Allotments 4 All

Good morning everyone,

My partner and I are looking into getting some chickens to keep in our garden at home and produce eggs for the family.  We have a wooden shed that we are thinking of converting into a chicken coop, and build a fenced chicken run attached to the shed.  Does anyone know of any websites that are useful and could help in this project?  Or has anyone had experience in something like this.

We want to get everything prepared before we think about getting in any chickens.  We are complete newbies to keeping chickens, so any information would be helpful.

We also have a dog, and would appreciate any advice on keeping chickens in a house with a dog.

Look forward to seeing your comments.

Ian Stanley.

Hello !

My hens are kept in a shed with an outside pen attached.   Mind you it is a massive shed but I would use a smaller shed if I could keep the hens in my back garden. 

I was a total novice when I got my first hens two,(or was it three?)...years ago. 

I'll have a look for some photos for you to peruse to see if you can get some ideas.

They need a perch,nest boxes and I guess your outside run should be made with a mind towards any outbreak of birdflu. That is, it needs to have mesh around it and above that prevents wild birds from entering the run. You could possibly do that later but it's worth mentioning.

I don't take my dog to the allotment because I can't trust her not to chase the hens. I know there are peeps on here who have dogs and have no problem with having them together with the hens. I think it depends entirely on the dog.

The perch needs to be rounded off.Can't really seee it in those pics but it has had the corners sanded off.  You can make a little ladder for bigger birds who can't jump up. It is about 12 - 18 inches from the ground.

www.practicalpoultry.co.uk is a great place for info.

I have 3 warrens and 1 brahma that I bought 2 weeks ago. They all get along really well. The warrens are very cheeky and come over to see if I have any treats for them when I come out of the house (they love grapes, one of them will come and take them out of my hand)
My hens are all free range in the garden at the moment. I have 3 dogs, 3 kids and a cat. 1 dog is scared of them and won't go oin the garden if she can see them, 1 dog tries to lick them lol and the other one isn't bothered by them. The cat is scared of them and the kids love going out to check for eggs in the morning. My warrens aren't laying yet but I think they are a bit young still (I forgot to ask how old they were when I bought them :( ) but my brahma lays nearly every day :)

shed is a great idea as hen houses cost a bomb!  You can easily make a nesting box from scraps of wood and  then you just need to add perches.

Another great website is www.pekinbantam.com - very friendly community on there.