Veterinarian, farmer and mum of three Sally Newall is based in Patoka, rural Hawke’s Bay, where she and husband Nathan own and manage a commercial bull beef farm, alongside breeding every animal in the Old McDonald’s farm storybook, including raising calves, lambs, and taking in rescue chickens!
She also runs a successful Facebook and Instagram page ‘Kiwi Country Kids’ where she shares exactly what it’s like to be a farming family, in this day and age.
Sally already had a converted caravan for 30 free range chickens but she wanted to take some more rescues on. She knew her accommodation wasn’t ideal and certainly wouldn’t squeeze in any more so she went looking for another chicken house to accommodate the new arrivals.
That’s when she contacted Outpost Buildings.
“I’ve heard good things about Outpost and their products always look really solid and robust to me,” she says.
Sally particularly loved the design of the hen houses and the 4 Bay Chicken Coop that she chose has room for up to 60 free range chickens.
“I love that it is on skids and has an open floor. This means that I can easily move the Chicken Coop to a new area every few days and the chook poo falls straight onto the ground and fertilizes the grass, so there’s no cleaning out to do and we get free fertilizer!”
Sally says the Chicken Coop was fairly easy to put together if you have basic/DIY building skills.
“I can’t pretend that I was involved in that but my husband and our farm worker got it assembled over a few afternoons!”
Her favourite feature is the nest boxes that are easily accessible from the outside.
“My six year-old loves collecting the eggs every morning and he doesn't disturb the hens inside the henhouse when he collects their eggs.”
Sally says she knew immediately that she has made the right choice with Outpost as the materials used are sturdy and well-constructed and the customer service was great too.
“Outpost more than met my expectations with their excellent customer service and quality products! I’m a keen gardener and like to grow my own fruit and veges so I’m keen to get an Outpost Green House next!” she says.
Find out more about Sally's Outpost Chicken Coop including photos and video on Facebook and Instagram.
Self-sustainability
The philosophy of the Newall family’s farm is high welfare, sustainable farming. She is passionate about caring for every animal on their farm to the very best of their ability. They also put a lot of time and effort into improving biodiversity, planting hundreds of natives every winter and using best practice techniques to minimise their impact on the environment.
“Our children are involved with life on the farm every day, feeding the animals, helping with yard work, moving bulls to new paddocks, they love it! We teach our children to be compassionate and respectful towards animals, they develop lots of animal husbandry and practical outdoor skills.
We try to live as sustainably as possible and grow our own veggies and fruit. The kids have a healthy respect for where their food comes from and we try not to waste anything. Even when it is time for pest control, the wild goats and hare are turned into a curry or fed to our working dogs!” she says.
Outpost Chicken Coops
Outpost Buildings’ chicken coops are designed specifically for the people (and the chickens!) of New Zealand, constructed from durable materials designed to keep the lucky hens roosting inside comfortable.
They are all constructed from materials and wood sourced from NZ companies, including sustainable New Zealand pine. All of them are designed to be relocatable, so they can be moved from place to place on your land giving your hens fresh ground regularly- or moved to a brand new property altogether.
Inside there is a ladder style perch for your hens that is removable for easy cleaning. A timber floor is an optional extra as well as Colorsteel roofing.
Features include
- Durable 2x4 inch treated timber framing
- Easy to access double nest boxes
- Wire mesh front panel for ventilation & light
- Chicken door in side for free ranging
- Person door for easy access
- Corrugated iron roofing with a 10 year guarantee (Colorsteel upgrades available)
- Skid mounted for easy relocation, just tow or drag
- Easy to assemble kitset with step-by-step instructions
- Free delivery to Toll depots nationwide!
For more information visit https://outpostbuildings.co.nz/collections/chicken-coop-hen-houses
