Tractor Supply Walk-In Prairie House Chicken Coop

[Cluckcluck1215]

My sister and I saw it today, and we where thinking About buying it.

Or is it a waist of $500?
And if it is good, how many chickens would be able to fit in there?(bantams)

 

[blayt90]

I personally would take the $500 and buy the materials to build one. Would last a lot longer I am sure.

 

[Kuntry Klucker]

Hi, I am Noelle, I have a differing option on prefabs. Yes, prefab coops get a bad rap here on BYC, but I am a voice from the other side of the fence. I built my first coop, The Kuntry Klucker. I will say it was the hardest most dangerous project that I undertook. I was new to chickens and followed the advice of more experienced keepers, one of which was don't buy a prefab coop build your own. Not knowing much this is what I did. I found through this endeavor that I have no business using power tools. I nearly killed myself twice and spent $1500 more than I had intentionally set out to spend. After I cut the wood too short or at wrong angels it got expensive. I had never built anything before, so this was my first and last experience with wood work and carpentry in general.

So how did I come to love prefab coops. Well, as the saying goes you cannot have just one. I feel in love with chickens and wanted more. I knew from my past experience that building my coop was a suicide mission so I looked elsewhere. I began to entertain the thought of prefab coops against the better judgement of other poultry keepers. The fact was simple, I can not build a coop so I had to seek out better options.

To start I read reviews, most will say that it looks good but the quality is poor. This is a general across the board review that you will see for a prefab coop. Don't let this bother you, the coops when given a little love will do just fine. Anyway, Knowing that I ordered one with a plan in mind. When it arrived I put it together and was actually shocked at how well it was actually made. Drawing from my experience from my coop building disaster I updated the hardware cloth, updated the latches, and gave the wood a good coat of barn paint followed by a good water seal. The results were stunning!!! No only did I not kill my self building the "kit coop", all I needed was a screwdriver inserted of a power saw. But after I made my adjustments is held up well, and I mean well. I live in the steamy south in East Tennessee. We get hot summers with lots of humidity, nasty spring storms, and ice in the winter. Mother Nature throws it all at us. Through this my prefab coops have held up very well. I do touch up the paint about every other year, the hardware cloths and latches are still fine.

After my experience with my first prefab coop which is now has 5 years under its belt, I ordered more as my flocks grew. I now have 5 coops currently in operation, 4 of them are prefab coops. I have not had any predators get into my prefab coop, nor have I had any problems with the wood rotting (hence the paint and water seal). The Roofs hold up well and the durability of the structures have withstood evening mother nature has thrown at it so far. I can honestly say that I would take a ditserouls weather event to tear them down like a tornado. But if I get a tornado here I will have more damage than just my coops.

So this is my story, I learned from experience that building your own coop as many suggest it just not feasible for everyone. I did it and nearly killed my self and I will never build one from scratch again. I have enough experience with prefab coops to honestly recommend them as a viable options for others who cannot or do not know how to built a chicken coop. They are a very good option. I will say that I will only get mine from Tractor Supply or a local co-op. Reason being... if it arrived damaged (so far none of mine have) they will replace or exchange it for me. If I order from Amazon I might be a bit screwed there. That would be my only advice. Prefab coops are great, but get it from TSC, Rural King, or local co op that sales them. If you have problems you can get help.

I am a small voice on this site with prefab chicken coops in general. But I like to think that my experience and opinions will help others understand that there are options and that prefab coops make great homes for your chickens.

Here is a pic of my back yard. In fact I put in a new coop just a month ago. A prefab from Tractor Supply. My silkies love it as do I!!

Here is the new one that I just put in last month!!!

 

[gocgo]

Online reviews were not good regarding the quality. For $500, I would consider purchasing a plastic garden shed to use as the coop and connecting a fenced run to it. If you can find one used, better yet! They last forever.

 

[aart]

Where is your sister located? If you want I can do a CL search for her area and see if there's something good that might even save her some money.

Wondered what the sibling situation is here, feel there may be much more at play than the typical adult siblings getting into chickens

 

[Cluckcluck1215]

Once she has the birds her attention will be on them... the practical issues are, in fact, up to you! How fortunate she is to have a caring sibling.

Yes...She is. I..I know some siblings aren't as nice to each other....

She's mad at me now, because I told her about the coop, but she'll get over it.

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

If you do get the coop from tsc, my advice is to waterproof it with thompsons water seal (paint first if you want a different color), add extra hw cloth - especially the bottom for an apron. Put it up on landscaping pavers so that it is not sitting directly on the ground (plus even a better reason to use hw cloth for an apron). Maybe reinforce the existing hw cloth.
I have had a prefab since Oct it is holding up ok. Some of the screws they use are tiny - so we had to reinforce with better screws. The ramp came off due to the tiny screws.
Also, look up @Kuntry Klucker she has a whole village of prefabs.

 

[aart]

I saw this one at TSC a month or so ago.
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/producers-pride-hill-country-coop
It's about the same size as in the OP and less expensive.
I was pretty impressed with it, being a longtime and ardent criticizer of all prefab coops, that's saying a lot.
The biggest plus is the metal roof with decent overhangs.
It also has taller space inside and some ventilation.

 

[Cluckcluck1215]

dear CLuckCluckCluck1215, I looked at the "My Coop" link on your sig. You've been keeping chickens for a good long time and your birds are beautiful.
From reading the entire message thread, it seems to me that there are a couple of factors:
You want to help your younger sister in her desire to have a small group of Banty Hens.
You need a pre-fab coop for a number of reasons (lack of construction skills and tools, your sister's response to the visuals, a certain immediacy...).

You *know * what the issues are, what your budget is and how to help your sister.

My personal advice: Get the one with the metal roof, plan on putting pavers down under it (easy!), limit the flock size according to the space, probably 4-5 Banty Hens) and do what ever weatherizing you feel is needed. As your sister and her chickens mature, you should be in the position to help her come up with a coop that will be better in the long run.
Good for you, looking for the best and most practical way to support her in the desire to tend to growing critters!

Thank you, I....This post changed my mind, and I have to decide what coop is best, not her.
Thank you.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

I saw it the other day and really like it, except for the quality of wood. No surprise there, though, because the prefab coops tend to be made of a very soft cheap wood that really doesn't hold up against the elements. I guess that is their way of ensuring you have to buy another one eventually.

Would you be letting them free range at all?