OPTIONAL EXTRAS
Droppings Trays - In certain atmospheric conditions or if the chickens come into the house after being outside in the rain, condensation can form inside the house. Normally, this evaporates or drains straight out of the chicken house and is not a problem at all. However, if you use an absorbent bedding material such as newspaper or wood shavings, this will 'wick up' any moisture. This moisture will react with the droppings to give off ammonia, which is not good for the respiratory health of your birds. The solution is really quite simple, and it is to use droppings trays to contain the bedding.
Droppings trays also make it easier to clean your hen house. They are easy to handle, and you can simply tip the droppings and shavings into a wheelbarrow or garden refuse sack.
Our droppings trays for our chicken coops are made from black recycled plastic (ABS - the same material used for car bumpers). We use 2.5mm thick ABS, which make trays quite rigid and surprisingly tough. The trays are approximately 25mm (one inch) deep, so hold a good quantity of bedding, such as wood shavings. The surfaces are smooth, and they have sloping sides, so they are easy to clean and can be stacked if required. Please note that the trays are not an exact fit, and there will be small gaps between the edges of the trays and the sides of the house.
Top tip: we generally find that wood shavings are preferable to newspaper as a bedding/litter material.
Automatic Door Opener - This house has been designed to work with a Chickenguard Automatic Opener. This simply bolts to the front of the house (holes are pre-drilled for you) and the cord attaches to a split ring in the door, replacing the manual draw cord and handle.
We supply the Chickenguard Premium opener, which has the following features:
- Auto Open - Specify Time or Light Level
- Auto Close - Specify Time or Light Level
- Manual Open and Close - Large Buttons
- Simple to set up and reliable to use
- Weatherproof housing
- Runs on 4 x AA batteries with low battery warning
- UK designed and manufactured
- 3 Year warranty
The Chickenguard opener can be bought with this product or can be bought later (see our Spares/Accessories section). It costs more to buy later, as extra shipping costs will be incurred.