Anyone have experience with Urban Chicken Coop Company?

[augustgen]

Would you provide an update on your Urban Coop? I am in MA and really love this coop. I am concerned about the open floor, protecting the run from snow and predators. Did you purchase the storm panels and if so did you use them.
Thanks.
PS: I have 5 chicks arriving early April, 4 full size and 1 silky. I hope they fit!

 

[augustgen]

Would you provide an update on your Urban Coop as you have had it almost a year? Likes, dislikes, any improvements or changes you made?
Looking to get one this spring but will have hard winters in MA.
Thanks!

 

[ACH1980]

Hi! So, it will be the 2nd winter with my coop & so far, so good. Despite very cold temps, my girls are fine. I have 5 full size hens & free range them everyday all day. They put themselves to bed at night & I simply go out & shut their door. I don't use any winter boards on the coop bc when I purchased it, Dyan, the coop designer said that air flow is essential & I didn't want to mess with it! I did put a door mat over the back end where the water goes to prevent snow from accumulating. The reason behind the airflow is I guess it is the moisture in the air in the cold winter days/nights that could hurt the chickens - so proper airflow is necessary. Also, despite the water heater I purchased, the water system doesn't seem to work well in winter. The tip freezes - so every AM I give my girls a pot of fresh water. Clean-up in winter is challenging as well simply bc everything freezes. On a "warmer" day I do try & clean the roosting area but do a major cleaning in the early spring. I still like my coop. Super cute & functional. I like that is made in the USA & Urban Coop Co answers all my questions I mite have. I haven't looked at other mods in 2 years, so I'm not sure what is out there now, but still happy with my purchase. Hope this helps! Any other questions, please ask!

 

[WindyCity]

This is a great coop for summer, but I'm not too thrilled with it for the winter in Chicago. Chicken poop becomes rock solid in the freezing temps & it is really difficult to remove it from the wire floors when that happens.So I ended up putting removable poop boards on top of the floors & daily cleanup is now much easier. I still have to work at getting poop off of the ramp, though, and ended up breaking the ramp by scraping too hard...now I have a bungee cord holding the ramp together & can't pull it up at night or it will fall apart. My coop is attached to a large run, though, so I can keep the ramp door open & my girls are still safe.

I also don't like how drafty this coop is ~ solid wood sides or overlapping wood would have been better so there wouldn't be the inevitable gaps between cedar boards which allow winds to blow right through. Plus, my coop door/window is facing East (so there are fewer winter winds), but there are still significant wind gusts that enter the coop & cause the feathers on the hens' bottoms to fly high ~ NOT good. So I ended up ordering the storm doors/covers & keep the side door and 3 out of four bottom sides covered, plus the area on top where snow & rain gets in easily. I've ended up covering one of the coop side walls (the ones with the upper windows on them) with R1 insulation, but I placed it about 6 inches away from the windows so there is still room for ventilation & it just prevents drafts. And the other side with the upper windows has a corrugated fiberglass wall about two feet away from the windows to keep the winds out.

Four out of my five girls (all except the easter egger) have already had mild frostbite this winter (temps got down to -2F at one point, with windchills of -25). I don't know if it was just the severe temps themselves or the fact that I made all these modifications to prevent drafts that caused the frostbite.

The feeder also gave me problems in the summer because the chicken feed would get stuck & I'd have to force it down with a stick (in the feeder) at least twice a day. The chickens also made a mess while eating & the food got all over the floor, so not the best feeder design. And every time it rained the feed would get wet.

Also, I wish I could access the girls from the coop door at night, but since there are two roosting bars I can't access the hens on the bar which is closer to the nesting boxes. This means I rarely handle the hens anymore because they get stressed if I chase them around the chicken run (and I get stressed too!). Makes it difficult to do body checks to see if they are staying healthy.

Also, it really would be nice to access the floor of the coop without having to get down on my hands & knees when there are problems such as the ramp breaking apart.

Although this coop is absolutely adorable, I feel like there are a lot of things I want to change, so I don't know if I would highly recommend it to others. Just my opinion.

 

[aart]

........Although this coop is absolutely adorable, I feel like there are a lot of things I want to change, so I don't know if I would highly recommend it to others. Just my opinion.

Typical prefab coop.......cute, but not real functional.

Thanks for the honest review @WindyCity

 

[ACH1980]

WindyCity -- all valid points!

 

[Beazles]

I have this coop also with 2 additional runs and I can't recommend it. I agree with everything Windy City stated except I don't think it's great for the summer either. I have 5 hens and it's just not big enough. And recently I needed to give one hen meds everyday and it is impossible to get her because the roosts are up so high and it is so crowded in there. I am thinking of simply buying a shed, putting in additional windows, and modifying it. I will also post links later to 2 other coops I found on the internet.

 

[kharz]

I spent a lot of time last spring trying to figure out a coop.

I am one of those guys with more money than time (2 young kids, long work hours) .... so I had to buy a pre-made one. It seems like all of the pre-fabs LOOK good ... but have compromises that go along with it.

I ended up finding a "local" company - about 90 mins from my house. Their coops were really well made and I have enjoyed mine so far. Its been pretty cold / snowy in CT and I have had zero problems so far.

The biggest issue is (a) its expensive; (b) they over build ... making it heavy.

While not ideal for everyone; I would recommend: http://www.clarkfarmbusiness.com/Chicken-Coops.html

p.s. No, I have nothing to do with the company - I work in finance in NYC

 

[Curlyginger]

Would you provide an update on your Urban Coop?  I am in MA and really love this coop.  I am concerned about the open floor, protecting the run from snow and predators.  Did you purchase the storm panels and if so did you use them.
Thanks.
PS: I have 5 chicks arriving early April, 4 full size and 1 silky.  I hope they fit!

I also live in Mass. I purchased my coop from Coops for a Cause in NH. It comes fully built, you just have to rent a pickup to go get it. They are on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Coops-for-a-Cause/344120489026559. I made a few modifications when I got it. I blackjacked the floor, painted the interior, added hardware cloth to the window, added a few extra latches, and made the roosts wider. The coop is just lovely - much nicer than my husband I could have built ourselves. We did build the run ourselves from a neighbors old wood swingset (it doesn't do the coop justice). My only complaint with the coop is that I wish I had gotten a bigger one! Check out my profile for photos of the coop.

 

[kharz]

I cant believe that was my first post; Ive been reading this blog since we got chickens last year.