare. Now you need to make the very important decision about what type of chicken housing would be best for you.

How many chickens do you want to keep?

One of the most important considerations in selecting a chicken house is making sure that it is big enough for the number of birds you want to keep. What exactly is big enough? Many countries will have their own guidance and legislation that advise on this issue, but it’s important to realise that the facts and figures quoted usually refer to commercial flocks. As a backyard chicken keeper, you will hopefully want your birds to have as much room as possible.

In the UK, DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) states that stocking density must not exceed nine laying hens per square metre of available ground surface!! Like I said - these are commercial quotas and not something that we small scale chicken keepers should necessarily be guided on. Imagine how cramped the reality of these chickens living according to these guidelines would be!

Most backyard chicken keepers wouldn't be considering owning large numbers of birds anyway, usually keeping less than a dozen birds. The manufacturers of many of the chicken houses on the market will state a recommendation as to how many birds they feel that they can accommodate. I find that, as is often the case with other animal housing, they usually give an over optimistic estimate and you should usually aim for less chickens that they say. Do remember, that not all chickens are the same size - accommodation that may seem spacious enough to house a couple of bantams may not provide sufficient space for larger breeds of chicken.

Using an existing building

You may even already have a suitable building, just ready to undergo a makeover to be transformed into the ideal chicken house. Chicken’s won’t be fussy and refuse to use an old outbuilding just because it isn't a designer hen house, costing a small fortune! What is important is that any conversion is done sympathetically with the welfare of the chicken’s needs in mind and that any old building is thoroughly cleaned (preferably with a pressure hose) and disinfected.

Areas that you need to think about if you are planning to use an existing building include making sure that it is impermeable to predators, that the structure is weatherproof and that the flooring is easily cleanable. Some old barns have slatted flooring which allows the chicken droppings to fall through; you need to make sure that the slats are not too wide to reduce any chances of foot or leg injuries. Your chicken house also needs adequate ventilation (not a draught!), which could simply be in the form of a few well placed air bricks, not too low, however, or they'll soon get clogged with shavings/straw and muck!

Many commercial chicken houses come with an attached run and allowing your chickens access to the outdoors and fresh grass has got to be a good thing. If you do plan to have a run attached to a homemade or converted chicken house then it’s a good idea to install a pop hole, so that your birds have easy access to the outside. You need to make sure, however, that it is secure and, once closed, makes the hen house just as safe from predators. It’s possible now to get automatic pop holes are light sensitive and save you the job of having to open and close them every day!

DIY experts amongst you will also need to be able to install perches and nesting boxes in your chicken houses and make sure that there is a secure place for food and water troughs, ideally off the floor to discourage a rodent invasion and to reduce the risk of food and water contamination.

Portability and commercial chicken houses

Many of the chicken houses available commercially for the backyard chicken keeper are portable and designed specifically with moving them around in mind, often having built in lifting handles to make it easier. Movable housing often incorporates a run area for you birds and because they are generally fairly easy to lift, you can put the house in different areas of your garden so that all your grass isn't getting trashed. In fact, you can use this to your advantage if you need a bit of weeding doing for free!

Most commercial chicken houses are generally made from wood and will come already fitted with nesting boxes and perches. There are some drawbacks to using wood and you'll need to check that it has been treated to help keep it waterproof and preserve it. Obviously, any treatments used need to be safe for animals and you may have to reapply the treatments on an annual basis.

Certain external parasites that are common to chickens e.g. red mite, love to burrow into any cracks and crevices and wooden structures often provide plenty of these. To reduce this risk and ensure that you can thoroughly clean and disinfect your chicken house, a wooden construction should be designed so that it is easily accessed and perches and nesting boxes can be removed for a good scrub.

There are now a whole range of plastic chicken houses available to buy which have their own runs, in varying sizes, which attach onto the front of the houses. Clearly a great deal of chicken-friendly designing has been incorporated into these and they can make an excellent choice for a first time chicken keeper. One of the main advantages of these plastics chicken houses is that they are easy to clean and maintain and they have very secure predator proofing features.

Perches and nesting boxes

It is normal behaviour for a chicken to want to perch and to have access to a nesting box to lay their eggs. As a minimum, DEFRA advises that each bird should have 15cm each of perching space and a ratio of one nesting box to seven hens. These are MINIMUM standards and it would seem more appropriate and kinder to afford each of your own chickens at least 20cm each of perching space and not to over burden the nesting boxes. One box per 3 or 4 birds would be more in keeping with the Five Freedoms guidance.

Perches should be sited higher than the nesting boxes to discourage your chickens from settling down at night in the wrong place! However, you do need to make sure that they are not too high, especially if you have younger birds that may injure themselves when accessing them. An old broom handle isn't really sufficient perching material. The bar needs to be about 25-35mm wide with a good grip (usually made of wood) and securely fitted so that it doesn't collapse under the weight of the sleeping birds at night.

Nesting boxes are best placed lower down in the house in a quiet dark corner. They can be lined with dust extracted wood shavings, sawdust or even shredded paper and straw. Do not use hay as this can become mouldy and be detrimental to the chicken’s health.

Perches and nesting boxes should be designed within the house so that they can be accessed easily and removed for cleaning.

Chicken runs and free ranging

For a chicken to have the freedom to be able to express normal behaviour, it seems only common sense that they should have some outdoor access to dig, scratch and roam. Some chicken owners will have the room to allow their bird’s quite free ranging access to their land but, for many, space may be quite limited.

If your chicken house doesn't have a run and you want to incorporate one, there are many options available on the market that will meet your needs, or you can even make your own. You do need to be very safety conscious however, as foxes aren't called cunning for nothing! Digging under a run, jumping into one, or taking advantage of a poorly secured gate or pop hole could be a recipe for disaster for your feathered friends.

We have a large fenced area for our chickens to roam and frequently allow them access to all of our gardens and fields. So fencing of an area for your chickens to have a real spacious outdoor free range is another option, we will cover appropriate forms of fencing in an upcoming article.

Remember, whatever home you decide to choose, keep the welfare of your birds a central theme. It doesn't have to be fancy or expensive. Sometimes simplicity is the best option.

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