Looking for info on Plastic Coops?

[Murphy212]

Good Morning!
Just this minute joined up, been lurking for some time and reading all I can find on Raising Chickens. A bit about me....live in the south, absolutely no building/constructions skills whatsoever, no building materials laying around, almost 65, and no belief that I could build my own coop. That said, I want to get about 6 hens and have them help me with weed and bug control, fertilizer for my garden, and bonus eggs. I have decided to purchase a coop and have found a large plastic one that in my mind will be perfect: easy to clean, sturdy, predator proof I think, light weight for me to move, and easy for me to put together by myself.
I would post a link but not sure how to or the rules on such.It is called the Snaplock Chicken coop.
Anyway, What are your thoughts issues problems with a large plastic coop built with chickens in mind?
Any help you could provide would be appreciated. I plan on placing the coop in a large fenced covered run. I also want to place this coop on 4x4 legs about 2 feet above the ground.
Thanks so much for any help, you guys are the most knowledgeable that I know about.
Murphy

 

[memphis]

Welcome to BYC from Memphis! I was in the same situation. Didn't want to build a coop & wanted something easy to clean & move around. I bought an Eglu Cube and love it! Perfect for my small flock of 5. Plenty of ventilation and stays cool in our hot summers. Don't know much about the Snap Lock but like what I've read about them. I think you'd be happy with it.

 

[kellieetal]

Plastic is probably easier to sanitize, being less porous, than wood, but I couldn't attest to how well it would protect from heat. If it's easy to move around, then finding a shady spot to park it in during warm months, and a more sunny spot for cooler months might make it work just fine temperature-wise. Just curious, have you priced them? I have been wanting to check them out in person myself but I wasn't finding any local dealers where I could just go look at them. What is the price range for the largest one they offer?

 

[DallasCriftins]

The biggest Snaplock Chicken coop will just about be ok for 6
The Problem with these type of coops are they are often horrendously over priced for their small size
the Eglu cube extremely so.

The snaplock looks rather like a kids Wendy house than a coop certainly from a construction perspective!
if poss try and see how good the plastic is I have had twin wailed plastic products before (Little Tykes kids climbing structures etc) and they were thin and could fill up with condensation over time and get algae growth.

The Eglu products use very thick plastic

As a beginner I bought an Omlet Eglu Classic.
It is just about big enough for three birds then I found out what I could have got for the same money or a lot less

I bought a Solway mini hen coop and I think this type of plastic coop are probably the best value for money.
It was cheaper and is better than the Eglu classic in some ways size and a proper separate nest box being two
http://www.solwayrecycling.co.uk/pet-and-equestian-products/hen-coop-mini

I bought it as a standby coop and to temporarily house my three (now 8) ducks
So it was redundant for a while then the hens bean to use it as a secondary nest box it is wonderfully dark inside the nest area and the birds love it often in preference to the Eglu.

We are now looking to buy another 6 birds so needed something bigger a lot bigger, based on providing 4sq feet per bird so 6x4 minimum
Solway, Green Frog and all sorts of other brands all offer similar looking coops made from sturdy recycled plastic
The Eglu cube is too expensive for me but I do prefer plastic so much easier to clean and far less problems with Mites

Look at
http://www.solwayrecycling.co.uk/recycled-shop/pig-poultry/hen-houses
Something like the Smart Hen House was on my 'that will do list' then I discovered Ketter.

We now have a Plastic 6x4 Ketter shed as the Duck House here pictured in a temp location whilst I build a Wir for the Ducks and Chickens to share primarily in the early morning once the automated door openers let them out later in the day they free range in a well fenced field

This Ketter is getting the Winter test and so far has survived some extremely strong winds in this exposed position.



I have another similar Plastic Ketter shed (the Apex model) that will become the Chicken Coop. seen in the picture below, it is currently full of Hay!

I have some more pictures of the WIR in construction on my blog and soon I will be joining both sheds to it
which can be followed here.

http://dallascriftins.blogspot.co.uk/




I really like them both I can blast them both with the hose
They will be easy to convert to their new roles.
They are also by comparison great value for money,
Best of all you can walk in to them to do what needs to be done, no hands and knees stuff or poking about through access holes in all sorts of foul weather etc.!

 

[Murphy212]

Thanks for the responses and welcome. The price I have found for the large snaplock chicken coop is $695. It is supposed to hold up to 12 standard size hens ( I only want 6) ....The facility for this is only about 100 miles from my home so I may call and see if I can go and see it before I purchase. This is a lot of money and I have thought about buying a small shed and see if I can retro-fit it but figured the final cost would be about the same. Same with buying lumber and having someone build for me....cost about the same. This seems to be the best solution I have found. The link for these chicken coops is http://snaplockchickencoops.com/big-coop.html
I looked at the Eglu products but they were higher priced than this snaplock coop, especially when adding in shipping costs. The snaplock coops are also sold through My Pet Chicken web site.
Memphis, glad to know that the plastic coops work in our hot humid summers. Planned to move it to a shady location under some trees in the heat of summer, another reason for the lighter weight plastic.
I will update if I go see the actual coop.
thanks again
Murphy

 

[memphis]

Let us know what you decide. Would like to hear your review on the Snaplock. Love my Eglu Cube. And yep it is over priced but loved the design and its performed well for a few years now.
Memphis

 

[JOSEPHC]

Look at Chickens For Backyard 's wbsite!

 

[DallasCriftins]

An update the two plastic sheds have been brilliant
The Ducks are in one and and some of our Chickens are in the other but we have out grown it and the bulk of my Chickens are in my small barn
I am now looking at buying or building an even bigger plastic coop as we have over 50 Chickens now !

Our Roasters are in this ex kids climbing Frame




Or this Tractor I made from a 4M x 2M Polytunnel frame




Both have wire mesh flooring so dead easy to clean.