I found this coop for sale, do you guys think it's safe? I do have three siberian huskies....

[gottaluvfriends]

I want something that I can be ensured my dogs do not get to my chickens! I have two olandsk dwarfs, and I want something I can move around the yard for them to graze but safe from my dogs. I found this http://www.frugah.com/78-Deluxe-Wooden-Chicken-Coop-p/d3-0017.htm?CartID=1, and they have other ones. What do you guys think? Has anyone purchased similar coops or any coops from frugah? What do we think regarding their construction? Strong enough to keep my precious babes safe?

 

[imogene08]

i have that cage its great!! my flock sleeps in it at night but i would suggest taking it off the ground and putting chicken wire on the bottom

 

[ChirpyChicks1]

I've seen coops like that before, even bought one but I sent it back quickly. Actually the one I bought looks almost exactly like this one but the house part was bigger. IMO they just aren't good enough. The roosting bars and nesting box for one example. The bars have to be higher then the nesting boxes or the hens will sleep in the nesting boxes, poop on the eggs, probably crack some, and then you get to deal with egg eating.

And they are so(!!!!) expensive for what they are. Unless you can see one with your own eyes, touch it, mess it with I would not buy one online. They look nice, but thats about it

 

[gottaluvfriends]

Thanks for the quick responses! I couldn't see the roosting bars in the photo, is it located in the nesting box, or through the windowed doors? I'm more concerned about the quality of the wire and the strength and the weight of the wood. My goal is to protect them from my dogs. I will have no qualms about bringing them into the house at night, they're mainly house chickens, raised primarily indoors, but I want them to have safe outdoor time. I am primarily concerned with their safety... this week I was monitoring their outdoor time when a peregrine falcon landed not 15 ft from us. Scared itself, me, and my pigeon (who was also outside for his exercise). Luckily my babes were hunting behind our potted plants... I think it was after Max (pigeon)

 

[ChirpyChicks1]

The one I had the roosting bars were bars, that sat on the floor

Basically you'll open that door and they will just be across the bottom of the coop. The can't go any higher because there isn't enough room for the birds to fly up/down

Are you planning on keeping them in it at night? Because if not you can easily create something to protect them during yard time. This is the "play pen" that I handmade for my flock, it's 4'x2'x2' and was used for chicks. It's certainly nothing special but it kept them safe and is still standing even after my 4 yr old would lean over it. I have dogs that would happily eat the birds but they never tried to get into the pen. Personally I'd lock the dogs up, or tie them up if they aren't trustworthy and work on training them. I also like my chickens a lot more than the dogs though lol

 

[LOLchick]

I have a similar one, and do not recommend it. The wood on the coop part is very flimsy. Lots of unintentional ventilation openings. Wood slats does not fit properly into each other. These are pre-made panels, so it has nothing to do with our skill level (which is pretty much non existing - hence the need to get a pre-made coop

). The coop door can't close properly due to a piece of the frame sticking out of it. You have to push down hard on it to get it to close. Then, the wire on the run part is just down with staples. IMO if you push hard on it (or on the wood of the coop) it will break apart. It's okay for us because we don't have all kinds of predators but I would not recommend it and would certainly not buy it or one like it again.

 

[cafarmgirl]

Yeah those coops, unfortunately, are somewhat flimsy. They would not hold up very long to dogs trying to get in. They are also not very weather proof at all, despite all the claims. The wood is cheap, lightweight and soft. It would do best if kept under a roof like in a barn or on a porch.

No matter how you end up housing your birds, I'd highly, highly recommend keeping your chicken pen in a separate yard away from the dogs.

 

[gottaluvfriends]

Thanks for everyone's responses. As far as we know, only one of my dogs can jump the divider betweenthe front and back yards, so he does get tied up... but i feel like, if he can do it without even trying, well, there is a bit of effort, but it doesn't seem like much, who's to say the others couldn't do it if they tried hard enough? I like the chicken run idea, but i am not confident in my own abilities, and those advertising just runs, are either the same price as a coop, or they look flimsy. I wouldn't mind constructing, but how do you get the purchased metal wires straight? How should it be constructed to withstand a possible dog attack, three huskies amount to a combined weight of 120 pounds, which given enough momentum, quite a bit of force. It is true, we bring them in and generally keep them indoors. As they're only a month old, they are currently supervised directly for all outdoor time. I literally sit here keeping them company on the pad or phone until it starts to get dark enough that Max, the pigeon, lets me know its time to go inside, his cage is indoors as well. As they get older, i would like to leave them unsupervised in an enforced coop with run, or a run, while at work. They currently get only an hour or two of outdoor time, depending on how late i get home from work. They're young now, so i think it's ok, but i think they'll like more time as they're older. What does everyone think? Another idea was to raise the divider with some strong wood panels, but the recent appearance of the falcon concerns me, and i also, wouldnt know where to begin to make a stronger enhanced backyard divider to prevent any unplanned visits...

 

[Vicky2479]

Like some of the others said I don't recommend them either, I bought one for my broody hens and they really are very weak, certainly wouldn't stand up to most dogs. The roosts are unstable and at the same level as the boxes and they are much smaller than they appear. My 2 Banty hens live in it atm but are only shut in at night and I certainly wouldn't keep full sized hens in them, the only time I have is when I had a broody hen sitting on eggs or when I needed to break a broody and they hated being so confined

 

[gottaluvfriends]

Alrighty... I found some on Sears.... does anyoneknow if any of these coops are good and safe? Http://www.sears.com/search=chicken...EC_PRED&psid=18x464276&sid=ISx20070515x00001a
Some people also mentioned they purchased theirs from ebay? Any help in that area?