Bought this coop online... any reviews on these coops?

[columbiacritter]

I bought a Ware chicken barn and I think with lots of protective paint and some modifications it will work OK for me. But I would also never buy one again. It was a desperation move soince I did not have time to build from scratch like I usually do. I emailed Ware 3 times with questions, never got an answer. called their Customer service line and the person I talked to didn't know much about what they sold at all. Not a good experience for me.

 

[chickenwhisperer]

Quote:
Dang . . .

Imma tell ya how to fix those things so they last for years . . .
Use cabinet wood screws, they have a cut out on the threads that allows material to be puched out of the hole, so the wood wont split.(the cabinetry screws are the key to NOT splitting the wood)
Add screws where needed, usually on the corners, can also add 2x2 braces inside corners if needed.
turn it upside down, and pour wood glue wherever you can where 2 pieces of wood meet.
Let the glue dry overnight.

Paint it with some Zprime/Kilz primer, inside and out.
Then paint it with a good oil-based paint, use at least 2 coats.

If you strengthen the corners, glue the boards, and seal the wood, it will last for a long long time.
I have a Ware rabbit hutch that is at least 10 years old, and tho itsa little rickety theses days, it has lasted extremely well and there is NO rot.
I also like to find older Ware hutches on CL and fix em up how I described.

These Ware products are very useful to me!
I like em for quail pens.

 

[write2caroline]

I wouldn't say it is basically fire wood and it is a good place to start. Also if your chickens will have a chance to free range and are just sleeping in it then it will be fine for now and until they are full grown and laying eggs. My chickens have a large run so they are fine sleeping in the smaller coop. They mostly poop in the run so it is relatively clean too. And chickens ARE like potato chips so don't fool yourself thinking these 6 are your final chickens because we will enable you and you will be increasing the flock as the chicken obsession unfolds. Try collecting pallets and you can be creative and make another coop....later on.....with the next batch...of 25 or something Wink wink!
Caroline ( I was only going to have 3 ( 13 currently and 25 chicks to arrive next week and 8 more coming Aug 2))

 

[columbiacritter]

Quote:
Dang . . .

Imma tell ya how to fix those things so they last for years . . .
Use cabinet wood screws, they have a cut out on the threads that allows material to be puched out of the hole, so the wood wont split.(the cabinetry screws are the key to NOT splitting the wood)
Add screws where needed, usually on the corners, can also add 2x2 braces inside corners if needed.
turn it upside down, and pour wood glue wherever you can where 2 pieces of wood meet.
Let the glue dry overnight.

Paint it with some Zprime/Kilz primer, inside and out.
Then paint it with a good oil-based paint, use at least 2 coats.

If you strengthen the corners, glue the boards, and seal the wood, it will last for a long long time.
I have a Ware rabbit hutch that is at least 10 years old, and tho itsa little rickety theses days, it has lasted extremely well and there is NO rot.
I also like to find older Ware hutches on CL and fix em up how I described.

These Ware products are very useful to me!
I like em for quail pens.

That' basically what I did. Probably going to add a little more reinfrocement in the tops corners and put some sealer directly on the asphalt roof.

I think if you saw what Ware is putting out these days you would see a drastic difference in quality from even 5 yrs ago. My neighbor has an older Ware hutch that is 500% higher quality than what I see now.

 

[surfchicken72]

I REALLY appreciate all the words of wisdom... This whole chicken thing was the wife's idea...

but we're gonna build a coop.(Well, probably me) Hope to start this weekend. This way I can make it pleasing to the eye, and roomy for the birds. And MOST OF ALL. SAFE. What Thickness plywood should I use...sides/botom/top as I live in Massachusetts, so we get some nasty weather in the winter... and if I build a coop 4X6 will that give them plenty of room? I am going have a rather large "run" for them also..... And is 2 feet off the ground enough for the coop????

 

[FarmerSteve5]

Quote:
I bought this set of plans on eBay for $14, building the coop was a piece of cake. Chicken coop plans

We have six hens (3 are small silkies) and they are happy campers/layers. One hen just hatched two adorable chicks this week. I built it in a long weekend with my 8 year old and it was a lot of fun. Materials cost about $120 from Home Depot and the plans came with a detailed manual explaining all the steps and construction, along with pics, diagrams and cut lists for materials.

Hope this helps

 

[shopchicks]

Quote:
What we did for our six is t-111 siding outside, 1" styrofoam insulation, and eighth inch hardiboard inside. Some people go all out with plywood, then tyvek wrap with siding over that, but I'm happy with the way. We did it. Ondura makes a simple, weather proof cost effective roofing option.

 

[shopchicks]

Quote:
Sorry, posting from my phone. I. Was going to go 4x6, but it doesn't cost much more to go 4x8, and I'm glad I did. Our coop is raised 2'6" wich is high enough to go under to grab a chicken and also to hang my 5 gal bucket feeder at the right height.

 

[PineappleMama]

Assembled Size:
69.5"x 33.75"x 50" high overall

So, that's 2345.625 square inches... or 16.28 square feet?

Of course I'm guessing that's the whole thing area... IE run space... 16.28/10 (min recommended run space per bird) = 1.6 birds worth of run.
That makes no sense... clearly I botched the math on that...

But, moving on... let's see how bad I can botch it on the coop measures...

Doesn't give any measures for the actual coop part... just says 4-6 chicken size... hmm... same for chickenhutch.com

For four you need 4x4 (16sf) for 6 you need 4x6 (24sf)... width of the whole enchilada is listed as 33.75" ... not even THREE feet...

So, if the coop is 33.75" wide... then the depth of the coop would need to be at least 102" (8.5') to hit the 3456 square inches needed for 6 birds.
Since the whole thing is only 5'9 1/2" there is no way possible for that to hit the 4sf per bird requirement for the 6 it claims.
Actually, 4 needing 4sf = 16sf or 2304 square inches... with 33.75" width you'd need a coop that's 68.26" deep... possible if the whole 69.5" run was covered by coop, but otherwise no.

There's no way they'd be claiming this supports SIX hens if they're using 4sf coop min and 10sf run min in their calculations... so either they don't use those numbers or again I totally botched the math... quite likely it's me.

But, last but not least...

Also means those "two removable roosts" can't be more than 3' wide... and each large breed bird's poda have 1' ... so 4 yes, 5-6 maybe.
Unless the roosts are tilted the other direction... but we can't figure out what those lengths are since they don't bloody tell us.

*sigh* this is why it took me from October to freaking MAY to figure out a coop design I could live with... too OCD and too bad with numbers.

I'm a disaster waiting to happen really.

 

[surfchicken72]

well we're building a "REAL" coop starting next week, but this crappy one we bought turned out OK for introducing them to the outside... here they are exploring
the outside world... wife had them out there all day while I was at work.

I'm sure they enjoy it much more than the fishtank....

They loved exploring all the grass