First Coop

[Jillyreeves]

Thinking about getting our first coop. Please can someone advise if this would be a good option for 4 birds. Thank you for your time. Jilly

Cocoon CC2100 Chicken Coop | Chicken House

[RichmondHens]

The run is too small for four birds unless you are going to let them to free range outside of that area. All hen house manufacturers massively overestimate the number of hens their housing is suitable for. The house is the right size but the overall impression is that it is an overdesigned house with too many joints etc where red mite can hide.

Chris Marks (moderator on here) has a nice house he built himself which is similar to ours. Have a look at the pictures. Basically you want to look at a box on legs design with a hinged roof or large door which allows you total access inside. As for a run, a length of electric poultry netting (25 m as a minimum) made into a square which can be moved easily onto fresh ground is your best bet. You don't even have to electrify it unless you are in a heavy fox area.

To be honest it will be far cheaper to either build one yourself or pay a local carpenter/handyman to make one to your design rather than buy off the shelf. The wood these ready built coops are made of is pretty rubbish and doesn't last. Many on here who started off with them will agree.

[Jillyreeves]

Thank you for your reply. Too small for 4 birds, I know manufactures over estimate they say 6-8 so I thought half. They would be able to free range some of the time, weekends mainly, especially at this time of the year.

Someone I know has this coop for sale, she only used it for a couple of days before buying an egloo, heavy foxes in her area.

[polo]

I would agree with RH Jilly. I have two coops, one similar to just the house part of your photo and one I made myself, very similar to Chris's. The bought one was very poor quality and I have had to do lots of patching up including putting corrugated plastic over the roof to make it watertight. It would have gone back to the shop had I not had hens in it. I'm not saying all online coops are poor, its just very difficult to tell from a photo.

The homemade one is great - solid and much easier to clean as it is a simple box that sweeps out with not annoying lip to get over.

I feel you would be disappointed with the run size and end up having to extend very quickly. Its honestly much easier to start with the right set up than have to play catch up - especially as it will always be chucking it down when you need to be doing it!!! Speaking from experience!

[RichmondHens]

It's obviously up to you. I would be inclined to think that an Eglu is no more fox proof than the coop you are looking at so wonder whether there is another reason for getting rid, but of course you can try it and see.

The house will fit 6 birds no problem, when they roost they all squish up together, it's the outside space that needs to be big enough. Chickens will only go inside to roost or lay eggs, so the area where they spent all of their daylight hours needs to be big enough to allow them to roam, dustbathe, avoid the bossiest hen etc etc. Maybe you could consider using this house but providing an additional run to allow them more outside space? My feeling is that they will become very bored if kept in there most of the week and you will start to see the classic pacing behaviour of a confined and upset hen.

[Jillyreeves]

Maybe this is not the coop for us and I will have a rethink. My first concern is obviously for the welfare of the birds.

[bearded bloke]

I brought one very similar (different maker) & it was immediately obvious that the run area was too small,so made a run extension 3m x 1m x 1m half wire meshed & half as a covered eating area,fitted by simply cutting the mesh of of the coop end & then butting together.
The birds loved it they could run about & stretch their wings but as with all things they grew bigger & started looking bored so now they have an area of rough ground to range about on fenced with pallets they are again happy

[kathyd]

Hi there

This looks exactly like my coop which I spent hours and hours choosing and seemed like such a good idea at the time.. I've had it since October, and I hate it already... within weeks I'd started stapling strips of plastic around the doors to keep out draughts, and since then it's been covered in polythene sheeting in so many places it looks like out recycling bin, and the bedding was STILL getting wet in places where the rain blew in... The hinges are all broken and have been replaced, and the bolt broke in less than a week. Oh, and the door to the run swells in the rain and doesn't always shut properly, so you have to wedge it with rocks. The pop hole can be a bit of a bugger to shut too.

The metal tray does slide out, at least when the rain hasn't made the wood swell, but it's only any use if you're emptying the whole tray first otherwise it doesn't fit through the slot, and even then you'll end up with loads of wood shavings all over the bottom of the coop. The door is far too small, so I have to wedge myself inside to reach the far corners to clean and I get terrible backache.

The opening roof looked like a great idea, until you realise you still can't reach inside the coop from above. The lining - meant to be flat to prevent red mite - gets really damp when the roof leaks, and now has white mould growing on the inside.

The run is useless except as extra security for the pophole, and to provide a wee bit of shelter if it rains - provided all your hens get along well, because it's fairly cosy when you have 6 or 7 crammed in there, and 2 or 3 of mine always got excluded and ended up sheltering under the nest box outside.

One other really bad design feature is that the roosting bars are at the same height as the nest boxes, and all sorts of bad habits develop in your birds. Of course, you should be able to move them when they're asleep, but there's the sticky issue of not being able to access the inside of the coop very easily!

So we've now moved the whole coop into an outbuilding (we're really lucky to have it, I know), and the birds love having the coop to sleep in still, but loads of extra space for when it's wet. We let them out during the day inside an electric poultry net - currently 50m but potentially up to 100m - and sometimes in the rest of the garden if we're around to keep an eye on them. Space is really important to them, don't underestimate it.

Take the advice of people on here - if you can build your own, do so. We're definitely going to have a go ourselves next time.

[petal]

The best coop I have is a 6 x4' £100 b&q shed, creocoted, adapted with roosts etc. its a doddle to clean out and no stupid trays and wierd doors and places for red mite to hide- indeed red mite have never appeared in there! Then you can build a sturdy fence around it- dug into the ground and high enough to deter foxes - electric fencing is good too. Depending how big the area is(they would make a mess of even a large area!) you may decide to use wood chip in the end- we get ours delivered for free from a tree surgeon.

[petal]

Thinking about getting our first coop. Please can someone advise if this would be a good option for 4 birds. Thank you for your time. Jilly

Cocoon CC2100 Chicken Coop | Chicken House

By the way this will leak and fall apart within approximately 18 months! It would be the right size for dutch bantams or seramas?

[Suechooks]

Hi there

This looks exactly like my coop which I spent hours and hours choosing and seemed like such a good idea at the time.. I've had it since October, and I hate it already... within weeks I'd started stapling strips of plastic around the doors to keep out draughts, and since then it's been covered in polythene sheeting in so many places it looks like out recycling bin, and the bedding was STILL getting wet in places where the rain blew in... The hinges are all broken and have been replaced, and the bolt broke in less than a week. Oh, and the door to the run swells in the rain and doesn't always shut properly, so you have to wedge it with rocks. The pop hole can be a bit of a bugger to shut too.

The metal tray does slide out, at least when the rain hasn't made the wood swell, but it's only any use if you're emptying the whole tray first otherwise it doesn't fit through the slot, and even then you'll end up with loads of wood shavings all over the bottom of the coop. The door is far too small, so I have to wedge myself inside to reach the far corners to clean and I get terrible backache.

The opening roof looked like a great idea, until you realise you still can't reach inside the coop from above. The lining - meant to be flat to prevent red mite - gets really damp when the roof leaks, and now has white mould growing on the inside.

The run is useless except as extra security for the pophole, and to provide a wee bit of shelter if it rains - provided all your hens get along well, because it's fairly cosy when you have 6 or 7 crammed in there, and 2 or 3 of mine always got excluded and ended up sheltering under the nest box outside.

One other really bad design feature is that the roosting bars are at the same height as the nest boxes, and all sorts of bad habits develop in your birds. Of course, you should be able to move them when they're asleep, but there's the sticky issue of not being able to access the inside of the coop very easily!

So we've now moved the whole coop into an outbuilding (we're really lucky to have it, I know), and the birds love having the coop to sleep in still, but loads of extra space for when it's wet. We let them out during the day inside an electric poultry net - currently 50m but potentially up to 100m - and sometimes in the rest of the garden if we're around to keep an eye on them. Space is really important to them, don't underestimate it.

Take the advice of people on here - if you can build your own, do so. We're definitely going to have a go ourselves next time.

Take it you're not fussed on it then Kathy!

[angelat]

hi there, all the replies seem to be echoing the same opinion and i would have to agree through experience. My coop is not exactly the same as yours but very similar and i have had it for 3 years but have had to do many repair jobs on it and refelting the roof and nesting box areas. I got mine on the internet for around the same price and if i had my choice again i would either build a home made one or choose one from a reputable chicken coop maker and spend a bit more money. i personally do not favour the eglu's as to me they are small in size. the coop that i bought was supposed to be for 4-6 hens and the run is not even big enough for my 2 girls, they never spend time in there as i let them free range. they only go in there when they want to shelter. although saying that it was helpful when i first got them as my cat was over interested and it was extra security for them. hope you find a suitable coop! all the best. angela

[chris]

I got the idea for my coop from polo. It's working well, but I painted the roof of my nestbox and have mould forming there now. I plan on re-making the coop so won't paint it with the paint I used (fence paint, safe for plants/pets) - I'll just use creocote all over instead.

Here's a pic of mine: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-T...to%2525205.JPG & open here: https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-6...%2525201-1.JPG

With a large opening like that, it's easy to sweep the coop out clean. I now just use newspaper in the bottom and each morning when I let them out take the top layer off which contains the poo from the night before. Takes 5 mins and keeps on top of it.