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Woo hoo I've just got my chucks, six for a donation of £20
from the hen welfare trust who rehouse ex battery chucks.
Just got them in the pen, their a bit nervous as am I..
One more step towards independance and freedom...
I wonder if they'll go in the coop by themselves later or I'll have a battle on my hand getting them in?

i expect they will settle down eventually Mike, i expect they are overawed with all the open skies, the Hen Welfare Trust is not very far from me, i would like to have some hens myself but we dont have the space.

Wow Mike, that's really cool.

You should snap us some pictures.

I would get myself some animals, but I live in a flat and I don't think they'd appreciate living on the roof haha.

You will have to post regular reports, so I can live chickens vicariously through you. My girls a going within the next week.*sob* This is the first time I have been chickenless in more than 10 years. If you need any help give me a shout.

Thanks guys and gals, I'll get some pics up when they've settled in a bit, thanks for the support i'll probably need it!!

(31 March 2012, 16:02)mikebratcher69 Wrote: [ -> ]Thanks guys and gals, I'll get some pics up when they've settled in a bit, thanks for the support i'll probably need it!!

If you can do a few of the coop might give me a few ideas on the run I am trying to design.

Also would be interested to know how many lay and how long before they settle.

Sure, no worries W&c my pleasure, this is a description and I'll post some pics soon.
The fencing i've got is this stuff http://www.safesitefacilities.co.uk/temporary-fencing
I've bolted it together and with a bit of judicious sawing with a hacksaw made a roofed cube, but floorless for them to scrape for the food which is their natural habit.
I sprayed mine matt black though, to dull the "shiny steel" look down.
I've also put a couple of old lapped wood fencing panels on top to provide a bit of rain proofing for the run so it doesnt go completely to mud in the winter to come.
I read up on the trouble people had cleaning runs and coops out that werent high enough, so as I'm 6 foot, the fence panels are ideal as they're 6 foot tall too.
I made my rough and ready door from the bottom of bread trays found outside shops... I simply cut of the trellis bottoms off with a jigsaw and
used a couple of slats of wood to fix them together into a 6 foot by 2 foot door.
It looks ok to me, you could call it utilitarian but you could pretty it up with trellis on the outside if the missus doesnt like the look, or lapped panels.
With the height of the fencing and the fact its "roofed" its great for me as I can walk about inside it and do whats needed with ease.
A lot of the commercial ones would have you on your hands and knees cleaning it out.
People also use garden sheds for a coop and let them roam about the garden, but we have chavs, cats and the odd fox near me so more for security than looks.
They'll be let out under supervision in a couple of weeks, once they've settled in.
The fencing for the run was my clincher as I got it for free, I havent got loads of cash to throw about and you cant beat cheap or free.