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. We are considering keeping chickens in the very near future. We plan to convert the existing garden shed into a hen house, obviously having first cleaned it. We have already purchased a hatch to install into the shed. Is there anything else we should do to the shed before the chickens arrive.
    Thanks in advance

    • Perches for the birds to roost are important. Make these higher than the nest boxes so they don’t sleep in these.

      Different breeds like different heights – and – you need them to be removable for cleaning. Light birds / flighty bantams / mediteranean breeds will enjoy a high perch but heavy breeds can be 6 inches off the floor. If you put a high perch, like a ladder, you’ll need other / lower perches part way up for them to fly on to, to get to the top perch.
      Nest boxes – ideally detachable and easy to remove for cleaning (especially when red mite are involved!). The chickboxes are plastic and easy to clean in this respect but wood works well, providing you keep an eye open for red mite in the summer months.
      Ventillation.. very important. Windows can be converted to mesh but have a hinged board that can be adjusted to suit the weather. Cutting a small vent high above perches and one low down near the floor can circulate air without making it drafty. You don’t want too much ammonia from the droppings as this will cause problems with eyes and respiritory problems.
      Wood shavings on the floor, straw (not hay) in the nestboxes and you’re done!

  2. I have bought two hens today for the first time and have put them in their brand new house for the afternoon and overnight as suggested by the seller to ensure they know where they sleep. I have bought a purpose built house with prefitted perches, however when I came in this evening both my birds were in the nest boxes. How do I stop them from sleeping there? I don’t know that I can raise the height of the perches, what do you suggest?

    many thanks

    Claire

    • Firstly, the perches should be higher than the nest boxes, then you need to block off the nest boxes at night. Cardboard boxes can be useful to do this so that there is no space for a hen to squeeze in. Some breeds don’t like to perch or simply can’t (ex battery hens will often never perch) but you mustn’t let them sleep in the nest boxes as they will get soiled. Hanging an old sack or feed bag over part of the entrance can help so the nest boxes are dark and appealing to lay in but less attractive for sleeping in.

  3. My coop has 2 nest boxes which are slightly raised above the main floor with a removable wooden slat in front of each. The coop can accomodate 8 but I only have 5 small to medium sized birds and a young cockerel. I put a straw/shaving mix in the nest boxes and eucalyptous shavings on the floor but the birds make nests in that and sometimes lay eggs Any suggestions? Thanks

    • I would suggest that you put dummy eggs in the nest boxes and put a feed sack over the entrance so that the nest boxes are dark places to lay. Maybe remove bedding on the floor for a couple of weeks to discourage laying on the floor.

  4. Thanks for all the great info. I am thinking about getting some chickens at the weekend, but I wanted to check a few things first. Basically I have an area about 2.3 x 1.2m outside of my shed which I would like to use for the chicken coop and run. It is concrete, but I read that I could use wood chippings for the base of the run and that they quite like this – is this OK? I would then let them run in the garden in the evenings and weekends. Is this suitable? thanks! Kate

  5. Hi at the moment my 3 chickens are in a wooden coop and a large outside run, 14feet by 14 feet we want to put a shed, in the run as it will be better for me to clean, my husband sugested a plastic one as it my be better to clean, would this be ok or would it be to hot we could cut another window.

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