Greetings all. This is my first post to these message boards and I couldn't resist responding to this thread.
Many of you sound so handy and clever, but like rwcmick my husband and I are not handy people. We also don't have many hours of spare time. I spent a few hours researching on the Internet, consulted a few chicken books, and came to the conclusion that we would have to buy a henhouse.
I was quite attracted to the Egganic Industries products. While the Henspa was lovely, it would have been too large for the small flock I planned to raise on my city lot. The Henhaven looked more reasonable in size, but I was worried about the warning that it was not recommended for places with cold winters. I'm in Chicago, and we certainly do get cold winters here!
I tried emailing Egganic with a few questions. The first email that I sent to the Sales address on the site bounced back to me as an invalid email address. The second email I sent directly to the owner's address did not bounce back, but I have not received a reply yet. I sent my email on June 30, 2007. To me, that's not a sign of good customer support when emails sit for weeks without a response.
A couple days ago, I ordered an Eglu and 3 pullets. If the Eglu seems to get too cold in the winter, I've figured out a back up plan that should work to keep the hens warm enough. (Moving the house under the porch or even into the garage.)
Again, many of you on these boards likely think I'm silly for spending so much on a coop, but for those of us without the skills, tools, and time, pre-fabricated coops and henhouses are a necessity. In fact, with the amount of time it would take me to round up all the materials, rent the tools, figure out techniques and designs, and execute the design, I'll probably break even.
I'm looking forward to getting my Eglu in a couple weeks and my pullets in the middle of August. They should be about 4-5 weeks away from laying, and I'm REALLY looking forward to getting my first, "home grown" egg!
