Shelter for Chickens

As well as having a dry, draft free house to sleep in, chickens require a certain amount of shelter from the elements. Bushes, a hedge or wall can be used if birds free range to get out of the sun, wind or rain but if this sort of cover is not available, you should consider erecting some sort of shelter that allows them to get out of the elements.

Raising a chicken house onto legs about 18 inches off the floor and covering one side in the direction of the prevailing wind is a good idea as this provides them with shelter for the daytime. If you have a covered run, you can put corrugated plastic sheets on the roof which take the strength out of the sun and shelter your chickens from the rain.

Remember to put water containers in shaded positions during the hottest summer months so that water doesn’t over heat. Chickens cool down by drinking water as well as panting. You can read more about that on my page covering Water For Chickens.

67 Comments

  1. Hi I have enjoyed your site but would like to know is it possible to keep a chicken coop and run on Tarmac and then cover this with wood shavings.

    • It would be better with Wood Chippings that are deep enough to scratch in. Wood shavings will blow around.

  2. We have recently got 5 hens and all going well so far. We built a chicken house for them and they have a large run as well. Our major problem is that they have eaten all the grass and with the continuing bad weather and constant rain, the run is so wet and pure muck. Is this bad for the hens feet being in wet muck during the day.

    We plan to try and move the run and then reseed the existing one, but will wait til the ground dries up abit. So they are restricted with what they can free range eat with no grass so what do you suggest. Should we pick grass for them or substitute their diet with other things.

    • Yes, mud is bad news. Poultry Worms thrive in mud and the chickens will not like it.

      Any small area will soon turn to mud, so what people do is board the bottom of the run and then clear the mud / level the floor and add 6 inches of hardwood chippings (not bark as this holds mould spores). The hens will be happy scratching around for corn etc and when it gets really messy, you can replace it. Don’t forget to board off a small covered box / area for a dust bath too.

      Yes, they need a constant supply of greens. This can be winter greens or a cabbage from the shops hanging, to weeds from the garden for them to pick through – whatever you can supply really. Hanging some greens a little higher than they can reach will give them excercise jumping to reach them.

  3. i have 4 pekin bantams. having learnt a very expensive lesson about buying a ‘pretty’ house on the internet i have now invested in a proper house bought locally. i intend to to build a 6′ x 12′ enclosure. however, the site is very exposed especially to the north, east and west winds. we are also on the side of a mountain in near Bradford, West Yorkshire and are prone to snow. i plan to board the sides of the enclosure won the north and east sides and the house will go there.
    will they be warm enough or is there anything else i can do to keep them warm in the winter months?
    thanks

    • Most chicken breeds can tolerate the cold well (people keep them in -20 and below in Canada). The main thing is (as you are doing) to provide them with shelter from the wind and rain and provide them with shade in the summer. Water should also be in the shade as chickens cannot tolerate high temperatures as well and use water to cool down (they drink and expell more in hot weather). They also pant – but cannot sweat.

      A 3 sided shelter sounds beneficial in your location.

  4. Hi i have 2 chickens and are living fine, just wondered will they be fine living there lives with a run attached to a rabbit hutch? they seem fine in it but an expert opinion will be great!

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