Prefab Chicken Coop Rip-Off?

[gtaus]

I agree, one of my favorite things about chickens is how hands-off they are. With a large feeder + waterer and an autodoor to a secure run I can easily leave for a few days or more with no chickensitter needed.

That sounds like a great setup to me! Chickens don't have to be a lot of work. There are many options to make life easier for the owner while still enjoying having that backyard flock. At my age, the less work I need to do with my chickens is the more time I can just enjoy them.

 

[gtaus]

My previous next door neighbors didn't necessarily have a prefab but had a tiny area with a completely concrete paved floor--no scratching, etc. They babied them, gave them meds, and wondered why "only" 14 chickens constantly pecked each other in about a 10 sq ft area! I bet these prefabs turn off a lot of people who could have been successful if they were started off with a decent coop and run. Thanks for posting this!

Exactly. I think us "experience owners" hate to hear those stories of first-time owners having such bad experiences. You don't know what you don't know, but, thankfully, BYC forums is a great place to talk about these issues and help people make better decisions for their setups.

 

[gtaus]

Its disgraceful that the "farm stores" sell these pieces of junk. Our starter coop yrs ago was a junk pre-fab. Terrible! The one we later built from scratch is all about easy cleaning- removable nest boxes & Floor lined with FRP

Yes. We live and learn. Although my local Fleet stores sells this junky prefab that I posted about, you can talk to any of the experienced people working in the livestock/poultry department and they will be honest with you and tell you to consider other options. Although they have to support the store, our local employees support us customers too and don't want to mislead us. Of course, if you talk to someone with no experience, they are not much help.

 

[3KillerBs]

I bet these prefabs turn off a lot of people who could have been successful if they were started off with a decent coop and run.

Yes, they set up the conditions for failure.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Like many, I started off with a prefab - knowing full well that if I decided this was right for me and wanted more chickens, I was going to need to upgrade to something much bigger.

While I can nitpick a dozen things that I'd change about my prefab, it was one of the few that was realistic about how many birds would fit (manufacturer said 3, I fit 4 after making alterations to lengthen the roost and add my own nest box) and it was made of solid cedar, so even though I've had the recycled pieces sitting on the often-rain-soaked ground for 6 years, it's all still in reasonably good shape. Downside is the model is no longer in production, so I can't recommend it even if I think it'd be a good option for someone determined to buy a prefab.

many years ago when first got poultry, I was cleaning out the coop maybe twice a week. It was a lot of hard work, but I was much younger and it did not matter to me. This time around, I am much older, and learned about deep bedding and deep litter systems. Now I only clean out the coop twice a year! How easy is that?

Oh, good point. Cleaning my prefab was definitely a chore, and I have a bad back so the lifting and the bending over did me no favors. The pain of maintenance, plus the fact that we did decide to keep going and get more birds, was what drove us to order a shed 2 years later.

 

[gtaus]

Oh, good point. Cleaning my prefab was definitely a chore, and I have a bad back so the lifting and the bending over did me no favors. The pain of maintenance, plus the fact that we did decide to keep going and get more birds, was what drove us to order a shed 2 years later.

I got smarter in my older age and I actually joined the BYC community almost a full year before I got my laying hens. I learned a lot about what might work for me and what would not.

The BYC forums introduced me to deep bedding and deep litter systems which has been the difference between me having chickens I can enjoy versus all the constant labor required to maintain the coop like I did in my younger days. Also, I spent the money up front to get a good waterer, base heater for the waterer, and made a 5 gallon bucket PVC hanging feeder which reduced my labor from daily feedings to refilling the water and feed bucket once every 7-10 days.

I also realized that, at my age, I did not want to be bending over to clean out and maintain my coop and run. So, I built a walk in coop with drop down panel to easily sweep/shovel out the deep bedding, and I made the chicken run fencing 6 feet high so I can walk in the run without bending over.

I also watched hours and hours of YouTube chicken videos and got some good ideas there as well. One thing I learned from YouTube is that those pull out cleaning trays on the prefab coops are not a very good design. They fall apart, and even when they work, they require constant cleaning and still they don't seem to work very well. Anyway, I went the deep bedding route from the start and I am glad I did.

If I had started out my backyard flock of 10 birds in a small prefab coop like the one I mentioned in this thread, I can only imagine how disappointed I would have been and I doubt if I would have kept my chickens very long. As it is, I built a good coop for my needs, at my age, and I can really enjoy having a backyard flock without killing myself to keep them healthy and everything well maintained. Knowledge makes a difference, and I hope this thread will help someone considering buying a prefab. At least, they are hearing both positive and negative aspects from the posted comments.

 

[farmfrau1977]

I usually don't like to bad mouth any particular product, but as a backyard flock owner for many years, I just want to tell first time chicken owners to please stay away from the prefab chicken coop setups like the one currently being sold at our local Fleet store for $749.00.

View attachment 3098928

They call this their large coop option, but the actual coop is only about 3X3 feet, which is really not even enough room for 3 chickens if you follow the 4 square feet per bird. The wood that comes with the kit is very cheap, and I cannot imagine it standing up to time. There is a pull-out tray for cleaning the coop, but, IMHO, that is about the worse design for cleaning options. Those pull out trays are known for causing all kinds of problems. I really have nothing good to say about this coop.

If you are going to put together a prefab kit, just go the extra effort and build yourself a better coop from any of the legit designs for coop builds you can find here on the BYC forums and elsewhere. I think this prefab coop is nothing but a heartbreak to come, as you will soon find out that it is not up to the task for much of anything.

If someone has bought this type of coop, and you disagree with my warnings, then please let me know why the coop works for you. Maybe it is a great choice for some people.

If you bought this type of coop and now feel that you got burned, maybe +1 on this warning so newbies don't get fooled. I would love to hear your thoughts.

6 years ago I bought a small used one on Kijiji for $60 and after using it for 4 years for broody moms and chicks I sold it for $30 and replaced it with ones that I made from free shipping crates. They’re sturdy 4’x4’ boxes to which I added a hinged plywood roof and cut holes for windows that I covered with hardware cloth.

 

[gtaus]

6 years ago I bought a small used one on Kijiji for $60 and after using it for 4 years for broody moms and chicks I sold it for $30 and replaced it with ones that I made from free shipping crates. They’re sturdy 4’x4’ boxes to which I added a hinged plywood roof and cut holes for windows that I covered with hardware cloth.

Love to hear the success stories. I would love to pick up an extra coop for little to no money to use as a grow out pen, or chicken hospital away from the main flock. Sounds like your newer free crate build is even better. I'm all into finding ways to care for chickens with less investment up front. Good for you.