On Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:23:13 +0100, Sacha wrote
(in article ):

On 2009-10-27 19:02:21 +0000, Sally Thompson said:

On Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:18:44 +0100, David in Normandy wrote
(in article ):

Judith in France wrote:

... moving chicken houses

Following the thread I gather that chickens don't like their home being
moved. I'm planning on making moveable timber shed big enough for three
or four chickens. On wheels. How far can it be moved without upsetting
the chickens? I thought it would be a good idea to have a mesh floor and
be able to move it a few feet so the droppings fall on fresh ground.
I don't know much about chickens at the moment. I plan to make the
chicken house and get chickens sometime in the Spring of next year.



David, I have only had hens for about a year and a half so IANAE, but when
we
merely turned our hen house round 90 degrees they were very reluctant to go
in that night. If you want to move it, I suggest do it at night while the
hens are inside.

Sounds a bit like moving bees - there are specifics for doing so. I
think it's either 3' or 3 yards for them but forget the details now.
It sounds as if both hens and bees take some kind of mental picture of
their homestead and its location to help them get back to it.


Sorry to follow up my own post, David, but I was wondering why you think it
is a good idea to have a mesh floor? My hen house has a slide-out floor and
it is the work of 5 minutes each morning to remove the night droppings. The
floor is covered by a thick layer of shavings, which provide good absorption,
but also good insulation to keep them snug in the winter. Also, they walk
over those shavings to their perch which helps to dry them a bit in very wet
weather before bed. I would have thought a mesh floor would be a bit
draughty and cold for them, and also it is probably less work to clean the
droppings from the house than to move what will be a very heavy hen house
(even on wheels!).

Getting very OT here, so feel free to email me if you want.

--
Sally in Shropshire, UK
Posted through uk.rec.gardening