Thinking of a "pre-made" coop

[SarahFair]

Ive decided to down grade my chickens..
At this point in my life it would just be 100x easier on me if I only kept 4-5 chickens and really that is all I need..

I dont want to go out and spend lots and lots of money on wood then have to take the time to get my SO to help me and pay for miss measured cuts, crooked windows, etc.
Plus I like the look of the pre made ones. A LOT better than I could do

Has anyone ever seen one up close? Are they just super cheap barely standing or actually a good buy for small scale stuff?
A lot of these I can put up myself with just a screw driver (no having to wait for SO to "find time"

)
I plan on making a larger run to let them out in and just locke them up in this on rainy days and nights.

Here are a few Ive found:


What I like about mypetchicken is they offer free shipping to a local freight terminal
http://www.mypetchicken.com/catalog...ursquare-Coop-with-Run-3-4-chickens-p720.aspx
http://www.mypetchicken.com/catalog/Chicken-Coops/The-Saltbox-Coop-with-Run-4-chickens-p697.aspx

http://www.critter-cages.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=712
http://www.critter-cages.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=22&products_id=711
http://www.critter-cages.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=22&products_id=85

 

[Ridgerunner]

I am not going to comment on the premade ones. I don't have the experience with them though I'm sure many on this forum do.

My comment is on why you want to build a small coop. I thought you already had a coop. It's really none of my business, but that won't stop me from asking. If you have a coop, why do you want to build another one? Chickens like a lot of room. As Pat likes to say, more is better. Why not keep a smaller number of chickens in the same coop? The larger coop will handle more poop load so you should have to clean less often. The larger the coop and run the less likely you are to have behavioral problems. You probably have your reasons, but I hate to see anyone go to the extra work and expense unless they need to.

 

[SarahFair]

I have to move that coop. Its in the bottom of the yard and it always gets flooded

It is WAY to heavy to move so I will have to tear it down. Plus where it use to leak a lot of the wood has gone bad. I would have to replace 1/2 the coop anyways.
The area Im going to have to move it will be too small to put such a large coop there. Plus it is just SO wide cleaning it has just become a hassle for my size (I have to get up in the coop to reach all way back)..
Plus I hate the way mine looks.
And I thought you needed a coop that will help hold heat in winter. That coop is very large for 4 chickens. Wouldnt they get extra cold??

 

[Ridgerunner]

Makes sense if you are going to rebuild anyway. I thought from your post you were doing this just from the reduced number of chickens.

As far as needing a smaller coop to keep them warm in winter, in Georgia I'd be surprised if you have any issues with that as long as you are able to keep them out of drafts and, of course, give them plenty of ventilation. I'm down to 10 chickens and they just went through single digits in an 8' x 12' walk-in coop with no problems. And if you are building a similar style coop, you do need to make it easy to clean.

 

[possumqueen]

If you got the coop from my pet chickens, you might look at putting it on skids or wheels so you could use it as a tractor. Looking at the picture you've posted with the chicken coop in the pond situation --ooooh, lady you have MY sympathy!! -- I can see why you'd want less.

The mpc coops are nice looking, but those two chickens looked awfully big for such a small space. Moving the pen around the yard would mitigate that, and you'd be able to utilize the flood plain whenever it was dry.

I'm with ridgerunner: You're not going to run into a lot of killer cold in Georgia. At least not enough to put too much strain on your chickens.

How many do you have now? What kind?

I'm building a little tractor for 3 to 5 bantams. I'm like you -- I'm getting lazy in my old age but I still want the chooks, with the poo for the compost heap, and the eggs, and I like chickens!

 

[SarahFair]

I dont know.. I think I have like 18

I have a couple silkies, black sex links, silver laced, barred rocks...

I just want some nice fat hens for eggs

I feel like with 18 it becomes impersonal

 

[possumqueen]

Quote:
100% with ya on that one! I'm thinking different numbers suit different folks. For me, 4 or 5 is enough. I've got a friend with 35, and she knows every one of them by name, and all their quirks and preferences to boot!

I just looked at the chicken lodge -- that's not half bad!

 

[SarahFair]

Im just kinda wondering why critter cages arent showing more pictures of their coops...

 

[Picky Chicky]

We got a premade coop as our first. Thinking back, it was really overpriced (I can't recall now - I've blocked it out haha), and we ended up spending extra to make the chickens a run. The best Pro I can think of with ours was that I didn't have to walk into a coop with poop-covered shavings... I could do everything I needed from standing right outside on the nice clean grass. The Con was that the coop was a bear to move. We purchased some heavy duty PVC piping and spent the next hour rolling it to its new home. We probably could've bought some heavy duty no-flat wheels, but the PVC method was considerably cheaper and there was no evidence of the move other than the "dead spot" from where it sat originally.

Here is one that looks exactly like ours - we still have it and use it as a makeshift quarantine/hospital:

 

[possumqueen]

yeah, wheels for me. I did have a tractor on skids once, about fifteen years ago, when I was fifteen years younger and more willing to work. Even then I said a lot of undesirable things whenever it was time to drag the accursed chicken tractor to a new spot!