New Hen House DIY

PaddyJules

Need to build a new hen house and need advice on what to build it from. Options are either:

Wood - built with treated wood or
Blocks - built on concrete slab or
Old Transit Van -customised!

Is there any obvious probs with any of these ie ventilation or heat etc. Had red mite in our current wooden one so that's why we looking at other options.

Really need some good advice from hen keepers so pls advise.

aonb

all three options are good, but whether or not you can CLEAN them would be the deciding issue in my opinion.

Ive had 2 infestations of red mite, so know the misery of getting rid of it.
Ive dumped a fabulous custom built coop because it was infested, and I couldnt clean it well enough - eggs/mites - I have a second wooden coop that has not been infested - this coop didnt have a felt roof which may have been a contributing factor. Or not!

I havent had red mite since I (1) got a plastic dog kennel and customised it as a coop and have dusted every corner & cranny with diatom earth (2) put a net (netting off straw bales) over the top of my run to keep wild birds out.

Whatever option you go with - go with the cheapest option, and invest your money saved in a supply of diatom earth & netting to keep wild birds out of the run/feed/coop

brianiac

No idea where you live but if you were interested in incorporating a veggie patch then this is the niftiest chicken 'house' I've ever seen!

something id like to try when i 'grow up'...