Best pre-made coop?

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citykitty said:
It arrived Friday via freight truck. It's very well packed and crated. I'm hoping to get it put together in the next couple of weeks. This weekend I'm leveling out the ground and digging it out to put the hardware cloth under the run. I'm not sure what I'm going to put in the run itself--ideas? Should I just put topsoil, or mix it with sand, or plant some grass/clover in there? I'm going to use an idea I found here and get a turtle sandbox with the cover for the dust bathing area.
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Save some money and use welded wire, doesn't need to be hardware cloth, and do an apron outside of the coop. It will lay flat enough with sod staples to run a lawn mover right over it. Could the chickens tunnel out? Maybe...But I don't think I'd obsess about it.

citykitty said:
I would rather not bury it for many reasons, including the above. So if I just put it on the ground extending away from the coop and fasten it down, that should discourage digging?
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Yeah, most predators are too dumb to realize that moving two feet away allows them to tunnel in...Use sod staples, their cheap...
AKOhm4 said:
This is the dilemma I’m having as well. I know I want to use a dog run with a cover for the area I want to put it, but the actually coop is the headache. We live in northern Ohio so I needs to be up off the ground, but all of the pre-made ones are either low to the ground, cheap materials, and/or have a run attached. Frustrating for sure!
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I used a dog run for mine...I but the "Coop" (an IBC Tote that I cut up with a sawzall and mounted ) on a cheap table, and under the tarp. After I realized that I might as well go to the work of obsessively predator proofing the run as opposed to the coop, the coop became less important.
 
View attachment 1417391 Update... Finally got the coop and run put together (OverEZ medium coop) and this thing is sturdy, adorable, and worth the money. I couldn't have had anything built that's this nice for the same money. All of the doors lock with a latch and a key if you want to use it. The coop door and nesting box doors also latch open.

It came very well packaged on a skid and crated. The assembly was really easy--of the coop. We engineered the hell out of it; it's up on paver stones and leveled.

I added a double layer of hardware cloth screwed in all the way around the window, and added a feeder and waterer that come in through the door.

We put a double layer of chicken wire under the stone to 2 feet out. Next I need to cover that with dirt, and add more 1/4" hardware cloth around the bottom of the run. I also have to put the run cover on. I'm thinking about adding a platform and putting the dust bath under to keep it dry (in a covered sandbox), and something on top for them--toys? Lettuce garden? Something, it's plenty tall.
 
Anything you plant for those chickens will not have time to grow before they take it up. My chickens usually get most of the day to free range but on days they don’t I plant shallow containers of lettuce. And then put them in the run once it’s grown. But the more chickens I add the harder it is to do this. But with just a couple it’s workable. Also I’d like to buy Suet Cage bird feeders that are like $1.50 at Walmart and stuff them full of lettuce and vegetable scraps and hang them up. They sell things just like them except they are classified for chickens and they cost $12. And they’re the exact same thing.
 
I could understand wanting to start with a prefab cage. The first time we built one we had never built anything before at all but knowing how much a study prefab costs we decided we have to build. That’s like way way out of our budget. My friend bought a very expensive yet very very nice and sturdy prefab the coop earlier this year and has already realized she has run out of room after realizing she wants more chickens after she realized how much she loved having them. She is now choosing to build to expand. Just remember that chicken math hits and it hits hard
 
Like I said I can understand the convenience of prefab. But it is nice that we’ve built an 8 x 12 coop For less than $400 do you house or 18 chickens with room to expand. But I have kids also so I can definitely understand. Luckily mine is a bit older now
 
citykitty said:
We live in the suburbs, and they can't free range (neighbors, predators). I get chicken math, but it's not feasible unfortunately, so our small coop is fine for us.
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Sometimes I wish I lived in the suburbs and was restricted. I started with six and we said oh maybe a couple more now we have a team. That’s a couple right? LOL I live in the middle of nowhere so predators are a problem but at least no neighbors. Sometimes neighbors are worse than predators. LOL send some pictures when everything is assembled and your ladies are in there
 

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