Indecisive about coop

[ExhaustedBrachiosaurus]

Hi all, I'm looking for some wisdom around coop designs for my 6 chickens who should be hatching in the next 10 days or so. I have a brooder for them, so am set for a small bit. I do not have a coop yet. Initially I was set on getting an Eglu Pro, but the price tag and the ventilation situation has me pausing. I saw the Royal Rooster Chicken Palace with small run and was wondering if that with the external laying boxes and weather shield would be a good option. Or would the Somerzby Homestead Chicken Coop be a better option? I plan to free range them in my fenced yard once I finish making it safe.

The local farm supply store was no help and said "chickens will be happy with whatever you get them". I just want a nice prefab option that doesn't do my head in.

Location is SEQ, Australia where Summer temperatures reach 34⁰C easily (93⁰F).

 

[AinaWGSD]

Of those two options I'd go with the chicken palace. In your climate an open air coop like that seems like it would be the best option. The homestead chicken coop doesn't have enough ventilation.

Honestly with the chicken palace you probably don't need the weather shield, a tarp or two along the wire facing the prevailing winds should be enough weather protection for an open air style coop.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

The wood on that second one will last about two years if you get any kind of moisture. Not to mention hanging nesting boxes are just designed to fail. I would go with the first one as well.

 

[perkolator]

I too would go with #1. However that's a lot of money for something that's only ~11.5'L x 5.25'W x 7.25'H. You could likely build something really similar, but larger, with a carport with metal roof kit, more corrugated roof panels and a roll of hardware cloth, probably for about half that price. Good luck!

 

[Bawkbok]

Initially I was set on getting an Eglu Pro, but the price tag and the ventilation situation has me pausing.

This is what we settled on over all other prefabs due to our climate, extremely hot for extended periods of time (months on end) with high humidity and bugs galore. While I dislike the plastic, it eliminates the mites, lice, bug infestation problems that accompanies wood coops and the FL sun tears up everything at a high rate. Given our initial investment, we are still eating eggs that cost about $1k

It has served us well for our needs and environment. Ideal? No. We had to modify it significantly to accommodate what you have recognized as insufficient ventilation. Our changes have greatly improved their comfort level and they rest comfortably as a result.

When we move to a different location without so many city ordinances and limitations we will build a "real" coop and use this one for integration of newbies and isolation, as needed.

Just wanted to provide a testimonial if you are still considering this product, but I would wait for their 20% off sale on coops, which I know they just had one not long ago.
Best of luck.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

This is what we settled on over all other prefabs due to our climate, extremely hot for extended periods of time (months on end) with high humidity and bugs galore. While I dislike the plastic, it eliminates the mites, lice, bug infestation problems that accompanies wood coops and the FL sun tears up everything at a high rate. Given our initial investment, we are still eating eggs that cost about $1k

It has served us well for our needs and environment. Ideal? No. We had to modify it significantly to accommodate what you have recognized as insufficient ventilation. Our changes have greatly improved their comfort level and they rest comfortably as a result.

When we move to a different location without so many city ordinances and limitations we will build a "real" coop and use this one for integration of newbies and isolation, as needed.

Just wanted to provide a testimonial if you are still considering this product, but I would wait for their 20% off sale on coops, which I know they just had one not long ago.
Best of luck.

For those of us bemused in the US, AUD 2,145 (Australian dollars) currently is the equivalent of about $1400 USD. That's a pretty reasonable deal for an out-of-the-box small coop/run requiring minimal modifications.

I would be skeptical of the "up to 10 chickens" claim, of course.

- I hope that I wrote the "AUD 2,145" bit correctly. It looks a like strange on this end. Does anyone ever write AU$ or something similar?

 

[rosemarythyme]

I would be skeptical of the "up to 10 chickens" claim, of course.

Up to 10 maybe if it's used as a coop only, or extended out with an additional run space or free ranging. As a coop and run combo it's about big enough for 5.

- I hope that I wrote the "AUD 2,145" bit correctly. It looks a like strange on this end. Does anyone ever write AU$ or something similar?

AUD would be correct.

 

[ExhaustedBrachiosaurus]

This is what we settled on over all other prefabs due to our climate, extremely hot for extended periods of time (months on end) with high humidity and bugs galore. While I dislike the plastic, it eliminates the mites, lice, bug infestation problems that accompanies wood coops and the FL sun tears up everything at a high rate. Given our initial investment, we are still eating eggs that cost about $1k

It has served us well for our needs and environment. Ideal? No. We had to modify it significantly to accommodate what you have recognized as insufficient ventilation. Our changes have greatly improved their comfort level and they rest comfortably as a result.

When we move to a different location without so many city ordinances and limitations we will build a "real" coop and use this one for integration of newbies and isolation, as needed.

Just wanted to provide a testimonial if you are still considering this product, but I would wait for their 20% off sale on coops, which I know they just had one not long ago.
Best of luck.

I'm curious as to what modifications you have made to it. SEQ is very similar to Orlando (I used to live there) weather wise, probably not as humid though. No hurricanes either, though we did get hit with a tornado a year or two ago!

I like how easy it looks, which I know is cleaver marketing, especially to get my small kids on board. Driving around I have seen 2 Eglus in backyards.

 

[ExhaustedBrachiosaurus]

Thanks for the replies everyone! I'll do a bit more digging into open air style coops to make sure this is a good fit for us. I know making one would probably be the best, I just don't have the skills or the mental bandwidth at the moment to create something like that. Maybe in a few years I'll go down that path. I have a bit of time to make my decision, though I feel the crunch as I have some eggs on lockdown at the moment!

 

[Bawkbok]

I'm curious as to what modifications you have made to it. SEQ is very similar to Orlando (I used to live there) weather wise, probably not as humid though. No hurricanes either, though we did get hit with a tornado a year or two ago!

I like how easy it looks, which I know is cleaver marketing, especially to get my small kids on board. Driving around I have seen 2 Eglus in backyards.

They are popular in FL; I suspect due to the climate and many owners are not on country acreage, so there's that. I spoke with an ambassador at length before making our final decision. Check their website. You can choose the ambassador you wish to connect with for questions. I had three separate conversations with ours for my many questions; very helpful process.

The website claim is up to 10 chickens for the Pro. We have 4 birds due to legal city limits. I personally would not put more than 5 or 6 medium birds in there, you might be able to fit up to 10 bantams but I don't know much about bantams. I think they might be flighty so that was a concern for us.

The modifications we made is removing all the vent covers and replacing them with hardware cloth. Removing the window covering and replacing it with h/w cloth. Removing the roost bar trays and letting the poo hit the ground. Hanging a rechargeable fan in the window facing out to move stale air out of the coop. There is one running 24x7. We built a veranda the width of the coop so they have a 'deck' of sorts between the door and the ladder. They use this all the time for hanging out and walking along. it also helps at roost time.

We have the pro with 9 foot run attached to a 4 side open air run with an additional 120 sq. ft. We use tarps for rain, sun and wind mitigation.

We worried not during hurricanes Helene and Milton last year, both of which were a direct hit. We have the skirt secured with concrete bricks and pavers and removed the roof tarp. The thing never budged nor did the steel twist or bend. Due to size, severity and sound of hurricanes, the girls were in our house. If you've never experienced a persistent 120 mph wind, you'd be amazed how loud it is, not to mention items blowing around and tree limbs cracking and falling. Hurricanes were another determining factor in our decision as a wooden coop would end up a mile away. The Omlet products are heavy and not easy to move. We do not use it as a tractor. It is permanently placed.

I don't have the thread bookmarked, but there are other BYCers here who also own Omlets and have shared their modifications, replete with pictures. You can probably find it in the search feature. When I have more time, I'll search for it as well and will place it in this thread.

You're doing the right thing by researching. Keep your climate in mind. Don't fall into something because it's cutesy or what most people recommend or because it fits a budget. The Omlet did not fit our budget but we had long term goals in mind and thought it best for the environment and our personal situation.