Has any one used a TX ranch-coop

baklilchicks said:

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We have a 4x8 feet  and 50" tall  coop on order from ranch-coop.com. We Will be making a run for our chickens. we have cats and a dog, but we also have red tail hawks.  So the run will have a cover. What I wanted to know if any love this coop or just hated it. We will be housing 2 leghorns,2 RI reds, 3 [COLOR=333333] Australorps and 1 Orpington in it. we looked into making our own coop but it would run us about $850 to $900. the coop is made of ceder and hard ware cloth.  [/COLOR]
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baklilchicks said:

We have a 4x8 feet  and 50" tall  coop on order from ranch-coop.com. We Will be making a run for our chickens. we have cats and a dog, but we also have red tail hawks.  So the run will have a cover. What I wanted to know if any love this coop or just hated it. We will be housing 2 leghorns,2 RI reds, 3 [COLOR=333333] Australorps and 1 Orpington in it. we looked into making our own coop but it would run us about $850 to $900. the coop is made of ceder and hard ware cloth.  [/COLOR]

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I was sent the larger tent shaped coop in error (I wanted the one on legs) last fall. I am in Michigan. Some parts are okay but no floor (cleaning), sent only one nest box (should be two) and was a headache to put together (for starters not enough roof boards the only part that is cedar so I had to use them as decking and am going to shingle it). They send no instructions or schematics just a numbering system that is inadequate. I will have to spend more to winter proof it as it is 70% screen.
They have no return policy and do not invoice. They refuse to accept any responsibility for anything, I've fought with them for over six months to resolve their error and have finally given up and out it together to see what I can salvage from a $500.00 error of theirs. Pat comes across as a good old Texas fella but it is his wife who runs the show and she is not pleasant to deal with. I was informed the error was all my fault as I ordered the wrong coop (it was over the phone so get everything in writing ahead of time). I'm middle-aged with arthritis and would never have ordered a low coop that I have to get down on the ground to clean and get eggs but she insisted I did. It has been a very unpleasant experience and now it is together (complete with left over pieces and still needing more work)

I am about to buy a coop from them their 4 x 8 coop is on sale. I spoke with Pat over the phone he seems really nice, and reasonable. Now I'm just skeptical due to this review...

We ordered a 6X6 coop from this place on March 1 and have yet to see it - when we ordered it we were told 12 days turn around time... Has anyone had a hard time getting their coop? Pat told us it would "go out by Monday" after our most recent conversation, but now I am feeling nervous about the quality after reading reviews and wondering if he's about to rush through our job to have us stop bothering him. 

UPDATE 4/16 - we received the package from them, and all that was inside was a couple of nesting boxes, not over $500 worth of coop materials. We have had a very hard time getting a hold of anyone at TX Ranch Coops to see where the coop we ordered 7 weeks ago is. If anyone has had similar issues, how did it resolve?

I ordered and paid upfront for a coop from them (over $1000!) in April and was told that it would be 8 weeks to get it. 14 weeks later, they said mine would be the first one shipped out that week. 15 weeks later, still no coop, I was told that, "It's on the table now!" I asked for a refund and was told that they had no money to refund me since they put all their money in overhead!!!!

Four months later some of the wood is starting to split on the roof and door, time for repairs already!

I ordered the Samantha model from Ranch Coop on a Tuesday and it was ready in 5 days. I drove to Greenville, TX (2 hour drive) to pick it up to avoid shipping costs assembly. The owners are very nice and have a big chicken farm. I bought four healthy Ameracauna hens from them and the fence posts. The coop is very nice and the hens instinctively went inside to roost. I like this coop because I can move it around the backyard and the fence posts are portable too! I will give another update in a few months to let everyone know how the coop is holding up.

RIRfave said:

I ordered the Samantha model from Ranch Coop on a Tuesday and it was ready in 5 days. I drove to Greenville, TX (2 hour drive) to pick it up to avoid shipping costs and assembly. The owners are very nice and have a big chicken farm. I bought four healthy Ameracauna hens from them and the fence posts. The coop is very nice and the hens instinctively went inside to roost. I like this coop because I can move it around the backyard and the fence posts are portable too! I will give another update in a few months to let everyone know how the coop is holding up.

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Most of the true Ameracauna I have seen are bearded and muffed . Those look like my easter eggers do. It is kind of hard to tell in those pics. I'm interested to see how you coop holds up. Looks Nice.

Scott


Scott

I'd wanted to build my own coop, but just couldn't get over my fear of not being able to do it and ending up with a pile of wasted money. I didn't want another cheaply-made coop kit that wouldn't last and wouldn't support my apparent affliction with chicken math. The well built coops that I found were too pricey or too small or prohibitive for me in some other way. The Texas Ranch Coop seemed to fit the bill for me. Pat was responsive to my questions and made the process to order easy.

I received my 4X8 "Alphonse" coop this week and have all good things to say about it. It arrived faster than I'd expected (my expectations were based on previous reviews here). It took me (a single 60 year old, spatially challenged woman armed with a drill with a screw bit) about one hour to put the coop together. Even the part of the instructions that suggested it would be better to have two people to tackle was not a problem for me to do on my own. The nest box took another hour to put together, I thought that the instructions were confusing until I figured out that they really weren't. I'm very impressed with the quality of the workmanship and the easy-to-follow-instructions.

If you're looking for the ease of a kit but with the durability to last more than a winter or two then I'd recommend this coop highly.

Remember that this is a man that build coops on a one-by-one basis and it's not his full-time job. This is not some off the shelf product. It takes time to produce. If he's got a lot of orders then it may take some time to receive your order. He builds each coop, then disassembles it, marking everything as he goes. I didn't have to worry about screw holes that didn't line up, or mis-matched pieces because it had all been assembled before.

For today, it's acting as a containment system for my little too amorous rooster to allow my mama hen and babies some time out of their nursery to forage, dust bathe, and explore the bigger world. I'll try moving the other hen in the new coop tonight with the rooster, and mama and babies can join them when the babies are a little bigger.