advice for buying chicken coop

MiffyMFW

Hi

Has anyone any advice about buying chicken coops? Seems to be a huge range of prices. We're looking at keeping say 3 bantams

Thanks

lostinrates

MiffyMFW wrote: »

Hi

Has anyone any advice about buying chicken coops? Seems to be a huge range of prices. We're looking at keeping say 3 bantams

Thanks

.



Ventilation. Cheaper coops often have poor ventilation,and poor joints which will come away quickly. I prefer coops to be easily clean out able. For bantams walk in would be overkill, but higher rather than knee height (who wants to excessively bend or kneel in the mud to clean oput a coop?) and easy to reach all of it from M the back clean out area .

I also feel very strongly small coops should be movable if possible to minimise parasite problems. For bantam size coop if there are two of you some thing lift able should be fine if you are both able bodied. (You say 'we').

The movable, height and ventilating requirements will limit the market dramatically. See what's left!

ljonski

They could easily live in a small cupboard with air holes and a door. Best placed on bricks to stop vermin nesting, but make sure it is consistently cleaned out! they tend to snuggle up at night to keep warm, so the less room there is the better.

Davesnave

ljonski wrote: »

They could easily live in a small cupboard with air holes and a door. Best placed on bricks to stop vermin nesting, but make sure it is consistently cleaned out! they tend to snuggle up at night to keep warm, so the less room there is the better.

......And in the summer it will probably be too warm, while on wet days it won't allow much freedom of movement, so you'd need to think about those eventualities too.

Lostinrates' post is as good as you're going to get, so I'll just add that some of the prettier styles of coop with lots of 'features' sold on the internet or in pet shops are usually made in China from cheap wood with cheap fittings and don't last long. They catch a lot of people and lose even more hens!

You may not want to go for tanalised wood etc at the top end, but remember that unless the house is built strongly enough to withstand a physical attack, a fox or badger may wipe your little flock out. Chicken netting isn't strong enough either, you need proper welded mesh on openings.

This post isn't meant to put you off, but I have seen/heard of too many others losing everything quite quickly, because they underestimate the amount of effort that must go into designing chicken housing, which includes the run.

It sure ain't money saving! :rotfl:

Better_Days

If at all possible don't get one with a felted roof as the roofing felt is irresistible to red mites and it is impossible to clean between the felt and the roof.

As LIR says - one that can be taken to bits for cleaning is very handy - for keeping the mites under control and general husbandry.

Ours is on legs which is much easier for getting the eggs out and cleaning. This is similar to ours - although not so posh! But you get the idea http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Chicken-Coop-Hen-House-/161209957258?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Poultry&hash=item2588dcbb8a

Probably worth having a browse through some of the chicken forums like on Omlet for some more info http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewforum.php?f=5

Spirit_2

The need a comfy nest box, roosting bars and to be easy to clean out. A foxproof run to surround it being the most essential bit.

We have all sorts of coops and the easiest to keep clean and to deal with mites (you will get mites at some point) is the eglu.

In the recent very wet weather mine have really appreciated having a dry shelter to scratch around in during the day with some straw on on the floor and corn chucked in to keep them busy.

C_J

My chicken coop is very similar to the one in Better Days' link, although mine didn't come with legs so we've raised it up onto concrete blocks instead. I also chose a model which had a sliding up-and-down door as I wanted one I could use with an automatic door opener (I don't mind so much during the week, but it's nice not to have to get up at dawn to let them out at weekends!)

Please don't underestimate how persistent foxes and badgers can be in trying to get in for a free lunch, and how distressing it will be for you when they succeed. We constructed our (large) run from wooden-framed welded mesh panels which are buried 18 inches into the ground and are 8ft tall with a chicken wire roof fixed across the entire thing. The gate has a latch and two very stout bolts on it. Surrounding all of this is an electric fence. It makes it a bit like a maximum security prison, but I really don't want to lose any of my girls

ALIBOBSY

Spirit wrote: »

The need a comfy nest box, roosting bars and to be easy to clean out. A foxproof run to surround it being the most essential bit.

We have all sorts of coops and the easiest to keep clean and to deal with mites (you will get mites at some point) is the eglu.

In the recent very wet weather mine have really appreciated having a dry shelter to scratch around in during the day with some straw on on the floor and corn chucked in to keep them busy.

Regarding mites we have had chickens for years and I also know many others who have had chickens for years who never had mites. Keep the coop regularly cleaned and use diat. earth. We buy big tubs from a local chicken supplier. Sprinkle it over the bedding and the birds, protects against mites and worms, fab stuff. Can even use it on the cats for fleas :T.

Mind you we ARE in the north west so maybe its the colder winters kill the mites off? Maybe its more of an issue in milder areas and obviously never say never. Worked so far for us.

Our coop was from the place we got the chickens from as they buildt their own, OH had been going to build ours himself but theirs looked so good he got that. It's wooden, raised on legs, no felt, tight overlapping wood to avoid much in the way of cracks for the mites-the roof has ventilation all around and the whole of the back panel lifts off for cleaning.
Think we paid £165 for it with a feeder and 3 chickens about 7 years ago so a good price.

Ali x

twiglet98

I have four coops and the only one I'd have again is the shed-style one that I can stand up in. Kneeling or bending low to reach eggs and to clean out is really challenging when my back or knees are bad!