NOTE WELLS POULTRY IS NO LONGER IN BUSINESS. THIS PRODUCT IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE
With a growing number of people increasing the size of their flock, we decided to take a close look at the Monmouth Midi Hen House by Wells Poultry.
The Monmouth Hen House is a medium sized chicken coop measuring W: 125cm / 49″ (excluding nest boxes) x D: 100cm / 39″ x H: 103cm / 41″, which can comfortably accommodate anywhere up to 10 hens.
The first thing that you notice is how solid the chicken coop is built. The wood used is of a really good quality and is pressure treated to ensure longevity by making it highly resistant to damp, fungus and rot. Though, as I always state, you should continue to treat the wood regularly as the years go by.
Being solid, it might not be as easy to move it around your garden as more lightweight models, however not is it going to get blown away in gale nor is a fox going to find the wood penetrable through constant scratching either. In this sense, it makes a pretty formidable fortress for your flock and personally, I’d choose the solid over the lightweight any day. Other anti-predator features include a lockable side door and pophole.
Another excellent feature of the Monmouth Midi is that the roof is made from coroline, a tough lightweight corrugated material manufactured from bitumen saturated organic fibres. It’s an excellent product to use because it’s long lasting; free from asbestos and non-toxic; resistant to environmental aggressive vapours; has a 15 year waterproof guarantee; excellent heat insulation and sound absorption. Unlike felt covered roofing it won’t host a plague of red mites either!
All chicken coops these days advertise themselves as easy to clean and it’s a feature we now expect to be built into the design concept. Whilst the Monmouth Midi is a little large to have a removable tray floor, like some of the smaller coops, it does have removable nest boxes and side panel door which allows good access to get in and give your coop a good weekly clean without difficulty. This is made even easier if you buy the optional 10 inch stand that can be supplied with the coop.
What I always like about Wells Poultry is that they don’t do off the shelf products. Whilst the majority of coops available in the UK are made in China and shipped over to suppliers, Wells coops are made to order. The downside is that it can take a few weeks for them to make and deliver it. The good side is that they deliver your coop almost fully built, checked for damage before it leaves them and all you need to do is put on the roof and nest boxes. Easy Peasy!
The Monmouth Midi comes with one nestbox supplied and with the option for buying a second. To be honest, if you have five or more birds, then you really need a second. The coop does have two long, parallel perches running the length of the coop, which is ideal, especially in winter when the hens will roost together to share warmth. As expected there is also plenty of ventilation and with the pressure treatment of the wood making it resistant to fungus and damp, this makes it a healthy, comfortable home for your chickens.
Wells Poultry also give you the option of buying the chicken coop with an automatic door opener – as I previously in the post ‘How to let your chickens out without getting out of bed’ these are perhaps one of my favourite chicken keeping inventions – personally, I think you’d be mad not to add one to the shopping list.
The Monmouth Midi Hen House is currently available for £348 – to find out more or buy click here
Wells Poultry were one of the UK’s largest suppliers of poultry equipment and also sell a Monmouth Minor and a Monmouth Major Chicken Coop.