Poultry Housing & Coop Info

We have listed a few points regarding the construction of our chicken coops, and hopefully covered your questions about the build standard of our poultry housing range.

  Chicken Coop Timber

Firstly, we only buy and use high grade timber for producing our chicken coops range. On leaving the workshop, all poultry coop and chicken house range will be fully treated and ready to go and have a lovely medium / brown wood finish. We take pride in making sure the timber is finished well, all corners rounded and sanded.This is important as it prevents the edges of the timber from splitting and the sharp edges harming your chickens.

 Timber Chicken Coop Aftercare

We recommend that you look after your chicken coop by washing off any dirt or chicken muck from the timber , allowing this to dry thoroughly before applying a coat or two of garden furniture oil to the chicken house & run, this will leave the timber gleaming, prevent the timbers of the chicken house & coop from drying out and splitting. Ideally, you could apply some clear oil on a warm dry day, if you apply this when your coop is delivered, it will enhance the beauty of the product and be much easier to do the job when your chicken house & run is new and clean. This oil can be purchased from ourselves if required.It's a myth that tantalised timber is maintenance free,  you will need to look after and feed your timber chicken coop to get the best out of it and keep it looking lovely. A non toxic oil is important, so as not to harm your chickens. The chicken house roof will take the brunt of the summer sun so its essential to keep this lovely natural product well oiled and supple.

 Ventilated & Insulated Chicken House

Should you neglect your wooden chicken house roof, we have added an extra internal lining to the inside of the chicken house, designed to act as a secondary roof. We have also incorporated the ventilation features into this roof lining, allowing clean air to be drawn up from under the eaves and the stale air escapes via the ridge, enabling the flow of clean air and exit of ammonia. Dirty ammonia air will cause serious problems for your birds, adequate ventilation in your chicken house is a very important requirement and one we have catered for very well in the design of our chicken housing.The double skinned roof to our chicken houses also helps retain the hens natural body heat within the hen house , having a cavity which is ideal for adding insulation during very cold periods perhaps when the temperature reaches near freezing, a much tender option than putting a duvet over the outside of the chicken house!

A very good friend of mine, Lesley at Hen School, spoils her hens something rotten. In very cold spells, Lesley really does fret about her ex battery hens and provides central heating for her chicken house by way of adding a metal bottle, filled with hot water, oh and not to mention the woolly jumpers she puts on her  treasured ex battery hens!

Movable Chicken Coop

Most of our chicken coops in our range are designed to be portable. We came up with the idea of clipping the chicken run to the chicken house to aid portability,quite a few years ago now and it really has caught on. Its so much easier to move the chicken house and runs independently. Some of our poultry units have carry handles built into chicken house framework if we think the unit requires carry handles for moving around the garden, some of our chicken houses don't require carry handles, due to there being adequate solid parts to grab hold off to lift the house and move it to a nice clean piece of fresh grass for your poultry, keeps the lawn looking respectable and well fed , keeps muck and disease at bay and keeps your chickens happy! I must point out that you will need two people to move your chicken housing around, one person at either end of the chicken house to lift the hen house properly and clear the ground, preventing dragging the hen house and sustaining any injury to your back. Its possible to have wheels added to any of our poultry housing, may be required if you're short of another person to help you move your chicken house around regularly. Plastic wheels can be added for very little cost, they'll certainly do the job but don't look as attractive as our very posh handmade metal wheels for our chicken houses, much posher option and will last for many many years.

Chicken House With Nest Boxes

Your chicken house & chicken coop come complete with nesting boxes, either an internal nest box which is placed inside the chicken house or external nesting boxes which protrude out side of the chicken house framework, overhanging the chicken house wall panel by around a foot. Our internal nesting boxes have a carry handle, so it can also be used as an egg basket. Ideal for trundling up the garden path to the kitchen with those fresh eggs, saves dropping them & subsequently smashing eggs. Its very tempting  in the warmer months when you're hens are laying particularly well, to look in on your hens on passing the chicken coop. Naturally if the nesting box is full of wonderfully fresh eggs, you're keen to collect them , there & then! Doesn't matter that you're without the egg basket, you'll place as many eggs as possible into the palms of your hands as you wont possibly drop them! You'll find our carry nest box very handy indeed.

Our nesting boxes also have dividers for providing a screen between each nest box for hens privacy and creating a snug environment for laying. The nesting boxes are also lower than the perches as hens prefer to nest in darker, lowest part of the hen house. Please as should you require poultry housing without nesting boxes, perhaps you intend to keep table birds. Its also possible to request external nesting boxes adding to your hen house , instead of opting for an internal nest box ,we can tailor to suit and add the external nesting box to whichever chicken house wall panel suits your specific requirements, so please ask if you require something special.

Chicken House Perches

Our chicken houses come complete with perches, these come in the form of a rack, which is easily removable in a second , a must for cleaning them off regularly. Allow at least 20 cm of perch length per bird, for larger birds allow up to 30 cm  perch space. Our perches have rounded edges, made using 2x2 timber, ideal so the  chickens have a comfy grip. There is ample room inside the coop when perches are in place for putting a small chicken feeder and drinker inside the chicken coop.The perches are at a higher level than the nesting box and all perches are parallel. 

 Chicken House Pop-Hole

The chicken house pop-hole is the small door that allows the chickens to enter and exit the chicken house. We ensure that our pop-holes are plenty large enough for very large breeds of poultry. Our pop-holes can also be opened and closed by the use of a drawstring, this enables you to release and shut up your chickens without the need to enter the chicken run.

Automatic Pop-hole/ Auto Chicken House Door

We are able to supply and fit automatic chicken house doors to our hen houses. These are electronically automated chicken house doors that lift the pop hole via a motorised drawstring, thus letting the birds out in the mornings when activated by sunlight or a timer. They also more importantly shut your birds up for you at dark by the same method. Its important when using the automatic door for the first time, to ensure your automatic door is set up and working properly and the birds are fully trained to go in on their own before relying on this super gadget.

Chicken House Ladder/Ramp

Your new chicken house will arrive complete with ladder, please ask if taking on ex battery hens as we could provide you with a training ladder as they will not be so agile until they adjust to normal life in their new luxury chicken coop. The ladder will sit on the ledge, at the chickens doorway.

Chicken House- Sliding tray/ Removable Floor

Our poultry houses come with slide out tray or floor. This sliding tray, sits beneath the perches, it removes completely and is fantastic for pressure washing off and aiding the pressure washing out of the chicken house ,allowing any water to drain away on those spring cleaning sessions whilst the floor is removed.

 Automatic Chicken House Door Opener/pop Hole/VSB

If you're just setting up to keep chickens or new to keeping chickens, you've probably never come across the automatic chicken house/ pop- hole/door opener. This is a very cleverly designed battery operated device that can be fitted to your chicken house , either internally or externally. It's a very clever device that will let your chickens out in the mornings at sunrise by raising the chicken house sliding pop-hole & shut the chickens away for you at night time by lowering the chicken house sliding pop-hole automatically ( providing your chickens are all putting themselves away, into the poultry house at dark  without human intervention ) the automatic poultry house door opener will close at dusk/dark , thus shutting your chickens away for you within the safety of the chicken house. The basic door opener/automatic chicken house door is activated in the mornings and night- time by sunlight or the lack of it! It has a sunlight sensor built in.

Overall, a great product, very robust and reliably built and great especially for those winter months when returning home late from work and unable to shut away your chickens within the safety of the chicken house before dark.

 We can fit one of these gadgets to any of our chicken houses, we charge a very small fitting fee for doing this.

 Its important when introducing your hens to the automatic door, ensure your automatic door is set up and working properly and the birds are fully trained to go in on their own before relying on this super gadget.

 Chicken Coop Heating

Its important to be aware that although chickens are rather hardy creatures and relatively straight forward to ;look after, we do have to appreciate that they are like us and they are vulnerable in extremely cold weather spells. They are susceptible to frost bite, even when inside the chicken house or coop when it drops below freezing. Chickens will be most sensitive in the feet, wattles and comb. areas. Its especially important to use a chicken house that's of a reasonable quality and design. It should be free from draughts and be kept clean and dry. Because chickens are perched for such long periods during the winter months , its important that wooden perches are used. The perches should have rounded edges and made from wood, any other material would be too cold to the chickens feet, metal perches would be especially harsh and cold to use as perch material so please don't use metal perches.

Lined Chicken House Roofs

 Our Framebow Chicken Coops have lined roof panels. The extra plywood lining helps heat retain the hens body heat thus helps keep the chickens warm inside the coop. Its amazing how much body heat a few chickens give off, when in a confined space, this is ever so apparent when transporting chickens in winter.

Plenty of Fluffy Dry Bedding Inside The Chicken House In Winter 

Last year whilst delivering a new Framebow Chicken Coop to a customer, late one December evening. Chris was setting up the chicken coop, assembling in the dark. When the coop was complete and ready for the chickens i unloaded the cardboard box out the back of the van, containing the lovely hybrid chickens my friend Ian, at Sunnyside Poultry had supplied me with. I opened the box , it was amazing how much heat escaped from that bloom in box, the chickens were much warmer than Chris or i......we applied loads of straw bedding to the New Framebow Chicken Coop, doesn't matter if you go mad with the bedding in really cold spells, put plenty of absorbent bedding such as shavings beneath fluffy straw , ensuring that you remove any damp, dirty bedding daily, as damp bedding could freeze when below freezing so its important to give your birds a fresh sprinkle of straw daily when its really cold.

Chicken Coop Central Heating

A friend of mine , Lesley at Hen School, provided central heating for her chickens. She fills a metal container with hot water and puts it inside the chickens house. This acts like a radiator, giving off heat for a good few hours , a good tip for those cold spells

Another option would be to add a heat lamp to your chicken house. Really easy to do, however you will require an outside electrical source. Heat lamps are available in different sizes. For our garden coop range, you will require only a very small lamp. Various bulb/wattage's available , some lamps have multiples settings and dimmer switch can be added for better heat output control.

Chickens Wearing Woollen Jumpers.

My good friend Lesley, at Hen School has recently been featured on the radio and media speaking about her passion for her garden and ex-battery hens. In colder spells Lesley's garden/ ex bats hens are dressed in woollen jumpers that were knitted  specially for them, thus helping to raise awareness  and funds for the chicken welfare charity called the BHWT. Support the BHWT .

Please send me any stories you have regards spoiling your chickens.. Be good to mention any unique tips.

 Chicken Coop Plans

If you're planning to build a chicken coop, the best plan, is to put your money into a Framebow Chicken Coop. Why have the trouble of spending hours at the newsagents, digging out manufacturers ideas , sourcing materials, wrestling with the weld mesh & cutting your hands to shreds in the process. It'll probably end up costing you as much in the long run by the time you've thrown the sickies off work and fell out with the wife over the design. Go on, be a devil and treat yourself to a Framebow Coop........... The smartest plan.