Where to buy chicken coup ?

carbbit

philgee wrote: »

We're looking at getting a chicken coup, and have been thinking about something like this having decided that an eglu is too expensive and won't look right in our garden anyway.

Has anyone else bought one (seems to be lots for sale on ebay)? Are they any good?

Thanks

Argh, please don't buy one of these!!

I bought one off ebay about a fortnight ago and it's not worth the money! The one I bought looks identical but had two internal perches. It's not really suitable for more than 2 hens if you are keeping them in the run for the majority of the time. The wood isn't that great quality and even though it was described as precision cut by machine yada yada, it fitted together poorly (holes weren't drilled accurately etc) and the ramp fell off after two days.

I have had an Eglu in the past which was fantastic, I sold it as my flock increased and now wish I hadn't.

I'm currently using a converted children's playhouse as a chicken coop but am saving up for an Eglu cube.

kegs_2

carbbit wrote: »

Argh, please don't buy one of these!!

I bought one off ebay about a fortnight ago and it's not worth the money! The one I bought looks identical but had two internal perches. It's not really suitable for more than 2 hens if you are keeping them in the run for the majority of the time. The wood isn't that great quality and even though it was described as precision cut by machine yada yada, it fitted together poorly (holes weren't drilled accurately etc) and the ramp fell off after two days.

I have had an Eglu in the past which was fantastic, I sold it as my flock increased and now wish I hadn't.

I'm currently using a converted children's playhouse as a chicken coop but am saving up for an Eglu cube.

Sorry I'm going to disagree, we bought a very similar design in September from Ebay (different seller) and it has been very successful. We have 3 full size chickens who are all healthy, happy, laying well chickens.

We have built a pen for the coop to go in so they get more roaming space when we are out for the day, but when we are in they have free run of the garden and often find they have wandered back to the coop to lay an egg throughout the day. We have had no issue with the quality or cleaning of the coop. It is likely to need a wood treatment every year but to be honest we would do this with any wooden furniture in the garden.

Even found the cat curled up in there one day (coop was fully open) - before you all scream we have a happy clan of 3 chickens, 2 dogs and 1 cat who all get along nicely and of course the chickens are the boss!

Albeit we've come up against a problem today our youngest dog has taken to pinching and eating the eggs - thought her coat looked shiny!

However you proceed, I'm sure you'll enjoy every minute of keeping your hens.

beaujolais-nouveau

Umski wrote: »

Do you have a pic? I'm interested in your design if you're willing to share. This is a learning experience for me so happy to take advice

The run is up against a fence on one side and under a tree on the other and so isn't easy to make out in photos. However, in case this helps:

• I used six six-foot 2inch x 2inch fence posts stuck into metposts: if I was doing it again, I would use less thick posts.
• The run is slightly more oblong than square: I read somewhere that chickens get stressed if their run is square.
• I then screwed wire mesh to the posts: you have to use a gauge that foxes and badgers can't chew through, and although I bought the wire mesh from B&Q other people have bought it cheaper via an eBay seller.
• The eglu sits on a shelf within the run, about 18 inches off the ground: this is so that I don't have the problem of rats making their nest under the hen house.
• The floor of the run is entirely covered with bricks - other people use concrete slabs: this is to prevent rats and foxes burrowing into the run.
• The roof is of wire mesh, too: this is to prevent foxes jumping in. At the moment it is covered too with sheets of perspex but this doesn't keep the rain out well so am going to substitute sheets of clear corrugated plastic and make one side of the roof an inch or two higher than the other so that the rain runs off.
• The run should have a "skirt" of wire mesh all around it, either dug into a trench or with concrete slabs placed on it to keep it down: to make it harder for foxes to burrow under it.
• I had an old mirror, from inside a wardrobe door, and put that in the run on its side, tied to one side of the run: the hens primp and preen in front of it.
• Lastly: the reason I sited the run under a tree, with shrubs and plants/plant pots around it is because hens are originally jungle fowl, so I wanted to make them feel "at home".

mgriff5

Hi,

Egglus rock and we like them loads. Other people don't like them and want wooden 'classical' ones.

The world is full of different people with different ideas, thoughts and likes/dislikes. If we were all the same the world would be a very boring place.

Quit your bickering you sound like a bunch of hens clucking away!!