[scrump]

good evening and hello to all my first post of many i reckon

i am looking at finallly getting some hens been looking at ebay and the feedback on some of the imported coops is all good here for e.g http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250636375662.
i have read numerous posts on various forums and the majority say stay well clear,so are all ebaYers easily pleased or possibly only had the coops for a short time.
apologies to anyone who has bought off ebay just need some honest opinions.

looking at building my own walkin run as i want easy access to keep it clean,how much do members reckon a 5x5x5 would cost to make only 3 sides as it will be backed onto a garage wall
 it will be for 4 hens light sussex is favourite at the moment

look forward replys

cheers
scrump

[rachelr]

Hi and good luck with your chickens and the chat peeps are very sweet on here.

I bought mine from ebay and it is a very solid piece of kit. No where near as posh as the one you are looking at. Mine has 3 nest box on the side and holds about 8 chickens. I have a pull out thingy so i can clean them out easier which i use so rarely I wonder why i got it.

I have had red mite and some people think that is due to the shiplap etc. It maybe but i also have it in my conifers and they arent ship lap/tong and groove. It came with good instructions and was easy to assemble. They delivered on time unlike some people.

I think it is a preference and also what you can afford. Some people say not to use sheds and others say they have no problems with sheds. I have another coop which is hand made and i also bought on ebay but i wish i hadnt. It is a good coop and well made but not as easy to access as the other one.

good luck chicken madness will soon overcome you. my OH wont even have eggs when we go out for a meal and his favourite meal used to be gammon egg and chips. NO ONE ELSES taste as good as ours apparently

[josh5357]

Hi Scrump and welcome to the forum.
You say your run will be 5x5x5.This give you 25sq  ft floor area. They normally recommend 10sq ft for each chook, Unless you have them free ranging most of the time I would think it would be too small for 4.
Cost wise.  I have just finished a 15x6x6 run with treated timber and 50mm square heavy wire panel section with walk in door for £239.
Hope this helps you.  Josh

[orchardlady]

I cannot comment on your e bay choice but I have kept hens for a long time now and can highly recommend Forsham Cottage Arks. I think they have a £10 delivery and assembly charge for England. Think carefully about having a static run as your hens will kill the ground very fast although there are methods available for keeping the run sweet.

I put my oldest ark on the bonfire this summer and it was nearly 10 years old. If you use decent preservative and keep it up off the damp ground (2 bricks at each corner) it will give you a good long life.

Good luck with your choices and keep us posted on what you decide and what sort of chickens you go for.

[wolverine]

that looks like a fine coop scrump let's face it how bad can it possibly be? I'd get it .. just be vigilant as far as red mite is concerened creosote it if you can get hold of any there are people who can if you ask properly I'm with josh though a 5 ft square run sounds a bit stingy for 4 hens. I think build as big as you can afford and have space for. I hate seeing chooks cooped up I just let mine out in the morning and let them do there own thing till bed time. good luck 

[hendreary]

I have this coop and it seems to work well. It is easy to access and clean. The 12mm shiplap is not the problem it is the frame work that seems to be brittle, I have damaged mine by moving it around the garden. I now always keep some upva glue handy and always dissassemble the run part when moving it. I'm not sure how long it will last that remains to be seen, mine is now 9 months old. The plus points are the ease of use and that the chickens are dry even in the wettest of weather. You will find that keeping chickens is a very enjoyable pastime. Enjoy it.

[bantam novice]

Hello Scrump and welcome to the wacky world of henaholics

Good luck with whatever you decide and keep us posted!

[JohnVW]

Hi Scrumkp
I bought one of the ones as illustrated on your post.  It was hopeless so far as access is concerned.  Very awkward for placing feed and water,(unless you are a contortionist)  The design is such that it is difficult to clean out properly.  You cannot clean it through the opening roof unless you have incredibly long arms.  Certainly not large enough for four hens.
I sold mine after a few weeks and invested in a much larger walk-in coop. 
Take your time deciding what to get, look at all the possibilities.  Best of luck.  As others have said you will soon be hooked.  The eggs are great but so is the entertainment value.
John

[PaulineM]

Hi
I bought my coop off ebay, it was a giant size one to hold up to 9 hens (banties I presume).
I did only pay 90 odd quid for it although the postage was about 80, I live in Northern Ireland.
It was easy put together and looked great. I would however reccommend one that the whole side lifts off for cleaning purposes and to get to your hens if needed.
When the first rains came though I did notice that the rain would run in where the nestboxes are fitted to the side and the wood did swell in the rain even though I had creosoted it before my chooks arrived. I also noticed it was damp inside at the corners too!
I now have mine in a stable for the winter and of course the coop is great but I would doubt that it would have lasted very long if it had been kept out over winter. 
Good luck with whatever one you decide to go with. 

[scrump]

thanx for all the comments i will take on board what was said about the size of run, will have a look around timber yards and see whats about .
still undecided about coops seen these  http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BRAND-NEW-CHICKEN-HEN-HOUSE-COOP-HUTCH-POULTRY-ARK-RUN_W0QQitemZ180573061985QQcategoryZ46292QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp3286.m7QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D3%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D4975350851211119019
which is quite local.

http://www.pandtpoultry.co.uk/product/categoryid/10/productid/1606?sessionid=1286206769d850830a9945a8aff7283d9c01bc8853

and finally this one http://www.chicken-houses.co.uk/product_details.aspx?pid=367
 which is expensive but looks really good dropped a few hints aabout early Christmas prezzie to oh
 

[francais]

Just to add, I have purchased both of mine off e-bay.

The first (described as for 2 or 3 birds) is a great house but the attached run it's nothing like ok for 2 birds to live in full time (not while being fair!) On the other hand it's a great house - well made etc. Once we sussed out that the house was ok - just smaller than we wanted, we moved up to making a purpose built enclosure and adding a new house (free standing type) inside.

Once again this was off e-bay an fantastic value for the likes of me (the hobby hen keeper). Cost wise for what you get it's brill - mine have removable perches, 3 nest boxes each side, meshed air vents, large cleaning door at the back and stainless steel slide out floor for cleaning. It was brough and delivered for less than £100.

If I can make it do 2 years, that will do me - I can afford to replace it after that. I know in the long run  a better one might be more cost effective, but this way suits me.

[scrump]

going to bide me time dont want to rush into buying something and find out i dont like it,or its not suitable for the hens .

[Laydies]

Hi, good idea to put some time and thought into researching your coop -  I bought one off ebay and it has been ok, but was obviously too small and almost immediately we built an extension to the run which gave an additional 36sq feet - we added a good long hazel twig as a perch and we feel that they have plenty of room to move while thery are in there, which is early morning and well before bedtime.  We added a transparent corrugated roof which allows light in, but keeps the rain out, though they don't like the noise of the rain so run into the original coop area and shelter under the coop where its probably less noisy.  we think the coop will last through the winter and next summer - whether or not it will last another winter is questionable - I paid about £100 for mine and it's reasonable value for money - not big enough for chooks to be kept in there full time - easy to keep cleaned out, seems fairly cosy, but only time will tell how long it will last...   good luck - no doubt you will fall 'fowl 'of chookoholism.... very addictive!   

[CluckyChicken]

hehe very good Laydies    very sensible scrump- just wait-you will find the right one in the end

CC xx