Broody hen house - pictures!

[Life is Good!]

For those looking for a broody hen house.....I've got THREE broody hens (only have 5 hens), and desperately needed something to house them.

I came up with the idea for a 'duplex' of sorts....I have one converted dog crate house that one 'family' can go into. But that's only one of the three! So, using as little materials as possible - knowing this is not winterized in any way - I made this:



Total cost - $58.10.

Dimensions: 4' wide, 2' deep, 4' tall. Menards sells cut plywood sheets in 4'x2' size - I hate cutting plywood, so that's why it's tall. I'll also add a roost bar, so this could be a quarrantine house as well. (Then, hens won't bump head on short ceiling).

Doors turn into ramps for little bitty legs to manage to get up into. Whole shebang is inside a secure, predator proof run. I still need to install the divider between the two 'apartments'. That's today's challenge. The ramp doors have security clip hooks as closures.

Frame is made out of 1x2's and it's on green 2x4's as a footing - can't see that for the scrap clapboard I put low to the ground, so no chick gets caught underneath the house. Yes, I'm aware it's likely going to draw mice to live underneath it - that's why it's portable! (Mice hate moving!)

The backside:



As you can see, there's plenty of ventilation! That's why this is not a wintertime house. Just three season use only. At least in my climate!

 

[chickenbythesea]

very nice!! and a great price to boot.

 

[Life is Good!]

Thanks! The framing materials came out of Menard's 'cheap wood' bin - each 47" stick was just $.29 and the trim-boards are strips of lath for $.19 each. That cut costs a LOT.

The roofing was the most expensive piece at $17 something or another. Cut it in three chunks - two for the roof and split the last for the awnings over the doors. I should re-make the awnings, so they tilt downward to protect from rains....will do that after everyone's moved out of it. And a good coat of light yellow paint to match the barn it sits adjacent to.....again, this little house was in need of moving into TODAY, so no time to waste!

The clapboards are all ends we had on hand from re-doing the house. So if you add in the initial purchase cost for the clapboards, well, it's not free by any means! Ouch....the house is more of a money pit than the chickens! Although it's getting close.....!

 

[ImpulsiveFarmer]

Very cute, I'm sure your ladies will love it. What breed of hens do you have that three out of five went broody? The ones in your profile pic look like Australorps. I had close to 30 aussies and out of all of them I don't think more than one went broody at a time.

 

[Life is Good!]

Our layer flock is strictly Black Java's. They're about 1 1/4yrs old at this point. Best birds ever! Our rooster is highly protective, even towards the chicks - but he's baffled by all this female hormone raging around him! The hens are trying to vie for food and water rights for their chicks - even though they've got 2 extra of each in the coop. So that's the reason to build this mini-coop - to protect each one from herself and her coop-sisters! The Mom's would start battling (literally, like little roosters!) and the chicks scattered to the corners of the coop. So in order to protect everyone, they need to be seperate for a time.

Of course, it hasn't rained here since April - I get the coop finished, moved into position, get the mini-fence up around it to protect everyone, move the Mom's and chicks around, and BAM! a huge thunderstorm rolled in not 45min later..... never, ever dull 'round here. Ever.

 

[MelanieR]

Lovely! I wish we had a Menard's here!

Thanks for sharing.