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

[Ol Grey Mare]

The issue of mobility raises another point I was going to make - even for those not wishing to use the setup as an active "tractor", the ability to pick up and move the coop if/when needed is key. My recent purchase completely lacks places where a good grip can be gotten that does not risk causing some part of the coop to fall apart or break (the only exception I found was to pull out the tray and use the opening for it - but that only gives you a grip on one side). We used the bottom, but getting your fingers down in there and getting a grip was difficult and even then the issue of the weak wood caused structural failure. A well built coop that will hold together WITH built in handles, etc. (or wheels for tractor applications) allowing for grip, lift and carry would be at the top of my list!

 

[hawkduncan]

WOW!

You are all amazing!!

I just got back from out of town and haven't had time to study all of this awesome feedback in detail, but I wanted to jump in here and say THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

I truly appreciate all of you taking the time to share your experience and thoughts -- I can't wait to read through all of this right now and share your thoughts with my team!

EDIT: I will probably need to ask for clarification as I go through, so please bear with me

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

So, having had birds in our little new-to-use prefab for three days now I have to revisit my suggestions list:

This is the one we have:



1) position of the ramp in relation to the size of the run. The run is so small/short beyond the wall of the coop that the ramp sits at a ridiculously steep angle (have addressed that somewhat by using a block at the end to raise it off the ground) and, even more of an issue, the ramp literally runs into the side of the run so that young, already jumpy birds are already hesitant enough about the ramp itself but are also thinking they are going to "knock into" the run fence at the end of it. There is a door a panel at the end of the run where you can take the panel out and allow access to a "run extension" that you can purchase separately and I may have my husband build me something like that (for far cheaper - because he can make something bigger/better than the picture below for far less than the $100-160 I have seen the extension listed for online:




2) the access "door" to the run area - we all know that young birds often need a little teaching about "cooping up" in the evening for bed. As you can see, the only access to the run is the small door where the adult bird is standing in the photo (should note, photo is not of my coop/birds, sample photo from web showing the exact model we have). Of course, my young birds with no coop training are drawn to the far, back corner under the coop structure each evening. This means that to get them moved around the end of the ramp where they can find their little brains and think to go up the ramp and into the coop for the night I have to sqeeze myself through that little door because my arm is not long enough to reach all the way back to where they are huddled up (and they know that, lol). I may not be as thin as I once was, but even my 19 year old daughter who *is* thin and fit finds the opening really uncomfortable to squeeze through. This is doubly uncomfortable once you have 24-48 hours worth of chicken poop on the ground to contend with while contorting yourself through the door and trying to herd chickens (or if you were trying to reach a sick, injured or dead bird).

3) the "roost bars" inside - they *might* be 1x1 little sticks -- nothing I can envision my adult hens wanting to roost on, but serviceable enough for my little 5 week olds.

4) VENTILATION - I can not get past how little ventilation this coop has for the birds that are expected to live in it. The only actual opening between the outside and the coop structure is the chicken door - one little 5x7 (guesstimate) hole, at floor level. There is a "window" on the side, but it is plastic, so no air flow (that will be being removed and screened over with a modification to keep rain out). My plan is to take the slats out that are above the chicken door - this will afford the opening protection from being under the roof of the run, and allow air to flow in/out and am thinking of other ways it could be addressed. All I know is that yesterday it was not all that warm out and when I opened the door to the coop to check on the kids (5 5 week olds) and try to persuade them to go down into the run and get some fresh air they were already panting and showing signs of heat stress, that little coop was like a hot box. I can only imagine what it would be like for a bird to be in this coop, as sold, in our climate around mid July or August when it's pushing 100 and humid as all get out.

As I had noted previously, our intent for this coop is strictly as a brooder coop and an isolation coop - not as a long-term housing situation for any of our birds. Now that I have had time to have my hands on it and have birds in it I am even further convinced of just how impractical and unrealistic the selling points used by the manufacturers truly are.

 

[junebuggena]

When it comes time to replace my coop (I converted an old shed already on my property), I will be buying a prefab shed from Costco, cut some vents into the sides, add some roosts and nest boxes. The whole thing including hardware cloth will be under $1,000 and I won't have to worry about it getting too crowded. The prefab coops are cute, but not very practical unless you only have a handful of bantams.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

When it comes time to replace my coop (I converted an old shed already on my property), I will be buying a prefab shed from Costco, cut some vents into the sides, add some roosts and nest boxes. The whole thing including hardware cloth will be under $1,000 and I won't have to worry about it getting too crowded. The prefab coops are cute, but not very practical unless you only have a handful of bantams.

Heck, for under $1000 one could build a heck of a setup from scratch.

Ooops - misread that - for some reason did not see "shed" and thought you were talking about buying the prefab coops they sell at Costco........disregard! Yes, that sounds like a great plan and a good way to have a great setup on a decent budget.

 

[junebuggena]

When it comes down to the amount of dollars spent to house each bird, converting a shed is really the cheapest option. A prefab "coop" will only hold 5 adult birds max and they usually cost at least $500 plus shipping. At Costco, I can get a 6x8 foot shed for the same price without paying shipping, and house up to 50 birds. Dollar for dollar, a shed is cheaper.

 

[mcalkins7]

We just finished setting up our SummerHawk coop. I actually came to Backyard Chickens and searched SummerHawk to see if others had feedback on it as we are new chicken owners. We ordered the vintage red and it is definitely adorable. But I have four chicks now and it already seems far too small. Additionally, it arrived with multiple pieces chipped and cracked, two door hinges broken and paint rubbed off. The cuts in the coop pieces were off as well so there are gaps all around (roof in particular, the top cover piece has 1/4 inch gap where it is too small for the grooves cut.) As soon as we put it up I immediately felt it was too small and that I would have to eat the $200 and just upgrade them later this summer. Additionally, there isn't a hook for a heating lamp for winter nor a hole. Not sure how we will install a lamp when it gets really cold here in Colorado - we'll likely have to take the whole roof off to get a lamp in. And with the small size of the coop we'll probably bake the chickens to death even if we do.

Positives: instructions were some of the best written and easiest to understand. And it looks like a precious barn house. But doesn't seem practical or large enough for the 3-5 chickens it boasts to be large enough for. And we certainly won't be able to unscrew all the pieces and ship back at this point.

 

[Bine]

Most pre-fab coops are very expensive junk. Nice doll house but not for something that lives and breaths. My first birds nearly died on the first rainy day b/c the coop just disintegated and was blown away by a wind that was round about 30 mph. I am still furious when I think about the guy that sold me that crap. Junebuggena is right, a pre-fab shed is the better choice and a coverd run is easy made by converting a carport.
So a converting set for sheds/carport would be a great idea.

 

[hawkduncan]

We just finished setting up our SummerHawk coop. I actually came to Backyard Chickens and searched SummerHawk to see if others had feedback on it as we are new chicken owners...

mcalkins7,

I'm very sorry to hear that you are not satisfied with your coop, but I truly appreciate the honest feedback -- we are working our tails off to make our coops better than what has been available in the past, and while I feel confident that we have made great progress toward that goal, it's been made very clear by all of the responses in this thread and feedback from our customers, that prefab coops as a whole need to step it up.

Did you happen to purchase our coop from RuralKing? If so, I apologize for the 4-5 chicken capacity claim -- they write their own copy for our products and I dont know why they say our coops can support up to 5 chickens, because our box states "up to 4, depending on size and breed". We are actually in the process of updating our packaging to clarify that we feel the 4 chicken capacity to be only practical if you plan on free-ranging your chickens during the day. So, I definitely hear you and understand your frustration, especially if you are trying to make this a home for chickens that cannot be released into a larger yard during the day.

That said, I would like to offer you some options:

Option #1: We would be more than happy to issue a full refund for your coop, and you are welcome to keep the unit, because the last thing we want is for your chickens to be homeless!

Option #2: Because you mentioned needing to upgrade to a larger coop, we would also be happy to ship you our more expensive, larger capacity model, completely free of charge. We expect to have inventory in September, and you could be one of our beta-testers. The larger capacity versions are essentially the same design as the three we currently have, just larger and with a few other small design tweaks/features.

A note on the larger capacity models: This industry uses the 4H standard of 4sq/ft per bird, but basically every manufacturer includes the nest-box and roosting space when calculating capacity. The problem I have with this is that my chickens don't really spend much time inside the coop during a nice day, so they are not really be getting the full benefit of 4sqft each in actual pen space. When we realized this, we decided to design a larger coop that ensures that there is at least 4sqft per bird in the PEN area, (NOT including the nest box or roosting floor like the rest of our industry does).

This new coop will have enough space to support 6 chickens with 4sqft of pen space for each hen. It will also have enough space in the roost to sleep up to 9 chickens, (we suggest only going up to 9 if you will be free ranging them during the day). Since you have a backyard flock of 4, each of your birds would have 6 sqft to herself, which should be nice and roomy compared to the smaller coops.

Just send me an email at [email protected] and let me know which option you'd like to go with so I can take care of you. Thanks again for sharing your concerns; I've also shared yours and everyone's comments here with our CEO who is very passionate about making sure we provide a quality product and a comfortable home for the animals that are kept inside our enclosures. =)

 

[junebuggena]

You seem to be overlooking the whole 10 sq.ft. of run space that is also needed. That would make a minimum of 14 sq ft of total living space for a medium sized hen, not including nest boxes and roosts. If I tried to keep my Barred Rocks in a coop and run that only allowed 6 sq ft per bird, I would have a blood bath on my hands.