- Thread starter
- #31
Chicks in VA
Bantams are the best👍😁
me??
cool
im going to be doing something very similar
thats cool
close
we get 4-8 inches 3each year (were im at)
but yes thats about right
should I Look into this coop
- Thread starter Chicks in VA
- Start date
we get 4-8 inches 3each year (were im at)
but yes thats about right
Me too.
Depending on just where in Virginia you are,
If you're planning to build a secure, roofed run you might consider creating it as an open air coop by putting a 3-sided shelter on the windward end.
That would work better in the southeastern part of the state or the Delmarva penninsula better than in the north or west.
- Thread starter
- #33
Chicks in VA
Bantams are the best👍😁
yeah prolly wouldnt be bad
VT Chicken Whisper
Chirping
- Sep 1, 2020
- 11
- 53
- 79
I have an OverEZ coop, I think it’s the extra large one. It was indeed pricey. It took me a month to finally push the “purchase” button. I did not start out with this coop: I came to it after the non-success of our home built coop. Even after researching how-tos, coop plans, etc., we still ended up with an A-frame coop/run (triangular tube on top of a chicken wire run) that was not ideal. Impossible to clean out for anyone under 6’ tall (and I’m 5’3”), rain leaks — well, let’s just say some people maybe are better at computer programming than at coop-building. The kicker was that it had a long slanted ramp at about a 60* angle and there was NO way to convince the ducks to go up that. I didn’t blame them.
So I looked around to get these birds into some kind of secure housing before predators and the winter found them, and came up with this prefab.
It took almost 8 weeks to get to us! It was 2020 and everything seemed to take longer to ship. When it came, we were able to assemble it with the help of our son without too much trouble. At first I was troubled by what seemed to be a small misfit in the nesting box lid — for what we paid, I expected perfection. In the end it proved to be a blessing, because I cannot leave my birds without some kind of heater bulb on a winter night when it’s -10, and it’s just enough to slip an electrical cord in. Yes yes, I know it’s not the best fire safety procedure, but I’m willing to risk it a few nights a year, especially since my husband groans when I talk about setting up a spot in the garage as we did fall 2020 pre-OverEZ to keep them safe. We started out with 8 hens, 2 Pekins and 3 mallards. The flock grew with the addition of a rescue rooster and 12 ducklings (who were adopted out along with one mama mallard).
So it’s been mostly worth it for us, two years later.
Pros: super solid construction. It doesn’t leak, at all. It’s thoughtfully designed. Locks on the doors. At first we didn’t use these.
We lost two ducks this spring to what may have been raccoons opening the latch on the human door, or ducks jimmying the handle from the inside to enjoy some summer 4:30 am morning time in the yard and finding whatever predator was there. (They’d been outside inexplicably a few mornings before that.) The dead ducks were away from the coop, and the chickens and one Pekin were inside unharmed. Now we always lock.
I like the roosting bar, and only have ever used one. Since the ducks sleep below the chickens, I made a “poop deck”. It’s a piece of plywood that sits nicely on the frame that would hold the lower roost: I put stick-on vinyl tiles on it to make it easier to clean off. A layer of Sweet PDZ after cleaning every morning means I can almost just sweep the clods off with a specially purposed ice scraper/snow brush as they generally dry out. The scraper does for any stubborn residue. (Does anyone else get a weird joy out of coop cleaning? I start the job sighing, but I’ll end up spending 45 minutes getting it all nice and cozy clean with fresh bedding and be happy pretty much the whole time.)
I like the idea of the poop hammock!
I put a rubber mat in the bottom. It has grooves that catch the sweet PDZ and they are difficult to clean completely. So I covered that with flattened Chewy boxes or duct-taped cut-flat empty feed bags, which protect the floor from wetness and get thrown out after they’re too gross. I’m considering getting a flat rubber stall mat and waterproof-gorilla-taping the edges to the wall to create another surface that’s easy to clean and preserves the wood. I also painted the inside walls for more durability.
More pros: it looks GOOD. I really admire those who can make a good looking building. We’re not those people. I have enjoyed looking into the back yard and seeing this structure for two years. The coop came with a little can of paint for touch ups.
CONS.
Biggest complaint: There is not enough ventilation. I have to figure out how to increase that, as in the winter it gets too humid. I will be trying the ideas I saw in other answers from OEZ coop owners.
Window screens have to be reinforced with hardware cloth, as others have said. I ended up just nailing it right over the screens.
It doesn’t house as many birds happily as they estimate. The ducklings only fit into the coop when they were very tiny, and before that, I think that the only reason it worked for our number of birds is that they have free range of our yard all day and only sleep in the coop.
The ramp, though low to the ground, was still problematic for our ducks. We built a longer ramp and that worked fine. I love watching them go in at night.
And of course, the price.
It would be great if it were possible to get in the coop without bending over. I handle daily bedding chores with a rake and/or a bedding fork with a slightly shortened handle (otherwise it bonks into the roof and restricts that forming motion).
In my opinion, this is worth it if you need some help in the building department but can assemble something, and you can do small retrofits as needed. It was not the most expensive prefab. Here are home built and OEZ photos, the last showing the poop deck and one of our ducks who decided she wanted to roost as well.
So I looked around to get these birds into some kind of secure housing before predators and the winter found them, and came up with this prefab.
It took almost 8 weeks to get to us! It was 2020 and everything seemed to take longer to ship. When it came, we were able to assemble it with the help of our son without too much trouble. At first I was troubled by what seemed to be a small misfit in the nesting box lid — for what we paid, I expected perfection. In the end it proved to be a blessing, because I cannot leave my birds without some kind of heater bulb on a winter night when it’s -10, and it’s just enough to slip an electrical cord in. Yes yes, I know it’s not the best fire safety procedure, but I’m willing to risk it a few nights a year, especially since my husband groans when I talk about setting up a spot in the garage as we did fall 2020 pre-OverEZ to keep them safe. We started out with 8 hens, 2 Pekins and 3 mallards. The flock grew with the addition of a rescue rooster and 12 ducklings (who were adopted out along with one mama mallard).
So it’s been mostly worth it for us, two years later.
Pros: super solid construction. It doesn’t leak, at all. It’s thoughtfully designed. Locks on the doors. At first we didn’t use these.
We lost two ducks this spring to what may have been raccoons opening the latch on the human door, or ducks jimmying the handle from the inside to enjoy some summer 4:30 am morning time in the yard and finding whatever predator was there. (They’d been outside inexplicably a few mornings before that.) The dead ducks were away from the coop, and the chickens and one Pekin were inside unharmed. Now we always lock.
I like the roosting bar, and only have ever used one. Since the ducks sleep below the chickens, I made a “poop deck”. It’s a piece of plywood that sits nicely on the frame that would hold the lower roost: I put stick-on vinyl tiles on it to make it easier to clean off. A layer of Sweet PDZ after cleaning every morning means I can almost just sweep the clods off with a specially purposed ice scraper/snow brush as they generally dry out. The scraper does for any stubborn residue. (Does anyone else get a weird joy out of coop cleaning? I start the job sighing, but I’ll end up spending 45 minutes getting it all nice and cozy clean with fresh bedding and be happy pretty much the whole time.)
I like the idea of the poop hammock!
I put a rubber mat in the bottom. It has grooves that catch the sweet PDZ and they are difficult to clean completely. So I covered that with flattened Chewy boxes or duct-taped cut-flat empty feed bags, which protect the floor from wetness and get thrown out after they’re too gross. I’m considering getting a flat rubber stall mat and waterproof-gorilla-taping the edges to the wall to create another surface that’s easy to clean and preserves the wood. I also painted the inside walls for more durability.
More pros: it looks GOOD. I really admire those who can make a good looking building. We’re not those people. I have enjoyed looking into the back yard and seeing this structure for two years. The coop came with a little can of paint for touch ups.
CONS.
Biggest complaint: There is not enough ventilation. I have to figure out how to increase that, as in the winter it gets too humid. I will be trying the ideas I saw in other answers from OEZ coop owners.
Window screens have to be reinforced with hardware cloth, as others have said. I ended up just nailing it right over the screens.
It doesn’t house as many birds happily as they estimate. The ducklings only fit into the coop when they were very tiny, and before that, I think that the only reason it worked for our number of birds is that they have free range of our yard all day and only sleep in the coop.
The ramp, though low to the ground, was still problematic for our ducks. We built a longer ramp and that worked fine. I love watching them go in at night.
And of course, the price.
It would be great if it were possible to get in the coop without bending over. I handle daily bedding chores with a rake and/or a bedding fork with a slightly shortened handle (otherwise it bonks into the roof and restricts that forming motion).
In my opinion, this is worth it if you need some help in the building department but can assemble something, and you can do small retrofits as needed. It was not the most expensive prefab. Here are home built and OEZ photos, the last showing the poop deck and one of our ducks who decided she wanted to roost as well.
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #35
Chicks in VA
Bantams are the best👍😁
im not either
okay thanks a lot im hoping to get one i think this has the most pros and least cons i can make more vents and etc,if i get i will be ordering in late November as don't need it quite yet ,just hope it gets here before JAN
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