Are omlet products any good?

[LizGio]

What's your opinion on the quality of omlet products. Looking to buy a covered walk in run best quality at lowest price.

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC. Sorry you've waited so long for a reply. I saw this question but thought that someone with direct Omelet experience would answer sooner.

I have never owned an Omelet product myself, so this is hearsay, based on people's posts on these forums.

Omelet coops seem to be better built than many prefabs. Unfortunately, that's a low bar to clear.

They are also WAY TOO SMALL for the number of birds they claim to hold and badly-ventilated.

The Omelet runs need to be reinforced with 1/2" hardware cloth to keep out rats, snakes, and weasels and to prevent raccoons from reaching in to grab birds that are near the wire.

If you're prepared to put only a realistic number of birds in the coop, to fix the ventilation, and to reinforce the wire -- like I said, they're reported to be better built than a lot of other options.

Here's some general information for you:

The Usual Guidelines

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

And if you think that having to do all that work on a prefab means that you might as well do your own coop here are some links that might help you figure it out:

Small Coops

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-little-monitor-coop.76275/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/dallas-urban-coop-single-slope-design.72422/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/yakisugi-coop.76398/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/coreys-coop-de-doop.55619/

Shed Conversions

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-mulligan.74743/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-coop-page.65912/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-scoop-on-a-rubbermaid-big-max-coop.76444/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/toy-shed-conversion.64879/

Hoop Coops

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hoop-tractor.69336/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hoop-coop-brooder-with-roll-up-sides.75720/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-biddie-bordello-a-hoop-coop-run-combo.72189/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/permanent-hoop-coop-guide.47818/

 

[LizGio]

Wow! Thank you for your detailed response. Very helpful!

 

[3KillerBs]

Wow! Thank you for your detailed response. Very helpful!

You're welcome. I'm just sorry I don't have any direct experience to report.

 

[perkolator]

I have no experience with Omlet products, but have seen both love and hate of them in peoples' comments. Personally I think they just cater to a certain aesthetic that people like these days and in the end the con's may outweigh the pro's like most of the commercially made coop products that are just way too small and look great in advertisements, but no so great in actual use.

If I needed to buy a premade walk-in capable run that's covered, I'd be looking at products like modular fence panel dog runs - because I've seen many used ones for sale for good prices. You can get them with covers or add a cover yourself. They're very secure and you'd only really have to add in some hardware cloth to make it secure for chickens.

My sister just decided she's going to get chickens for her new place. Until I can find time to help her build a nice coop, I advised her to start looking for a used dog kennel and a kids playhouse to freecycle into a coop.

 

[CLUCKING CHICKENS]

What's your opinion on the quality of omlet products. Looking to buy a covered walk in run best quality at lowest price.

I am a big fan of the Omlet coop and run. I bought the large coop with 6 ft extension and then added a 6 x 9 walk in extension.
I did have to add the 1/2 inch hardware cloth around the perimeter to keep preditors from reaching in but that was a easy adjustment.
I keep 10 bantam chickens of various breeds in my setup and have had no issues. Well built products and happy chickens. Looks great with the landscape. The quality is great and in my opinion worth the expense. Was easy to put together and is strong. I have seen a bunch of the other prefab setups for sale and this one beats them hands down. I love all the add ons available for this setup and how easy it all is to clean and maintain.
I have 2 chicken coops side by side, one that I built myself where I keep 8 full sized chickens and then the Omlet chicken coop where I keep the 10 bantam chickens.
No behavioral issues at all…. If you have any questions please just ask.

 

[igorsMistress]

I haven’t used any chicken products, but I do have a few bunny items. They do what they’re supposed to, but they’re fairly simple items. I wouldn’t say their products would be particularly predator proof. A local cat, small dogs not inclined to dig, birds of prey. If you have any serious predators I would suggest something else.

 

[TheFatBlueCat]

They're very well made. They are good for the purpose of keeping a very very small number of chickens. They're very easy to clean.
That being said, the eglu go would fit only 2 adult chickens and the cube honestly a maximum of 4 but I would say 3. And I am only talking about the coop parts, all of the runs are too small in my opinion unless you're willing to spend some serious money on all those extensions.
I have the eglu go and use it for broodies and small numbers of juvenile grow outs (like 4-5 chicks at 8-12 weeks old). I like it for this purpose.

 

[Genene]

I have the Omelet cube, 9 ft run & 12 ft walk-in. Love Omelet products. Very predator proof as evidenced by my jealous terriers inability to breach the coop or runs. The cube is a breeze to keep clean & is very well built.

 

[Chzikken]

What's your opinion on the quality of omlet products. Looking to buy a covered walk in run best quality at lowest price.

I have the Omlet auto door. Recommend 100% if you get one.