Helena Vaňková lives in rural Cheshire, UK, with her flock of nine chickens. She keeps a mixture of hybrid and pure breed hens for their rainbow eggs on her small paddock alongside her kitchen garden and orchard.
Follow Helena on Instagram @damsonsandlavender.
We welcomed our first three chickens to Damson Tree Paddock back in 2017. We had recently acquired the land that adjoined our house and saw a small flock of feathered friends as the perfect addition to this developing plot.
Three hens swiftly became five, then six and recently we added three 'day old' chicks to our ever-expanding flock. When you embark on a journey into chicken keeping no-one warns you just how rewarding - and addictive - it is! I can no longer imagine the paddock without their gentle antics – that space without my girls would simply be a patch of grass without a soul.
When asked why I keep chickens, here are my favourite replies:
There is nothing I love more than sitting among my flock sipping my morning coffee and watching their antics. Chickens are endlessly entertaining as they make their soft noises while pecking at my feet, chasing flies, and fighting over slugs. There isn't much in life that half an hour with a flock of chickens can't solve.
My two boys are actively involved in the day-to-day care of our flock, and they never tire of collecting the eggs, feeding the corn, and going about the daily chore list. Having a pet that provides breakfast from its bottom is the best way to connect them with the reality of where their food comes from.
One of the most important elements of a happy flock is their accommodation. A safe, warm, and well insulated coop is essential. That’s why I love our Nestera Medium Lodge. I always favour a raised coop – being higher means it’s easier to clean and it provides a sheltered area under the coop for dust-bathing. Not to mention it deters rodents as there are no dark areas at ground level to hide under.
Sustainability is so important – each large Nestera coop is made with the equivalent of 2,000 recycled shampoo bottles here in the UK. Being made from recycled plastic means it requires no maintenance, it is robust, durable, and comes with a 25-year warranty.
Personally, for me as a chicken keeper the best part of owning a plastic coop is the resistance it has to the dreaded red mite. There are no cracks or crevices for them to hide in, and should you get an outbreak they can be easily washed away with a hose pipe.
Assembly is also incredibly easy, and each coop is delivered free within the UK using fully recyclable packaging. There really isn't anything that I don't like about these coops!
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As you can see in her timelapse video below, Helena assembled her Nestera recycled plastic chicken coop in no time at all:
Helena also provided us with a fantastic tour of her Nestera Medium Lodge:
Design your own recycled plastic chicken coop today with our Nestera coop customiser here and check out the rest of our handy coop accessories, like our removable Droppings Trays which make cleaning quick and easy, or our WiFi Coop Camera to keep an eye on your flock from your phone from wherever you are.
And don't forget to add code DAMSONS at checkout for 5% off your order!
