The Rhode Island Homestead Hen House is quality tongue and groove construction!
Hen house capacity? We say 10 chicken, but you could have more based on a few factors to consider: what breed are you getting, and are you able to let them free range? We recommend taking a look at the measurements and seeing what you feel comfortable with.
Keep in mind the chickens share nesting boxes and stand side by side on the roosting rods!
This coop was engineered to be solid! Notice the support under the nesting boxes! There are FOUR roosting rods in this hen house. There are two large vents. The back door swings open allowing wide access to the hen house. Sliding plastic poop tray (metal poop trays rust from chicken poop over time), sliding door to close off the hen house etc. We also build and sell run extensions and have families purchasing multiple hen houses and run extensions to accommodate their flock.
Below is a picture of our two sizes to compare.
Assembly Overview ( Since this video we have added two new access doors. One under each nesting boxes making cleaning even easier!)
The dimensions of the hen house are:
65.5 inches wide x 67 inches tall x 42 inches long
The inside of the coop (not including the nesting boxes) is: 38 inches wide X 38 inches long and 47 inches tall.
The nesting boxes are spacious and you'll see the girls share nests. Below shows a picture that outlines the measurements of the hen house:
The panels come preassembled with predrilled holes and the heavy gauge wire mesh already attached. Each piece is labeled and the instructions are written by us and clear for assembly! Although this hen house is more expensive than others you will see online, the difference in quality is night and day!
A few additional points to consider:
-our coop has flashing above the nesting box roof lids to prevent water from running into the nesting box
-our carabiners and other hardware are heavy duty stainless steel
-we use nuts and bolts to attach the ladder to the hen house as well as to attach the nesting box roof lids to the hen house (this may seem insignificant, however, without nuts and bolts on these pieces you cut the life expectancy drastically)
-our hen house has multiple vents providing important airflow
-each panel has four additional diagonal wooden support pieces
-Run extension/support under each nesting box (without support the nesting boxes sag and quickly fall apart
-Acrylic sliding window rather than wood which can shrink or expand and make it difficult to open the windows/vents
-Hard plastic liner under all roof panels for durability and weatherproofing
-we use 16 gauge galvanized steel mesh (twice as thick as most other coops)
-we use heavy duty hardware (Ajustlock bolt latches!)
-EVERY piece is labeled and our instructions are thorough and written by us =)
-we sell hen houses and runs separately allowing you to customize and expand your set up
-THICK nesting box dividers (twice the thickness of most other coops)
Doors under each nesting box for easy access to the space under the hen house. This allows for easy cleaning and for letting the girls in and out.
Final Suggestions:
Since they are made of wood and will be outside 24/7, we STRONGLY recommend that you stain, lacquer or paint your coop. The stain applied is a base coat that is not designed to protect your coop long term from the elements. Often in transit parts can get dinged or scratched etc. You may need to touch up your coop before staining or painting it! Once set up we recommend anchoring it down, this can be as simple as a stake on each side of the hen house and run area. As much as we have tried to predator proof our coops, you know your area best and you may want to put wire around your coop, or put pavers. You'll always want to double check hardware and latches to make sure everything is tight and secure. Larger predators like bears you will want to look at installing an electric fence around the perimeter.
Ships in two boxes:
Box 1 weighs 57 lbs and measures 38x8x43 inches
Box 2 weighs 84 lbs and measures 39x9x53 inches