Coop recommendations for prodigal chicken keeper who is also lazy

[roo-many]

Hello! I'm back getting ready keep chickens again after a 3-4 year break. We kept them for 3-4 years before rehoming what was left of our flock. This time, I want them safer, and I want more convenience for myself. Here is my wish list:

Something to assemble, NOT build

Coop inside a walk-in kennel or run that will keep them safe from predators (we had trouble with pretty much everything except alligators and mythical creatures)

Room for 5-8 layers

Easy access to retrieve eggs and clean

Am I strictly an Omlet customer? Are there alternatives out there that cost less without resorting to building/retrofitting?

 

[aart]

Am I strictly an Omlet customer?

Never seen an Omlet that would hold more the 3-4 birds.

Are there alternatives out there that cost less without resorting to building/retrofitting?

Probably not.
Secure chicken housing is not cheep(haha!)
Cry now or cry later.

Do you still have your old coop?
Pics of that might help here.


Welcome Back! @roo-many
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Since I don't know what your climate is, if you're somewhere with more temperate climates and weather conditions, you could just turn the kennel into an open air coop/run combo.

 

[Mamatomany123]

I turned an old playhouse into a coop. I had to add hardware cloth to the windows. Added a floor and raised it. Also added a door and some roost. We bolted the walls together and also bolted the roof on. It works. We have 7 chickens and it gives good space but we are going to extend on it soon. Playhouse was free. Wood for door and floor we had in the garage. Along with the bolts. Hardware cloth...well we covered the entire run in it so what was a little bit more? My coop is also inside my run

Also, its plastic so super easy to clean.

 

[pibb]

Manufactured chicken coops are expensive. It is cheaper to build your own, but you said you are lazy so that aint gonna happen.

The ones you get at TSC and such are basically junk IMO. They do usually have hardware cloth which is probably the most expensive part of theirs.

Now the ones you see at places that sell wooden sheds are usually built heavily but they are very expensive and sometimes the functionality isn't there but I have seen a couple designs I would like to have but I'm poor and can't afford theirs.

You might find one on Craiglist for a decent price but I find they are usually overpriced too and you would also have to go pick it up yourself.

 

[roo-many]

I turned an old playhouse into a coop. I had to add hardware cloth to the windows. Added a floor and raised it. Also added a door and some roost. We bolted the walls together and also bolted the roof on. It works. We have 7 chickens and it gives good space but we are going to extend on it soon. Playhouse was free. Wood for door and floor we had in the garage. Along with the bolts. Hardware cloth...well we covered the entire run in it so what was a little bit more? My coop is also inside my run

Also, its plastic so super easy to clean.

Cool! Thank you for the idea. I think that's still probably too much for us, but I will keep it in mind in case we can't overcome the sticker shock of the manufactured coops!

 

[roo-many]

Manufactured chicken coops are expensive. It is cheaper to build your own, but you said you are lazy so that aint gonna happen.

The ones you get at TSC and such are basically junk IMO. They do usually have hardware cloth which is probably the most expensive part of theirs.

Now the ones you see at places that sell wooden sheds are usually built heavily but they are very expensive and sometimes the functionality isn't there but I have seen a couple designs I would like to have but I'm poor and can't afford theirs.

You might find one on Craiglist for a decent price but I find they are usually overpriced too and you would also have to go pick it up yourself.

Yeah, that's what I thought. We did build/retrofit before, but we are not really handy by nature, so it was a lot for us. Especially when the hobby is more the birds themselves than the coop-building. I just wanted some other ideas to compare to the Omlet. Gtk about the ones at TSC. That seems to jive with other reviews I have found.

 

[Mamatomany123]

Cool! Thank you for the idea.

You will have to be sure which playhouse you pick though, if you choose to go that route. The one I have for my chickens is a heavy duty log style playhouse. We are going to have to add on. to it also because at 6 weeks I can already tell it's not going to be big enough for my 7. My kids have a playhouse that I would not use for the chickens coop because it is just too flimsy.

 

[roo-many]

Since I don't know what your climate is, if you're somewhere with more temperate climates and weather conditions, you could just turn the kennel into an open air coop/run combo.

Thanks! I'm in the middle of the US, so 100-degree summers and below freezing in the winter.

 

[roo-many]

Never seen an Omlet that would hold more the 3-4 birds.

Probably not.
Secure chicken housing is not cheep(haha!)
Cry now or cry later.

Do you still have your old coop?
Pics of that might help here.


Welcome Back! @roo-many
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!
View attachment 2082340

Yeah I guess I am looking for something similar to the Omlet that I can compare. I like a bargain as much as the next person, but since I have experience, I know exactly how much passion I do and don't have for making repairs. We sold our old coop. It was a shed we converted. It was ok for our first attempt, but it revealed a lot of potential problems that I would like to prevent this time around.