Chicken coop FAQ

Our recommendation on how many chickens fit in the coop refers to normal-sized chickens. Let's take the example of a UNO chicken coop (designed for 8-10 normal-sized chickens): If you want to keep very large breeds such as Jersey Giants or Brahmas in your coop, it goes without saying that 10 will only fit on the perches with squeezing and a shoehorn. If, on the other hand, you have very small or perhaps even bantam chickens, there may be room for 12-14 chickens in an UNO chicken house. Chickens like to cuddle, but also need space in the coop In winter, the chickens all roost close together. This will give the impression that "5 more can fit on the roost", but don't let that put you off. Because before they can cuddle up in a pile like this, they all have to hop onto the roost and they need space to do this. You will also see that in summer, when it is very warm, they are not so keen on close physical contact with their conspecifics. Pecking order in the henhouse In addition, if the population is too dense, the lower-ranking animals will have no room on the perch and will therefore have to sleep on the floor because the higher-ranking ones will not let them up or will peck them off the perch again. This leads to them being eaten by their higher-ranking conspecifics during the night. Too few chickens in winter Too few chickens in a coop is also not ideal, as the chickens heat the coop with their body heat. It would not make sense to keep "only" 2 silkies in a UNO, as it could get quite cold in winter. Remember, the coop is very well insulated but not heated - the heating is provided by the chickens themselves. In principle, chickens have few problems with cold in the henhouse as long as the litter is not damp and there are no draughts whistling through the henhouse. Your chickens will definitely be grateful for a slightly thicker layer of bedding in the winter.

Every HeiniCoop chicken coop is completely closed from below and well insulated. A foundation for chicken coops is not necessary. You therefore do not need a concrete floor slab, e.g. against rats and mice from below, as is the case with most wooden coops. The fox also has no chance of burrowing through the floor into your HeiniCoop coop. However, simply placing the chicken house in the outdoor enclosure is not a good idea, as it would sink in more or less over time, depending on the ground. You can buy 50 x 50 cm concrete paving slabs at the DIY store. You can even buy nice molds for such slabs on Amazon. Such a small slab foundation for chicken coops is perfectly adequate for HeiniCoop chicken houses. These should therefore be placed under the feet of the chicken coop so that the chicken coop cannot sink into the ground. If the outdoor enclosure on which your chicken coop stands has a slope, this can be compensated for by placing several slabs on top of each other. Overall, a slight slope towards the door of the chicken coop is desirable so that the water can be pushed out of the door more easily with a rubber squeegee when cleaning the coop. Further tips for your chicken coop: Especially in front of the entrance areas - i.e. the laying nest, your entrance door and the chicken flap - it can get muddy in winter during long periods of rain. For this reason, you should at least lay some of these slabs where you want to go.

Laying nest adjustments when building a chicken coop The height and subdivision of the laying nests can be selected when ordering. This is best based on the breed of chicken you want to keep. Particularly heavy chickens do not like perches and laying nests that are too high, so individual adjustments are necessary here. We can also move the laying nest horizontally if required. However, care must be taken to ensure that the nest does not come into conflict with the aluminum skeleton on the inside. The laying nest should also not be moved too close to the perches. This encourages some hens to sleep on the cozy litter instead of on the perch in the nest -> chicken droppings in the laying nest -> litter and eggs are dirty. Perch adjustments when building a chicken coop The height of the perches can be selected when ordering. If you want to keep a very large breed of chicken such as Jerseys or Brahmas, we can move the perches a little further back into the room on most chicken coop models so that the thick, fluffy hindquarters of these chickens do not drag on the wall of the chicken coop -> chicken droppings on the wall With the UNO, you should consider installing only one perch for extremely large breeds so that the chickens have more space behind them on the perches. Window adjustments when building a chicken coop We can also adjust the exact height of the windows from the outside floor to your requirements. We can also rotate and move the windows by 90 degrees (portrait/landscape) if the layout of the chicken coop allows. A lowered window for a view into the coop is particularly useful for children. Rain gutter adjustments when building a chicken coop The rain gutter with the water drain runs along the rear of the chicken coop. When ordering, you can choose which side of your chicken coop you want the water drain to be on. You can then, for example, place a barrel in the run to collect the water for your chickens to drink from. Chicken door adjustments when building a chicken coop The flap for the chickens to the chicken run can also be moved a little. Of course, it is important to ensure that there are no conflicts with the inner skeleton of the coop. If you really want to, we can also install the chicken door in the wall where the perches are. However, this has the disadvantage that the chickens have to constantly walk through their own piles if they want to go outside into the run. This solution should therefore only be considered in an emergency. If you do not want to have an automatic door installed, you can also choose whether the hinges of the chicken door to the free-range enclosure should be on the left or right when viewed from the outside. Note We offer many of our chicken coops and aviaries in different versions. When placing your order, please try to choose the chicken house variant that comes closest to your wishes. So if you want a pizza fungi without mushrooms, you should perhaps order a margarita ???? This makes life easier for everyone involved.

Our chicken coops are normally shipped by LWK forwarding agents. The henhouse is delivered to the edge of the sidewalk. You are responsible for the further transportation through the garden to the run. Chicken coop shipping from CERO, UNO & TRES With CERO, UNO and TRES chicken coop models, no aids are required for unloading. The driver unloads via the lifting platform and then drives your chicken coop to your yard either on its own wheels (as a mobile chicken coop with the roller package) or using a pallet truck. (Fixed floor) Chicken coop shipping of DUO models DUO chicken coop models require a forklift or front loader for unloading! This must be organized by the customer on site, as the shipping costs would otherwise be far too high. A local farmer will certainly be able to help you unload your henhouse much more cheaply. Collecting the henhouse yourself If you collect your henhouse and aviaries of all kinds yourself, we can lift your henhouse onto your trailer with our forklift, but for liability reasons we are not allowed to lash or secure the load. In theory, it would even be more convenient for us not to be present when the load is being lashed down. If we were to notice any violations when securing the load, we would even have to prevent you from driving off the yard in this way in order to avoid liability.

Unfortunately, the chicken coop size is neither higher nor wider. Our coops are designed according to a fixed system that allows for little waste in the aluminum tubes and sandwich panels. Even a small change in the external dimensions results in a whole host of problems and considerably more material waste. The prices charged by the forwarding agents we work with are also based on our standard dimensions. For this reason, we are unfortunately unable to adapt the external dimensions of our chicken coops to the wishes of every customer.

Yes - no problem. Simply add another insulating glass window to the bottom of the coop extras. Light is extremely important for chickens. You can find out more about the relationship between light, chickens and egg quantity on our chicken info page.

No. Unfortunately, we can only offer the chicken coop color in red and green. In order to have any chance at all on the market for production in Germany, we have to buy our material in very large quantities. There would be no room for a third color in our warehouse alone.