Prefab coop or homemade?

[jspeese]

I never had a pre-fabricated coop and honestly, most of the ones I've seen look like toys. And none of them hold the number of birds that they claim. You need at least 10 square feet per bird if they are confined full-time, and with the predator situation in many areas they may have to be. I've divided it out, NONE of them provide that much space for the number of birds that they claim. Plus I've heard that some are not as easy to put together as they claim either. The only decent pre-fab coops I've ever seen are the ones made by the Amish. If you want my advice, don't get some piece of junk made in a place like China. Unless your chickens are purely pets, if you want a continuous supply of eggs you are going to have to replace them eventually. My present flock is 4 years old and egg production has notably declined...yet they still eat the same. I'm getting replacements later this spring. So that's another thing to consider. If you want continuous egg production, your flock may double in size, at least until the replacements are grown and you get rid of the old hens. And you can't put new chicks in together with old hens, they'll kill them. A pre-fab coops may be OK for a rooster or for a broody hen, but that's about it.