Prefab Chicken Coop Rip-Off?

[judygmckee]

We are first time chicken owners. Our chickens are 7-weeks old. A year ago, Our neighbors bought a prefab coop at the local Tractor Supply & I was sold on getting it because it was so cute! Until I watched it fall apart. It looked great for a few weeks and then I watched it fall apart. I am glad we waited a year to start or we would have wasted $300.

 

[3KillerBs]

I was sold on getting it because it was so cute! Until I watched it fall apart.

Glad you had that warning.

One of my rules of thumb is this:

If it looks like a dollhouse it's only suited for toy chickens.

 

[Carolminifarm]

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.

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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.

Got one on clearance and using as a transition coop just to lock up at night. No bird would be happy 24 7 in it unless citi dwellers with 1 or 2 hens for eggs.

 

[DIYBratGirl87]

This is working well for me. 1st coop. 1 Silky and 4 Frizzles.

 

[weedblossom9]

I got one from someone on Marketplace for $50. I had to reinforce it and make some modifications, and it’s not stable at all so I had to tie it down. I only used it as a “brooder” for one of our hens who kept losing her babies. Now her 3 babies use it but I’ll introduce them into the regular coop here soon, and only use it as a “hospital”.

 

[DanetteGrace]

I bought a prefab coop like this second-hand from my neighbor for $50. I use it when I add chicks to my small flock until they are large enough to integrate. Other than that, pretty useless. It doesn't even have any perches (which I added).

 

[Iluveggers]

I think I was extremely lucky. My friend got 6 chicks last year and bought her coop/run from TSC for $650, then an additional fenced run on Amazon for $200. I told DH how amazing it looked and that I wanted the same setup for our chicks this year. Then She told me stories about the nest box door flying open in the wind and a crack on top where rain kept leaking in. I told DH about that, so instead he found a very solid homemade well-built 4x5 wood coop on CL and surprised me for Christmas. I was very excited although disappointed I could only get 4-5 chicks lol. I looked at it & figured out how I wanted to add ventilation and possibly vinyl on the wood floor. Fast forward to spring. Our friend who’s a contractor was going to put up a garden fence and patio for us this summer. He came over to do an estimate, and offered to build us a bigger coop for the cost of materials only. The whole fence project, coop, & run is cheaper than buying a 8x8 shed. Guess who’s getting free eggs for life? . I can’t even believe it. So now my FIL is getting my coop gift and 4 chicks from my summer hatch! Crazy how things change…BYC has been the best place to learn. Although some comments do come across as “judgy”, I think people are genuinely trying to prevent newbies from wasting money and making a big mistake.

 

[fishygirl25]

I have been a chicken owner for one year now. Building a chicken coop myself was not an option due to lack of ability and equipment. I don’t have a husband any more. Divorced not dead! So I brought an Eglu Cube which is supposed to house 6 chickens. My flock is only three presently. I really love my cube. It is plastic & mites are not a problem. It is easy to clean which I do on a weekly basis. I have a fenced in area that the chickens are free to roam. Unfortunately grass is now a distance memory in the fenced in area.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I posted on my flock thread about the weakest prefab i have being flipped around by the wind a few months ago

 

[froggyphore]

I was just looking at pre-fabs online for the first time a few days ago. I was surprised by how tiny, expensive and poorly constructed they all were. I wanted something for 4 birds and in 2 hours I didn't find anything for under $900 that I thought would comfortably fit that amount.

I've settled on converting an old plastic kid's playhouse and putting it under a stand alone run from wayfair or something. $300 max and it would actually be able to comfortably fit some adult chickens.