To anyone thinking of getting one of those cute little coops….

[JacinLarkwell]

As for the I didn't realise the chickens were going to grow so big...
I wonder if they say that about their children.

I'm gonna argue that comparing the two are different. A person interacts with people every day. They have an idea of how large humans can get. Yes, some grow outside of the the average, but they still have an idea.

Many people have never seen a grown chicken in person other than a chicken that has already been butchered and cleaned in the store. Adult weights are given in catalogs, but it's not always easy to convert 8-9 pounds into, for example, a 10" wide and 16" tall bird without measuring the dang bird in person. I would be thinking of a dog or cat, which has very different dimensions because that is what I would likely be familiar with

 

[3KillerBs]

I must confess, a wry grin spread accross my face as I read through the posts.
Such a lot of rightous indignation at the companies that make these coops.
Most of the sales media for these types of coops give dimensions.

While many prospective buyers it seems have learned to read and write, reading the information given in the sales media and emplying some basic math seems totally beyond the average buyer.

As for the I didn't realise the chickens were going to grow so big...
I wonder if they say that about their children.

There are people buying chicks through the post, or at so called farm stores it seems who have never even seen a grown chicken.

Just about every breed I can think of has a page on the internet somewhere that gives the adult weight of the breed in question and many give (sometimes not obvious) an indication of the breeds size.

I'm not going to join in with the disgruntled. There is a saying that all who live in a free market economy should pay heed to; let the buyer beware!

This is true up to a point.

But when companies engage in deliberately deceptive marketing -- such as the use of toy chickens in the ad photos -- that's immoral. They are intending to create a false impression and then take advantage of it.

An honest manufacturer/seller/designer of plans wouldn't be afraid to take photos of the coop in question with the number of adult chickens of common dual purpose breeds they claim it can hold actually in it.

 

[Farmgirl283420]

A lady on Facebook market place had a very small one I’d say big enough for two chickens. The lady had ten poor chickens stuffed in there it breaks my heart that so many people don’t know

I my goodness ten?!!!! It’s horrible those tiny stuffy coops! We drive past a little coop sometimes and there are so many chickens in it they can hardly walk in the run!

 

[Sammster]

I made the mistake of buying that same, mini-coop. The minute it was assembled, I set it aside and started over. It did make a nice grow-out pen - and would make a good chicken hospital

 

[Iluveggers]

Sorry to anyone who would take offense at this but I for one completely agree with it.
Before taking on animals you've never cared for before you need to thoroughly research their needs and be properly prepared for them. For your sake but more importantly for theirs.
So very many people who come into these forums and start complaining about things like these under sized coops have impulse purchased the cute little peeping chicks they saw when they were at the farms store then found out the hard way just how fast they grow. And shockingly, they get much bigger.

Luckily I did a lot of reading and preparing. A LOT. And even though we had purchased a 4x5 homemade coop from CL, and I was planning on just getting 5 chickens, ultimately I think my husband knew I would want more and had his contractor friend help him build me an 8x8 coop. Thank goodness. We are giving the 4x5 to a family member who will free range their 5 chicks once they are large enough. I think people can get away with 2-3 feet per bird if the chickens have a ton of space outside, but in my area a roofed run (maybe with wind blocks) is necessary for a small space because of the snow (my birds will just look at the snow. The refuse to walk in it until there are muddy patches throughout to hop from one spot to another. Being stuck in a small space all day would be torture for them.

 

[Jenni Hen]

I must confess, a wry grin spread accross my face as I read through the posts.
Such a lot of rightous indignation at the companies that make these coops.
Most of the sales media for these types of coops give dimensions.

While many prospective buyers it seems have learned to read and write, reading the information given in the sales media and emplying some basic math seems totally beyond the average buyer.

As for the I didn't realise the chickens were going to grow so big...
I wonder if they say that about their children.

There are people buying chicks through the post, or at so called farm stores it seems who have never even seen a grown chicken.

Just about every breed I can think of has a page on the internet somewhere that gives the adult weight of the breed in question and many give (sometimes not obvious) an indication of the breeds size.

I'm not going to join in with the disgruntled. There is a saying that all who live in a free market economy should pay heed to; let the buyer beware!

Isn't it the purpose of this thread to help potential buyers to beware?

I have considered reporting certain websites to the Advertising Standards Authority, because of the misleading nature of the information presented.

Therefore, I have searched for statements which are objectively untrue and therefore illegal, however, I can't find any. For example, there isn't a precise definition of 'foxproof' in relation to the wiregauge on a chicken run.
On these sites, the layout of information, in guiding the eye towards or away from content, is very cleverly devised to be persuasive and bypass human rational defences. Decisions are made by using emotions rather than logic. (Logic assembles the facts; emotion evaluates them; bypassing logic is the advertiser's aim.)

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

I think the worst of it is using fake chicken on the product pictures to make them appear larger than they are. If that’s not false advertising, I don’t know what is. A family member of mine, who doesn’t have chickens, bought me a coop based on a misleading picture and description and it turned out to be only big enough to use for a broody hen.

 

[3KillerBs]

I think the worst of it is using fake chicken on the product pictures to make them appear larger than they are. If that’s not false advertising, I don’t know what is. A family member of mine, who doesn’t have chickens, bought me a coop based on a misleading picture and description and it turned out to be only big enough to use for a broody hen.

Or even pictures of real chickens that are photoshopped in at a smaller than life size.

 

[NagemTX]

Or even pictures of real chickens that are photoshopped in at a smaller than life size.

That right there gets me every time. If your making it for chickens the get some real footage of chickens in it for goodness sake.

 

[Poppy Putentake]

Hi alinas2010,

Looks like the "Sentinel chicken coop". Advertised for 6 birds, with 3 nesting boxes, but, as you note, really only suitable for 2 or 3. The specifications do not seem to say how big the inside area is but i'm guessing maybe 30"x 40"= 8 square feet. (Plus 3 more sq. ft. in the nest area.) The site has lots of pictures but only a few interior ones (including a few with a cat inside it!) One picture shows an animal that appears to be a fox lurking outside!

What to do with it? You could still keep it and use it as an auxiliary coop – a chicken "quarantine ward" for newly acquired birds, a brooding pen for half-grown ones or broody hen with chicks, and/or a chicken "hospital" for a sick or injured bird. It might be handy or those purposes. Maybe add more ventilation holes -- the wall underneath the roofed-over run might be a good place for that.

Regarding the snow problem, one solution would be to put polyethylene sheeting all around the wire. One way to attach this would be to sew it on with a large curved upholstery needle. (PM me for details.) That would make the run into almost a kind of mini-greenhouse. However, it is important that there still be large ventilation openings --- you want the run maybe 85-90% enclosed, not 100% enclosed.