The "A" Family Gets Chickens

Children's playhouse before conversion to a hen house

Side view

One of the areas in which I'm looking to expand the business is in helping people get started raising small  livestock in their backyards.  Chickens are great because the provide a relatively steady stream of eggs, recycle kitchen waste, and are just enjoyable to watch.  Rabbits are another option.  They are quiet, eat relatively little, provide a very low fat meat source, and their droppings are a great fertilizer for the garden.

As a trial run for advising people in backyard livestock, I previously offered on this blog to help someone set up a backyard flock free of charge.  Mrs. A took me up on it.  Getting them set up was actually a breeze.  They already had 6 chicks from a school project and got 6 more from a friend.  They also had a fabulous playhouse that their children had outgrown.  Below I will detail the retrofitting of the playhouse into a hen house.

Nesting boxes mid-construction

The first thing we did was remove the large plexiglass window under the overhang.  We framed up a simple external nesting box using 2"x4" boards and 1/2" exterior grade plywood.  Each box should be 12"-15" cubes with a box for every 2-4 hens.  The opening was 36" long, so we made 3 nest boxes.

Removable nest dividers added

When the chicks start laying (4-6 months old), the nests will be lined with dry straw.  Every so often the nests will need to be cleaned and have the nesting material replaced with fresh straw.  These removable dividers should make that easy.

Mr. A installs a divider while Mrs. A looks on

Mr. A installs the nest box siding

Nest boxes completed

The door is hinged on the bottom and flips down to provide access to the nests for easy egg collection. The sides are covered with 1/2" exterior grade plywood to provide a draft free nest.

The "A" family at the back of the hen house

Showing off the sliding door and ramp into the chicken house

Sliding door in the closed position

Hen house window

The ramp and sliding door were added to allow the chickens to come and go from the house.  At dusk the chickens put themselves up in the house.  Chickens sleep heavily and are very vulnerable at night.  The sliding door is shut at night to keep out predators.  The two windows were covered with 1/2" screening.  On the coldest nights, they can be shut with sliding pieces of plexiglass.

Inside, the ramp provides access to the nest boxes

The inside openings to the nest boxed will be covered with cloth, with an opening for each box.  I used the pants leg of an old pair of jeans in my hen house.  This provides a dark, private nest environment which hens prefer.  Providing a proper nest box is essential to preventing turning egg collection into an Easter egg hunt around the yard.

What're you lookin at buddy?

My new chicks have arrived and I will post about the how's and what's of preparing for and raising up the chicks in the near future.