
Do chicken coops attract rats?
Blog to follow soon.....
For over 40 years I have designed and lovingly built animal and bird housing from my workshop in the Weald of Kent. I have sent builds to all parts of the United Kingdom and a good many parts of our planet. Even Kew Gardens can boast a Granddad Rob dovecote. I learnt very early on to listen to my customers. That to use cheap materials was penny wise and pound foolish, and that a good reputation is hard-earned and easily lost.
Specialist, expert, craftsman, professional all adjectives used today so liberally they have lost their worth. I have a proven track record, our builds are made to the highest standard and with the animal's welfare in mind. After four decades this old dog is set in his ways! Take a look through our online shop to see our designs, if you think I can assist you in your animal housing needs or if you are looking for something bespoke I would be pleased to talk.
SHOP OUR EXTENSIVE RANGE
We have everything you need to care for your tortoise, from houses and tables to runs and hibernation caddies. You can customise your housing to suit your needs and provide the best possible care for your tortoise.
ANIMAL HOUSING TAILORED TO YOUR NEEDS
Whether you need an automatic door opener for your chicken coop or a detachable ramp for your tortoise house, there are many add ons and modifications available to customise your order. All the add ons we have available are the result of listening to our customers over the years and helping them find solutions to care for their animals.
NO QUIBBLE, NO FUSS ASSURANCE
Be assured that you have 14 days from delivery to evaluate our work. If for any reason you are unsatisfied, then firstly we would like the opportunity to address your issues, and get you back ‘onside’. However ultimately if you strap the house back on the pallet we will arrange to replace the entire house, or arrange a refund. For five years after purchase if any part of your housing requires replacing, for a fault that is clearly our responsibility, we will send you replacement parts and the appropriate fixings to effect a repair.
1. Tortoise Houses
Our tortoise houses are all clad in our own distinctive brick effect walls and tile effect roofs. They include a range of features to pander to the tortoise perfectly.
SHOP TORTOISE HOUSES2. Chicken Coops
The Haydock Chicken Coop is the latest in the evolution of this style of housing, which I first designed and brought to market nearly 40 years ago.
SHOP CHICKEN COOPS3. Paddock Runs
The Paddock Run is an imaginative, stylish, and quick way of building a secure, ‘walk in’ run without resorting to digging holes and having to buy posts and mesh. The run is suitable for hens, ducks, geese and many other pets that need penning.
SHOP PADDOCK RUNS4. Dovecotes
Since I began in 1979, I would estimate to have made over a thousand dovecotes, so feel fully justified in saying I think I have got the hang of it.
SHOP DOVECOTES5. Bird Tables
Currently we offer two bird tables, The Ascot and the Lingfield, both have hexagonal bodies and roofs.
SHOP BIRD TABLESDecagonal body and roof, four levels of five segregated nests, furnishing nesting for twenty pairs of doves.
Since I began in 1979, I would estimate to have made over a thousand dovecotes, so feel fully justified in saying I think I have got the hang of it. The first Dovecote I made was so bad I took an axe to it, but I lost that axe and the need to wield it long ago. There are things to know about doves and their dovecote needs, some features are necessary and others not so much, but which is which is for me to know.
Dove wise there appears to be no advantage or disadvantage if a dovecote is painted or not, so it is a personal preference. Unpainted dovecotes look best in a less formal setting and the white doves against a naturally weathered silver grey dovecote do standout. Whereas white doves against a white dovecote, perhaps not so much. Painted dovecotes however are best suited where the dovecote is a focal feature in the landscaping. A white dovecote set against an evergreen backdrop literally looks outstanding. We can if required paint the dovecote in a colour of your choosing (call for details).
Product features:
Removable walls - alternate walls are removable for cleaning access.
Crowning - weathered with hand dressed lead and a purpose turned finial.
Stabilising - a set of treated underground braces that stabilises the post, without resorting to concreting. I have NEVER concrete a post and my cote withstood the 87 hurricane.
Materials - pressure treated sections are glued and pinned together to form the post (like a boat mast). This forms an extremely strong post and gives multiple layers of treatment into the ground.
Composite post - the posts are made-up of sections of pressure treated timber. Windsor 6 & 12 Nest Cotes have finished size of 14 x 14 cm. The Windsor 20 nest post finishes at 21 x 21cm. This method makes the post extremely strong. The resulting multiple layers of treatment makes the post even less susceptible to rotting.
Layout:
Individual nesting bays - each pairing gets its own bedroom.
Offset nest - nests are offset from the door to afford a degree of shelter.
Individual balconies - all around balconies that circle the cote allows unattached males to more easily promenade around the cote unsettling settled pairs.
NO QUIBBLE, NO FUSS ASSURANCE.
Be assured that you have 14 days from delivery to evaluate our work. If for any reason you are unsatisfied, then firstly we would like the opportunity to address your issues, and get you back ‘onside’. However ultimately if you strap the house back on the pallet we will arrange to replace the entire house, or arrange a refund.
FIVE-YEAR GUARANTEE.
For five year after purchase if any part of your housing requires replacing, for a fault that is clearly our responsibility, we will send you replacement parts and the appropriate fixings to effect a repair.
HOWEVER.
Granddad Rob Designs Ltd will not consider itself liable for the deterioration of your house that we consider is due to misuse or lack of upkeep. The timbers used are pressure treated prior to building so well protected against rot. However, we strongly recommend that your housing is treated at least once yearly with our water repellent, animal safe, timber treater, Overcoat. Overcoat forms an invisible, water repellent layer over the house, so lessening the moister uptake that in time could promote timber decay.
All items are handmade to order in Britain and as such can have a delivery time of up to 6-8 weeks. All our prices include the cost of shipping to Mainland England & Wales. If you live in Scotland or the Islands please contact us for a shipping quote, sometimes there is no additional charge as it depends on the size and weight of the product you are ordering. All our orders are shipped via a specialist courier and require a signature on delivery, so please ensure that the delivery address you give will have someone available to sign for the goods, if this causes you a problem please contact us and we will arrange with the courier for them to leave the goods for you.
If you are an overseas buyer, and would like a specific quote for despatch to your region / country, then please contact us with your requirements - including what items you wish to purchase - and we will respond to you with a quotation and delivery options.
Deborah MurrayHuge thank-you to Rob and all the team! 🙌
Highly recommend Granddad Rob Designs! super happy with our fabulous new coop, its beautifully crafted, practical and robust, after months of looking and searching online kept coming back to Granddad Rob designs, so happy that we were able to place an order and that you were willing to deliver to other end of the country, was beautifully packaged for delivery and arrived in perfect condition, the chookers love it too! 😍
Knew it would be a beaut...but its even better than I was expecting...Rob is so amazing at what he does! 😃
Wendy PattersonGorgeous Duck House, real craftsmanship and delivered so quickly and lovely people to deal with. We treated it with the preservatives as supplied and moored it to the mud anchor and it looks amazing. Moorhens have taken up residency already, so very happy with our purchase, I highly recommend Grandad Rob Designs for their quality products and excellent service.
Charlotte DarrellWe bought an outdoor tortoise house from Rob last year and it's stunning! Since then, we've got a kitten and we needed a way to stop him getting into our indoor tortoise table. We wanted a lid that went over the lights instead of under as the UV is reduced when going through mesh (and we didn't want our cat sunbathing under the heat lamp either!). So we asked Rob if he could create a custom lid for us - and he rose to the challenge! The lid is really clever in design and we received it in time for collecting our kitten. Rob has an incredible talent for crafting and we would recommend him for all your pet needs! We can now rest easy that our tortoise and kitten are safe and can admire each other from afar :)
Richard WillmottTwenty eight years ago we bought a six nest Windsor type dovecote from Grandad Rob in his previous business incarnation. Sadly the roof had become rotten - due to my neglect! Having tracked Rob down I was delighted to find he could make us a new roof. This he has now done and made a beautiful job of it. What's more it exactly fits . How refreshing to find to find such great craftmanship and helpful and friendly service. Thank you.
Lynne BottTortoise House and Run. I’ve had many tortoise houses and runs which never last long. Granddad Rob Designs were brilliant. From start to finish I was included in the exact design I wanted and nothing was too much. The items arrived today and are extremely well built and far superior to any tortoise houses I have previously had. The attention to detail is fantastic and everything has been given a lot of thought. I would highly recommend this company and all the different animal houses they make.
Granddad Rob Designs Ltd