Does anyone have a a coop from critter cages.com?

[Meloout831]

http://www.critter-cages.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=22&products_id=85&zenid=52c87ce6c40860ff2365627f7fbc38ee

I'm thinking of getting one. It's for $299.99 and it's for up to 9 chickens. If anyone has any feedback I'd really appreciate it. Are these things sturdy?

Thanks.

 

[Luvducks]

I really do not want to knock them because I bought 2 for my rabbits when I was in a bind. (The rabbit hutch one) My husband and my neighbor are handy but had no time to build when my other neighbor was moving and gave me 2 additional rabbits. They are just not built to last. You are definately paying for the labor for them to cut wood to size and they are very simple to assemble. As far as materials go the wood is not the sturdiest.

If you cannot build your own coop you have to do what you have to do. I think they are cute. I did put a coat of polyurethane on mine and still ended up bringing them in the barn for the winter. Just my honest opinion.

 

[fldiver97]

I bought a Chick-N-Barn one year ago for my first chickens. I started with 5 standard breed chickens. They were fine in it for about 3 months but I also added a roofed 4x8 run to it. For full grown standard chickens 3-4 is the max I would suggest. The roost is not ideal eiter, mine do better on a flat 2x4 roost instead of the round roost. Also - where do you live??? I live in Wisconsin. I don't think we would have made it through winter here..... I used stain on the roof but even 3 months in the weather showed some wear on the coop. If you live in a mild climate and have only 3-4 chickens or maybe 6-7 banties and have either a run or they can free range I'd say you should be OK, at least for a couple of years. You should have 4 square feet per standard size chicken inside the coop and 10 square feet per chicken in the run. I ended up converting the old gardenshed into a coop, 8x12, easy to clean - I can walk in, I can store the feed in there, have adequate nesting boxes and room for more than just 3 - 4 chickens. During winter my chickens stayed in the coop a lot.....they were not crowded so we did not have any issues with feather pecking or bullying. In the small coop it would have been impossible for them to be comfortable. Another concern is that the Chick-N-Barn does not have a floor.....I ended up putting mine on a patio and I raised it 3 feet off the ground with an added floor and it was on a wooden platform. I should have saved the money and either built something more substantial from recycled/reused wood or used the shed from the beginning. I had to add windows and vents to the shed as well as gut the inside and add roosts and nestboxes but it was still less money than the small coop. I now use the small coop only for quarantine when I get a new chicken or two.......Just my experience and my opinion. One thing you should be very cautious about in ALL pre-fab coops: they all claim to hold more chickens than recommended.....Check out the coop construction thread - people have done amazing things building, improvising and also with pre-fab coops

 

[CoyoteMagic]

DON'T DO IT!! I've got 2 rabbit hutches from them that are already falling apart. The wood used is very very thin. 2 years of being outside have completely warped both of them.

 

[jerseygirl1]

Well, since we're all posting - I bought a reptile tank from them, didn't last a year. The bottom wore out

 

[Meloout831]

OK! Thanks for the info. I'd rather spend that money on good material. I appreciate the responses!!