Ruling the roost
Fancy fowl need fancy houses and many of today’s designs have made poultry keeping easier, says Kate Green
Kate Green selects the best chicken coops for happy hens
Gypsy Hen House
(above right)
Flyte so Fancy, from £3,300 (01300 345229; www.flytesofancy.co.uk)
If your coop must double up as a garden ornament, look no further than this wellestablished Dorchester company. Its elegant, hand-crafted houses, made from Scandinavian redwood with trademark heart-shaped windows, are charming. The Gypsy is the ultimate, hand painted in heritage paints by a resident artist and with brass fittings. It has stable-door access and a pull-out dirt tray.
Single Savoy Chicken Coop
Pets Imperial, £174.99, plus delivery (020– 3670 1705; www.petsimperial.co.uk) This 4ft wide by 3ft high coop, which comes in flatpack form, has four roosting perches, three individual nesting spaces (the roof opens above for easy egg collection) and a pull-out dropping board to make cleaning simple. Suitable for three to four hens or five to six bantams.
Eglu Cube
(below left)
Omlet, £799.99, plus delivery (01295 500900; www.omlet.co.uk)
Omlet, with original designs created by four art students, specialises in low-maintenance, modern-looking coops with easy-to-clean smooth surfaces made from high-density polymer, which can be pressure-washed. This one, its bestseller, which houses up to six birds, has a heavy, secure steel run, with built-in shade and wheels and handles for ease of moving. Can come with a walk-in run.
Dorset Chicken Coop
(below middle) Chickencoops Direct, £229.95 (£299 with run), plus delivery (www.chickencoops direct.com)
The structure of this self-assembly coop, which can house up to six hens in nearly 9sq ft of space, avoids much back-breaking bending over. Made by a Dorset company, it has a pullout tray and a removable front panel.
Noah’s Ark Style
Chicken Coop (below right)
Eggshell, £199.98 plus delivery (01903 756121; www.eggshellonline.co.uk)
This attractive ark-shaped construction, with its hobbit-like round window and nesting door, comes in flatpack form and doubles up as a home for rabbits and guinea pigs. Designed for four medium-sized chickens or six bantams, it has a washable and removable plastic floor. This type of house, with built-in run, is useful when bird-flu restrictions are in place, but only two birds should be kept permanently inside.
Automated door opener
Chickenguard, from £114.99 (01223 855636; www.chickenguard.co.uk)
This company is all about protecting poultry from predators, its staff having learnt the hard way, and its products are useful for owners who may be late home from work— it also allows for a weekend lie-in. It received a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in 2019 for its self-locking door.