I got this hen house for my four birds, but am now worrying if the run is big enough for them. What do you think?
Charlotte Popescu says:
The hens living in this hutch and run have nowhere to shelter or get away from the heat apart from inside their hutch. Hens really should be provided with some shade from the sun. They enjoy sunbathing when the sun comes out but then they need somewhere to relax away from the heat preferably under a bush, hedge or in the shade of a tree.
Hens are more at risk from heat than from cold. They do not find it easy to keep cool as they cannot perspire; they often open their beaks to take in more air and hold their wings away from their bodies in the hope that it might help them to cool down.
I would also say that this hutch and run should accommodate no more than two or possibly three hens – there is just not enough space for four reasonably large hens. They have no dust bathing area and there is very little room for the hens to exercise or do the things they like doing such as foraging, flapping their wings, chasing after flying insects or perching off the ground during the day to preen their feathers and relax. Their only bonus is that they have some grass to peck at.
