Boughton Chicken Coop by Forsham Cottage Arks
The Boughton is our best selling traditional chicken house and provides comfortable accommodation for up to six chickens. This wooden chicken coop is the ideal solution for the first time chicken keeper that wants to keep up to six hens. The Boughton chicken ark is specifically designed for bantams and medium-sized birds and this hen house makes chicken keeping easy.
Fantastic product - have just assembled our Boughton and were amazed at the quality. 'Flat packed' usually means holes don't line up, pieces vary, cracks, etc, -not in this case! Our hens are now pampered pets! - Mary
From From £269.99
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Boughton Chicken Coop
£299.99 £269.99
The Boughton Chicken Coop houses six medium hens.
Timeless Chicken Coop Design
Its elegant design has stood the test of time and has become a chicken house design classic. The Boughton is our best selling wooden chicken house and provides comfortable accommodation for up to six chickens. It is the ideal solution for the first time chicken keeper.
The Boughton hen house is specifically designed for bantams and medium sized birds, who will find the warm interior and private nest box very much to their liking.
Full length doors allow access for easy cleaning
Easy To Clean Chicken Coop
The Boughton chicken house has full length side doors which allow easy access to the inside of the house. The retractable ramp means you can get into all areas of the house when cleaning.
The Boughton is easy to move around the garden with its stout carrying handles. If you're looking to leave your hen house in place, or have limited space, the carry handles can be easily removed.
Handles make moving the coop an easy task
A sleeping area over the run gives hens more space to roam around below.
Space Efficient
The Boughton uses less space than other traditional arks because the sleeping area is located directly over the run. This design also means the chickens are protected from the sun and rain.
Secure Fox-Resistant Chicken Coop
The house has an easy to use, hinged ladder which may be drawn up from outside to secure the birds at night.
Hinged ladder to shut hens upstairs at night.
Very easy for even children to use - so they can have the joy of collecting your eggs
Easy Egg Collection
The nesting box is located at the end of the chicken ark and has an external egg collecting door. It is very easy for children to use – so they can run down in the morning to collect the eggs.
Free Range Run Door
You can access all areas of the run using the handy doors at each end. This makes it very easy to catch a chicken, let them out of the run, or top up the feeders and drinkers.
Let chickens roam with the free range door!
Nest Box
The unique nesting box night shutter stops the chickens sleeping in the nesting box, dramatically reducing the amount of droppings that the chickens leave in the nest box and cutting down on egg cleaning time.
Roosting Bar
The solid, single-piece roosting bar provides a solid place for your chickens to perch while they sleep.
Retractable Ramp
The Ramp that sits between the roosting area and the run can be easily retracted to keep your chickens warm and safe at night. Simply pull the rope on the outside of the house and up it comes!
Forsham Cottage Arks
Forsham Cottage Arks have been making chicken arks since 1979. In 2011 Forsham became a part of Omlet. Over three decades, Forsham have learnt what makes both pets and their owners happy. Designed for ease of use and durability, Forsham products have been tried and tested by tens of thousands of happy customers.
Forsham's History
1979 - An unemployed printer, recently made redundant from the Kentish Messenger, returns to his old paper to place a small advert: 'Good Quality Poultry House For Sale.' It results in fifteen enquiries and seven orders. Forsham Cottage Arks is born.
1983 - As the volume of orders increases, Forsham takes on their first employee - a retired joiner from their village called Lenny
1988 - Forsham begins to sell its products through Harrods. Kew Gardens installs a Forsham Dovecote on its grounds.
1990 - Forsham exhibits its products at the Chelsea Flower Show. The stand proves very popular and they are asked to return the following year.
1993 - Forsham supplies a Boughton Chicken Coop to Channel 4's 'Big Breakfast'.
2000 - The Poultry Club of Great Britain presents a Forsham Lenham Chicken Coop to HM Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother in celebration of her 100th Birthday.
2002 - Forsham supplies a Lenham Chicken Coop to Channel 4's 'Big Brother'. Many people commented that the chickens were more interesting to watch than the people.
2008 - Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall uses a Forsham Lenham Chicken Coop for his hens as part of his Chicken Out campaign.
2011 - Forsham Cottage Arks is bought by Omlet. The purchase brings together two companies that share a common vision of producing the best pet housing in the world.
Close-up of the Spruce
Made from Slow Growing Spruce
Unlike cheaper chicken houses that are made of low-grade softwood, we use only the best sustainably-farmed Slow Growing Spruce for our chicken houses. With a high strength to weight ratio, other uses of this versatile wood include rowing oars, piano sound boards and ladder rails.
All the sections we use are planed all round so there are no scruffy faces or splinters, so the wood is ready for you to paint as soon as it arrives.
Boughton Chicken Coop Dimensions
Boughton Specifications
The Forsham Cottage Arks Boughton Chicken Ark is designed for up to six medium sized chickens. As they require additional head height in the nesting area, the Boughton is not recommended for larger breeds such as Buff Orpingtons or Cochins.
Please note, Boughton Chicken Coops are delivered on pallets. If you have restricted access please mention this on your order notesMaterials:
House: Sustainably-sourced Canadian Pine
Run: Zinc Coated 25mm Steel Mesh
The Boughton will arrive unpainted so you can apply your own finish.
Painting and preserving your Boughton
Choose the colour and appearance of your Boughton to suit your hens and your garden!
Your Boughton will arrive untreated in it's natural form. You can order suitable wood preservative from Omlet, here Ronseal 5 Year Wood Stain and have it delivered with your Boughton.
Please note that you must treat your Boughton before placing it outside and before using it with chickens. You should follow the wood treatment manufacturers guidelines for suitability.
A close up of the untreated Boughton
30 Day Money Back Guarantee
We're so confident that you'll love everything about your Forsham Chicken Coop that we offer a 30 day, no quibble, money back guarantee. If for any reason you are not entirely satisfied with the Boughton or the chickens you can send it back to us for a full refund. This does not affect your statutory rights.
Please note that your Boughton Chicken Coop will need to be treated with a suitable preservative before use, such as Ronseal 5 Year Wood Stain . Please follow the instructions on the can for use.
Very good hen house - Simon,
This is a profoundly good hen house. We tried to purchase a competitor first. It arrived and we sent it back. This Ark arrived and it has been a joy. Yes, the wood is not hard wood and yes there is an issue with painting around the mesh but the design is terrific and the quality is top notch.
Great design, but build quality failing - Daniel,
The design of this coop is excellent, second to none. The build quality has unfortunately fallen over the years however. The coop I purchased new, will undoubtedly be outlived by the older coops that I've bought second hand. Symptomatic of most things nowadays sadly. An average of 5 stars is very misleading, using the 'mean' average would give a more accurate rating.
Disappointed - Percy,
I bought the Boughton Chicken coop after spending several years researching different products. It's a great design which makes it easy to clean and look after the chickens. However, the wood is not pressure treated which meant it took about five days to paint. It was also really difficult to paint the wood behind the metal wire, and I'm not sure how long it will last without treating it again every couple of years. Although it's a great design I'm disappointed that the wood is not pressure treated and would have preferred spending more money on one that is.
Very neat product - David,
After painting it with a few coats in the garage and assembling on the patio we have sturdy functional house and run area for three lively bantams who have taken to it rapidly. Thanks
Nice design, but wood should be treated - Sean,
My fourth Boughton, will also be my last unless something changes. I nearly returned it, but eventually decided to give it a go. Not sure i made the right decision. It's an improved design, on an already very good design - for instance, both sides can be removed, and both ends of the run can be accessed from outside. However, the wood is now untreated softwood. Full wood treatment takes three days before assembly, and some bits (eg wood behind metal grills) can't be properly treated. If you don't have space to spread it all out before assembly, you won't be able to treat the wood on all sides. A couple of bits didn't fit properly when assembled, attention to detail seemed less than before. My previous Boughtons lasted an average 7 years. I expect less of this. Finally, I was left with a vast amount of expanded polystyrene packaging. There is no reason to use this and in our area, as most, it is not recycled. A big downer. Omlet have taken a good design, improved it a little, but delivered an inferior product. Shame.