Why not go for it? Because it would be an
insane egg factory and we would have to buy most of the food they eat — that’s why. So we held back and stuck with six (which still produces too many eggs for two people to eat, by the way).
A decent coop for thee to four birds should cost you in the region of £300 though this can depend on whether you elect for a free standing house or one with a run attached. Assuming you are ranging your birds in a large space and the pop hole door is big enough for the breed you keep, then the main requirements of housing boil down to three points which will define the number of birds the house will hold; perches, nest boxes and ventilation.
I admit it: I wanted the
pretty eggs because they’re
special and everyone would say “ooooh” when they saw them, but I got over it.
It surprises me that the taste doesn’t vary much among breeds, but I later learned that egg taste is distinguished by various stages of richness rather than distinct flavors.
And so as the saying goes, “you pays your money and makes your choice”. You may think you’ve grabbed a bargain, but you and your flock could rue the day you did. Purchase the right house and it will last for a few decades, if not longer given the correct treatment. In the end your poultry and your poultry keeping experience will be much the better for it.
The students also factored in easy access to eggs and cleaning. The door, beveled to fall outward rather than in, would be hinged and latched, and the entire project would be on a box-beam base, with three wheels to make it movable. To move the coop would only require attaching it to a tractor.
With the huge increase in poultry keeping there has been an equally big rise in the range of poultry paraphernalia on sale. Poultry housing is a case in point. It’s also a classic example of the good old bandwagon being jumped on as various would-be poultry housing experts peddle an array of accommodation claiming to be the ideal solution to your chicken housing needs.