Collection: Chicken Arks

At one time, I ran 100 chickens in Brighton chicken coops, with hardly any hassle and an egg laying rate of 98%. The Brighton chicken coop functions on two levels, with the house portion upstairs and the run underneath, making it the most space efficient way of housing chickens, especially in a garden setting where space can be at a premium.

SECURITY
Personally, I seldom raised or lowered the ramps on my Brighton chicken coops. Ramp up or ramp down the Brighton chicken coop is made to be secure 24/7, and not more secure at night. My chickens were able to get down at first light, and up at last light, as they would do naturally. They did not get stressed because they were trapped upstairs, or at the other end of the day, because you wanted them up before dark. Having said that, I have a responsibility to evoke the ‘do as I say, not as I do’ directive, so I say, pull the ramp up at night.

SHADE & SHELTER
Chickens regulate their temperature by balancing being in the shade or in the sun. The run area of the Brighton chicken coop always has a sunny or shady side. In addition, there will always be a dry spot in the run even in the heaviest of rains. Snow accumulates on the outside of the wire, which insulates the run and acts as a windbreak, light can pass through the snow so the birds are neither in the dark nor snowbound.

NESTING
Our modern chicken descends from jungle fowl. Jungle fowl that laid their eggs in rudimental nests scratch into the ground litter hidden by the undergrowth. That instinctive need for a hidden, dark, scratch nest, is still prevalent, which is why the Brighton chicken coop nesting is set in below the floor level at the darkest end of the coop. The Brighton chicken coops have two nests, both are fitted with night shutters to stop the birds ‘overnighting’ in the nests. This is a bad trait, because they will often ‘soil’ in the nests, which soils the eggs. It is worth saying here that chicken eggshells are slightly porous, as water could carry harmful Bactria into the egg, commercially cleaning soiled eggs is banned. My advice ‘pooy’ eggs, cracked eggs or eggs laid out of the nest . . . bin them.

PERCHING
The jungle fowl would seek a high branch as a night roost, so they have a natural tenancy to climb the ramp to roost at night.

CLEANING
I know from experience that if a chicken coop is hard to clean, then it isn’t done as often as is necessary, which in turn can lead to chicken welfare issues. To aid cleaning the Brighton chicken coop has features such as a fully removable nest assembly, removable perching, large access doors down both sides, and removable end doors, all of which combine to make the Brighton chicken coop extremely easy to clean and maintain, so ensuring your chickens welfare.

MOVING
Stretcher handles help the chicken keeper to regularly (can be done by one person) move the chicken coop, best done before the chicken damage the turf to such a degree that it will take months to heal. If the ground gets too ‘stodgy’ it will become fowl sick and stink. It is good husbandry to move the chicken coop daily just a few feet onto fresh ‘scratch’. Then in a relatively short while, you will be able to move the chicken coop back over on to the same spot.