We are entering the pre-fab chicken coop market and are looking for feedback!

[hawkduncan]

Junebuggena,
Are you saying that the 4H standard is only referring to the roosting area, and that 4H has a separate standard for pen space of 10sqft per bird?
If so, I was unaware of this -- All the literature I've read actually suggests LESS than 4sqft (some even suggesting as little as 1.5-2!)
The challenge for us is trying to provide coops that are large enough for the birds, but small enough for a backyard..

Here is a 4-H manual I found suggesting 3sqft for layers. I can't find any mention of a separate pen-space standard.
http://www.lsuagcenter.com/mcms/ima...s/pub2390 Intro Poultry Project (4th-6th).pdf

Or, are you saying that 10sqft of pen space is a BYC.com community agreed standard of sorts?

 

[kmartinez]

I think 4 square foot per bird is bare min..however i have large chickens so prefab coops are not even able to safely house 17 chickens. and I am also with 10 square feet of pen space not from just learning from here but books as well. Chickens need scratching space plus enough space to expand wings. If not they are going to either peck each other or pluck one another plus fight.

I saw a prefab coop at tractor supply, things i noticed with it was poor windows, latches were cheap. The space was inadequate It looked appealing for human eyes but that was it, cute for humans to buy it and designed like a cove house It might be okay for putting chicks in to let them play outside but not for laying / adult birds. It said it would house 4-6 birds not IMO 2 layers max

 

[junebuggena]

4 sq.ft. per bird is the minimum interior coop requirement. Chickens also need outdoor space to run, flap their wings, scratch around, and dust bathe. I must have read at least 10 different books on poultry keeping before I even got my chicks and they all referenced 4 sq ft per bird for the coop, 10 sq ft per bird for the run, and at least 1 sq ft per bird for the roosts. As coop producers, your concern should be the long term health and wellbeing of the flock that will live in your coops/runs, not whether or not someone can fit the coop in their yard. That is for your customers to worry about, not you as the producer. Your job should be to make a coop/run that will comfortably and safely house a flock through several seasons. One topic that comes up on this site a lot is bully hens. It's almost always because someone got a breed that was too big for their cute prefab coops, and they didn't realize how much room chickens need to be happy and healthy.
The 4H manual link that you posted describes keeping chickens in battery farm-type conditions with the birds kept in cages. "For both standards and bantams, individual cages are required for the adult males."
That is not appropriate management style for a backyard flock. Try doing some research from a pet owner standpoint, rather than an commercial industry standpoint. Look at chicken keeping from a point of view that focuses more on keeping the birds both happy and healthy.

 

[Torch404]

If you want something "prefab" get a shed even some of those plastic ones are great. You will have to install roost, nestbox and ventalation, but the little bit of work will save you lots of $$ and get you something far better than most prefab coops.

 

[hawkduncan]

Look at chicken keeping from a point of view that focuses more on keeping the birds both happy and healthy.

Junebuggena,
I truly appreciate your passion for the wellbeing of the birds =) I just want to clarify that, while we are a for-profit company that produces coops, we are absolutely committed to quality of life of the chickens -- if we can't develop coops that are kind to the chickens that live within them, we will close our doors. My father and I are animal lovers, first and foremost. I've been a vegetarian for 10 years because I saw how commercial chickens and other animals were being abused, and I did not want to contribute to those practices. Our hearts are in this, and we want to design coops that are as ethical as they are aesthetically pleasing.

You've brought up some great points that I will be taking back to my team, regarding suggested space requirements; 4-H may not be the standard we want to align our coops with, so I'm very thankful that you brought this to my attention. I just spoke with one of my colleagues about the concerns you raised and asked her to think about it over the weekend

To be honest, one of the most challenging parts of this business is that those who started the prefab coop industry adopted this 4-H standard, and now it is how shoppers compare coops. If we changed our packaging to lower our chicken-count, our competitors probably won't.. while it might be noble of us, we would just go out of business and the unethical claims would continue. I realized this was an issue several months ago as I was researching the market, and I decided one of my long-term goals in this industry would be to somehow move the industry away from this practice for the sake of the birds.

I haven't figure out exactly how to do this yet, but one idea I've been considering is simply to stop include a bird-count on the packaging at all -- just emphasize the sqft of the nest/roost/pen and hopefully encouraging the customer to do a little research on their breed so that they can make an educated and responsible decision on whether our coop is truly the right fit for their flock.

My hope is that we would become successful enough that our competitors begin to copy us, and if we can get them to stop using the bird-count too, and just list sqft, then we will be throwing a party at SummerHawk Ranch =)

 

[junebuggena]

I think that emphasizing total square footage is a great strategy. Has anyone in your company ever tried to keep a flock of chickens in the coops you make to find out first hand what the pros and cons are? Something that might help give you an edge over your competitors would be a kit that helps make converting a shed into a coop a bit easier; like a closet organizer kit, but for a chicken coop. That would make adjusting roost heights a breeze. My birds spend about half the year inside their coop due to weather. Being able to rearrange roosts simply and easily would be something I would spend money on in a heart beat. Nobody in the prefab market sells shed type coops, that might be a good idea for you company to look into. You could make a killing with some sort of customizable run option. Nobody makes chicken toys or boredom busters for inside the run, like chicken swings and treat hangers. The point is, if you want to work towards changing how the market is doing things, you need to completely change what your company is doing first. Instead of making something that is exactly the same as every other prefab coop on the market, do something different. Do something new. Do something that sets yours apart from the other hundreds of cute little dollhouse sized coops out there. Because the ones that are on your website, look just like every other prefab coop on the market. I need to replace the old 10x12 shed I'm currently using as a coop in the next year or two. My plan right now is to replace it with another shed of some sort. There is nothing currently in the prefab coop market right now that makes me think it would be worth the money.

 

[hawkduncan]

I loved all of your suggestions -- and I completely agree with your sentiment about doing something new, on a larger scale -- I think you'll be happy to know that some of the concepts you mentioned are actually on whiteboards in our offices at this very moment! We have some very exciting things in mind for the future, as we learn about this market and what it needs. As you said, it doesn't seem like anyone is really servicing the needs of individuals like yourself, who are more educated and experienced, who need a serious coop.
If all goes according to plan, I hope that we will have a couple larger coop solutions within a year or two that you will consider worth the money =)

On that note, would you be interested in potentially beta-testing some prototypes for us and/or providing guidance once we get further down the product development path on some of our future concepts?

 

[laura s]

My coworker and I got chicks at the same time last year. I live on 5 acres so we built a big coop and run. My coworker bought a pre fab because it was cute and easy. She has a small back yard so it fit well. Now I have 30 chickens and love them. Coworker is seriously considering rehoming her 4 because the coop is falling apart and way to small.
You seem sincere about wanting to put out a good product. I hope you can accomplish your goal. Not everyone has skills,tools,time, or space to build. A good prefab is definitely needed for those who only want a few chickens in a small backyard.

 

[Bine]

I am not a big yourselfer, when it comes to wookworks, so I bought two prefabs - all junk - befor I later converted a pre fab shed. The only pre fab coop I find is okay, are the ones from omelet. But over 800 Euro for housing 6 chickens?
So, I bought a shed for 20 chickens.

 

[hawkduncan]

My coworker and I got chicks at the same time last year. I live on 5 acres so we built a big coop and run. My coworker bought a pre fab because it was cute and easy. She has a small back yard so it fit well. Now I have 30 chickens and love them. Coworker is seriously considering rehoming her 4 because the coop is falling apart and way to small.
You seem sincere about wanting to put out a good product. I hope you can accomplish your goal. Not everyone has skills,tools,time, or space to build. A good prefab is definitely needed for those who only want a few chickens in a small backyard.

That's unfortunate that she has to consider giving up something as rewarding as chicken keeping due to the lack of a better enclosure.. Tell her to hang in there! We are here to help!!! We have a coop in the works that will be affordable, yet high quality, and will be designed keeping in mind all of the concerns raised here. And, it won't just be another dollhouse