Give me a viable Eglu Cube alternative

[LilLee]

Hello all,
First time chicken owner here. I plan on purchasing chicks this spring. I am researching coops and getting ready to hit purchase for an Eglu cube. But- I am not thrilled by the $ or the fact that it’s a giant bright hulking piece of plastic. Here is what I need- is there a viable alternative out there??

1) Movable. Not chicken tractor level movable, but currently my plan is to move it about twice a year: (further out by the garden in the summer, closer to the house in the winter). We just moved into a new construction house, and so are still planning the garden out. I do not want to invest $$$ at this time to build an permanent coop since those plans are still being made. Our land is VERY steep- it will be challenge to find level land and I like the way the Eglu cube run can be separated from the coop. I have looked into PVC hoop coops as well, and think that could also be an interesting option. Crazy?

2) Easy-ish to build. We don’t have many tools. I’m just a lady who thinks she can do anything by watching some YouTube videos. If a viable option were to present itself but is too complicated for me to build, I could look into hiring someone but would prefer not to go that route.

3) My husband is less than thrilled with my chicken dreams, so I would like to not involve him. Ie, I don’t want to ask him to build it for me, I don’t want to ask him to clean it, and I don’t even want to ask him to move it for me. So- Eglu cube looks manageable for me.

4) Needs to house 4-6 birds.
5) We are in Vermont so needs to be ready for rough winters.
6) Predators: we have them. I saw a bear in our driveway last fall. We see fox prints regularly in the snow. I see hawks perching on tree branches. Is this a chicken death trap? (For the record, the reason my husband doesn’t want to get chickens is because he think they will all just die)

What do you think? Should I just buy the Eglu cube and call it a day? Should I just let my Little House on the Prairie dreams go and buy eggs from the farm down the road?

Thanks!

 

[CanadaEh]

any prefab coop is good... mostly as a cute backyard decoration but very hard to manage chickens in them and unlikely at manufacture stated capacity.
If the looks don't matter, get yourself a small shed for free off craigslist. You will need some minimal DIY skills to make nest boxes and roosts, but the options are endless compared to smallish prefab.

 

[My Three Chicks]

I wanted to share my thoughts on the Omlet Eglu coop which I've had for about a year now. I have the coop in a 9' x 24' walk-in run (also by Omlet). And they free range in my suburban backyard half the day. It works great for us! But I agree that it's not big enough for more than 4 standard sized chickens. I have 4 girls and they are pretty packed in there. I think 3 standard size would be the perfect fit. I live in Southern California so the weather is really nice so they only sleep and lay in there but otherwise in their run and the yard. I agree with previous post that if you live in cold weather, the Eglu would not be a good coop for them to stay in during bad weather since there is just not enough room (and dark...no windows just small ventilation slits). They can't even flap their wings with them all in there. Another thing to think about it with the Eglu is that they don't have traditional roosting bars so the birds just pile up inside and move around to settle in and throughout the night. My sweet Red Sex Link at the bottom of the pecking order can't simply get on a perch and be because the other girls can easily get to her and peck her. It's not bad and she never gets hurt and settles in after a few minutes. But it's just something I would never have thought of before...as I'm new to chickens and these Apr 2021 girls are my first!

 

[LilLee]

Hi all,
Quick update. I did buy an Eglu. I liked that it has a run attached. I did end up also buying a solar powered electric fence, which surrounds the entire set up.

For the most part, I’m really happy and don’t think it was a waste of money at all. I love the Eglu! It’s very very easy to clean. There are many comments on here about the lack of ventilation, but the ventilation is built in and it’s been very hot and it still feels cool and smells good inside the Cube.

The chickens only go in the Cube at night. It will be much too small for winter (it really is small- they don’t seem to mind though, they all pile together at night- I’ve peeked in on them and even though they have more room, they all just huddle up together). For winter, I am planning on covering the entire run with greenhouse plastic, essentially making it a hoop house. We’ll see how that experiment goes, but it should work- just like a hoop coop, right?

I feel like this was a really good way to get started. I do wish I had a sturdier set up, but I also think this will work for me for the next few years. It allowed us entry to chicken keeping (ie, we got to see if it was a good fit for us without investing in a more permanent structure like a shed, etc) and it has a lot of resale value. I built the entire Cube. I move the Cube around. My husband hasn’t touched any part of it. I’ve done it all as a mom with little kids running around me, so I feel like this is so so approachable for people who may not be able to build things.

So all in all, two thumbs up for Eglu Cube. And I’m sure I’ll be back looking to build a bigger coop in year or two.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Since you just moved in maybe hold off an extra year to better consider your options, as a more secure and permanent structure would do recommended due to predators, weather, and number of birds. Tractors or other moveable coops do best on flat ground, and may be problematic if you have lots of snow simply because they don't usually sit up very high, plus if you really have bear activity the Eglu by itself is just something for it to topple over.

 

[CanadaEh]

any prefab coop is good... mostly as a cute backyard decoration but very hard to manage chickens in them and unlikely at manufacture stated capacity.

Sorry but......Most prefabs are junk for multiple reasons.

is not it what I said? hint: cute decoration, hard to manage, overstated capacity

 

[1muttsfan]

It looks like from the website that the coop itself is only about 3x3', including the nest box space. The actual living space looks more like 2x3, which gives you 6 square feet of space. Enough for 1 1/2 to 2 full size chickens, plus feeder and waterer, not the 5-6 they advertise. You are in a cold climate and birds often spend extended indoor time in the winter and need enough space to avoid crowding issues. No windows, so if they need to be confined in adverse weather they will be in the dark, unless the door is open all the time.

 

[Boise-girls]

From what I've read on BYC, if you have bears, you'll need hot wires regardless of the pen you use.

I have two connected 8x8 universal poultry pens from Tractor Supply, which I think might be a little sturdier than the Eglu (but I might be wrong). You'd need to add predator proofing to either one. If you're not ready to commit to a solid shed or similar, it sounds like your coop will need to be inside a very secure run.

While I wouldn't relish disassembling our pen and moving it around, it would be feasible. My sister and I, both seniors, assembled ours fairly easily. It comes in panels that you bolt together, and is pretty solid.

The Eglu coops are supposed to be better than the dollhouse type pre-fab, but seem awfully small to me. (I have a cute, worthless dollhouse coop you can have if you want to come to Boise. I ended up buying a shed. )

Have you checked out the Formex large snap-lock coop? No personal experience with it, but I'd probably be more inclined to go that route than the Eglu. Again, no actual experience with either one - you might do a search on BYC to find people who have them.

 

[1muttsfan]

I think my point was that the coop is too small for even 4 birds to live a comfortable life in, at least in cold climates. Maybe it would work better in warmer areas where birds could stay out in a secure run (the run shown on the website being definitely not secure)

 

[aart]

any prefab coop is good

Sorry but......Most prefabs are junk for multiple reasons.