Hen House

October 21st, 2009

The Hen House – An ongoing project (check back often)

We are calling it the Hen House because that is its final use.  Along the way, our duck flocks will cohabitant with their feathered friends until the pond project is completed next year.

Considerations:
The general rule is that an outside run should offer no less than 4 to 5 square feet per bird.  The general rule is that a hen house should offer 2 to 3 square feet per bird. Standard lumber sizes – by sticking with the basics (like 8 foot sections) we greatly reduce the amount of work and need for intricate designs and more complex designs.

Each section:
Outdoor Run – 8 feet by 16 feet for a total of 128 square feet – Capacity 25 to 32 birds
Indoor Section – 8 feet by 8 feet for a total of  64 square feet – Capacity 21* to 32 birds

West side section – 8 sections (25 – 32 birds / section) for a total capacity of 200 – 256 adult birds

You will note the indoor section has a much broader range.  To keep it simple and because the inside and outside numbers are not cumulative, we are going to consider the indoor section to have the same maximum capacity as the outside section in respects to each section.

East side section – mimics the west side section – 200 – 256 adult birds

We have no current plans to complete the east side section until next year.

Ducks

The current plan is to breed and house the ducks along side the chickens until such time as we finish the pond area.  At that time, we will move all the ducks down to the pond area leaving the full capacity of the Hen House for the chickens.

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