Want to keep chickens

Question

My name is Jack and I am 14 years old. I want to keep chickens but dont have much money to buy a chicken house. Where can I get one cheap or could i get my dad to build one

Answer 1

You do not need to pay a lot of money for a good house for your chickens. A garden shed, kennel, play house etc can be easily converted without too much cost involved. The main aim is to ensure that the 'house' is secure and weatherproof with ventilation and perches.

Look to see if there is a pets & livestock section in your local paper, you may find a 2nd hand house there or you could have a look on your local Freecycle site or local newspaper for a 2nd hand shed that will do the job.

Making or converting your own house can be much more rewarding that buying a new one however I would steer clear of felt rooves, clean thoroughly and treat for red mite before putting your chickens in.

Answer 2

Jack, write a letter to the Letters to the Editor Column of your local newspaper asking any readers do they have an old shed they don't want removed free. You should get several offers. Or try importers; Ask them for old packing cases made from plywood. Nissan up in County Durham had mountains of massive cases from Japan that had brought over car parts. So thats a clue. Word of warning; Think of your birds as humans, would you like to live in a packing case or a shed so maybe you ought to ask readers for an old wood garage you can have to.

And cadge some Visqueen plastic sheeting because you need to keep out the ground damp, the wall damp and rain damp, and to study roof ventilation, ideally you need a ceiling in your coop with 2 small square holes in it leading to the 'loft' meaning the outside, the ffalse ceiling creates an updraft and  'through ventilation'. A dry coop is an healthy coop, so remember one patch of damp can easily provide an home for upto 25 billion dillion germs and viruses. So remember the shed floor under-base matters, Visqueen goes down first to stop rising ground damp then the shed or coop goes on top. The first 4 foot high of walls are to be Visqueened to keep out morning dew and damp fog. Next thing is to get down to the library for some books on building ventilation, shed and chicken house building and ventilation, annd read up on Rhode Island Red chickens. A journey of a 1000 miles begins with the first step, and your best first step is into the nearest library. Good luck.