Green Coop

[elliehouse]

A few months ago I got some buff orpingtons and I got the cutest little green and white coop from Tractor Supply Co. They have the best coops and they fair prices too. If you want a new coop, Tractor Supply would be a good place to check.

 

[birds4kids]

Not if you expect predator protection and it to last in weather.

 

[elliehouse]

What is your problem? Why not?

 

[junebuggena]

Those prefab coops are adorable, but they will only house half of what they claim to, they start to fall apart and leak after a few months of hard weather, their simple latches are not raccoon proof, and they are not digging predator proof. They just simply are not a good choice for long term housing.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Those prefab coops are adorable, but they will only house half of what they claim to, they start to fall apart and leak after a few months of hard weather, their simple latches are not raccoon proof, and they are not digging predator proof. They just simply are not a good choice for long term housing.

X 2 - there are many different threads where the specific problems with the design and construction of these coops are discussed.

 

[elliehouse]

What do you mean by "They don't house as much as they claim to"?

 

[junebuggena]

They will only comfortably house half the amount of adult birds that they claim to. If you bought a coop that claims to house up to 4 adult hens, their estimates are based off of battery farm chicken housing. The coop would only be suited to 2 small breed hens. If you tried to keep more birds or larger birds in the coop, overcrowding would start to cause behavioral and health problems.

 

[elliehouse]

Mine have plenty of room.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Mine have plenty of room.

Which coop did you buy and how many birds are you housing? Unless you are keeping 1/2 or less the number listed on the coop box, paperwork, etc your birds do not have plenty of room. There is not a prefab available from TSC that would grant your birds anywhere near 4 square feet each inside (not counting nest boxes) and 10 square feet in the run. Most of the pre-fabs grant each bird about 1 1/2 feet inside and 2 1/2 feet outside in their calculation of how many poor birds can be crammed inside this space calculations.
Your's is a common situation - you are a new chicken keeper who saw an item that was marketed specifically to you - that told you it was a perfectly safe, acceptable housing unit that was the best possible home for your new little pets. You had no reason to think anything other than what the manufacture was telling you, after all they were selling you a chicken house, surely it was built in a way that was designed for chickens, right?
There comes a point where we have to decide if we want our animals to survive (surely the birds can live crammed into these things at the numbers listed) or to thrive.

 

[elliehouse]

Question 1's answer: Green Coop with White Trimming
Question 2's answer: 4 Buff Orpingtons
P.S. I have a expansion pen for them