Build A Hen House – 5 Questions

  

Build A Hen House – 5 Questions

So you want to build a hen house?
Are you really ready for this?
Are you sure?

Just as a test, here are 5 questions that you need to know the answers to to make sure that you are going to get it right the first time when you build a hen house. Take it from one that knows, rebuilding a hen house because you didn’t get it right the first time is not only a real pain – it can become a complete nightmare!

Q1. How big do you need your hen house be?
Did you know that each chook needs about 4 square feet. Most hen houses come in 3 sizes; small – for up to 6 hens; Medium for 6-10 birds, or large for 10-15+ birds.

So if you were wanting to build a hen house for 9 birds you will need to prepare at least 30 square feet – that’s quite a large area for a small backyard – are you prepared?

Q2. What is the budget?
Chicken coops can set you back anywhere between $50-$500 dollars, but when you build a hen house yourself and use the right plan it is entirely possible to cut that back to less than $200. You could even build a hen house for less than $50!

Q3. What about predators?
Predators are a real beggar to try and keep out once your chicken coop is built – hands up all those who have been on sentry duty at night trying to deter that pesky fox? Or who has tried to lure an opossum out of a hen coop? Or worse, who hasn’t had to clean up after a stoat or weasel attack? When you build a hen house make sure that your plan has adequate security measures built in – it’ll save on the drama later!

Q4. Materials and Location?
Make sure that your site is well prepared and drained, also make sure that you have all the materials that you need. Especially if you are going to build a hen house over a holiday weekend. It’s darned frustrating running out of materials on the Saturday of a holiday weekend!

Q5. What’s Happening Inside?
We know that you need to allow roughly 4 square feet per chook when you build a hen house, but have you also taken into account the other necessities like feeders, water troughs, nesting boxes and sand baths?

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