[sandy]

That is what I would really like and I am serious, would love a little train going around as well, the chickens could jump aboard.....When I had a big garden we did have a tree house but I wanted a fort building, wish I was a skilled joiner, I would be always building....Oh, I have some rotting veg in a bag in a bucket again, will have a lot more by Monday if you want to collect for your compost, ment to ask, what about tea bags and coffee grounds? I get lot's of them?

[doganjo]

i now have visions of little minature village in your back garden sandy

You could always try freecycle 

[sandy]

I could, I could see me in a few years time with a home like a scrap yard. My dad looked after me as a small child due to my  mum being a nurse and working shifts, he was Always in the scrap yard, so, you see, it is etched into my subconscious

[KevCollins]

Hi,

I recently purchased a smaller version of this coop from the same company, and would make the following comments:
1.  Decent quality build.
3.  Probably not suitable for quite the number of hens stated (depending on size of hens obviously).
4.  Perches at same level as nest box, so I had to re position them higher.   I also made them into a T shape rather than parrallel, as this gave the hens a bit more space when inside.
5.  Mine came with a nest box divided into three sections, but they were individually quite small, so I made them into two larger ones.
6.  Instead of one large entrance to the nest box from the inside, I blocked of part of both sides, in order to make it a bit darker for them.
7.  Probably the biggest problem was the small door to the rear, which makes cleaning very difficult.   I got over this by not screwing the roof down, so it can be easily removed for a thorough clean.  If you do this, I would recommend strengthening the roof with a few brackets, as it is quite heavy and tends to pull at the fixings. 
8.  The ramp lasted about 5 minutes before it split, but the doorway is at a low enough height for the ramp to be not needed.
Hope this helps
Kev

[sellickbhoy]

cheers Kev

what about point 2??? 

[KevCollins]

DOH !!   Monday morning and all that !   

[sandy]

Mine is very similar only smaller, mine was for 3-5 birds, I have 3 and it is just enough for them.  I too find it much easier to unscrew the roof, I initially used a children's spade to clear it out but then decided on the roof idea. Mine do not use the nesting boxes, they were three but the tiny bit of wood on the base, the stripholding the hardboard divide, soon split off so I too have 2 boxes which they do not use, instead, I made a good sized oblong run behind my coop and put stout chicken wire around leaving access from the back of the coop, put perspex roof on the top as it was both light and cheap and could be lifted off for cleaning, I filled the area with straw as in that part of my garden it is very dry, when I was building it, it was pouring with rain and I never got wet at all, the hens have made a nest in the straw and it is great, the front door of the coup comes out into a garden where they roam around making holes, although it is layed to gravel I have deep soil boarders and loads of trees and bushes as well as a small pond, I am pleased but not too pleased with the price and the quality of the coupe but it serves the purpose and they certainly roost in it.

[sellickbhoy]

this thing has a pull out floor - even with being able to whip that out, it is still gonna be necessary to get right into it to clean out?

[KevCollins]

Hi again,
I haven't bothered with using the pull out floor, as the tray is not that deep and I think that once you have a layer of paper down (easier to remove wood shavings and poo in one go) and the wood shavings on top, when you pull the draw out it will end up pushing wood shavings and poo out onto the ground under the coop, which would then require moving the coop to get rid of the overspill (if that all makes sense).   Also, I think you would still need access via the roof to do a good job.
Kev

[sellickbhoy]

ah, so the pull out floor is a bit of a nonsense then, although i guess a possible plan B would be to put the coup up on some bricks raising it off the floor and simply having a larger tray underneath to catch any overspill coming out when you remove the floor.

[KevCollins]

That sounds like a plan, but if you intend to move the coop about, it might end up being a bit of a pain to keep re-positioning the bricks ?
Also, if you do raise the coop any higher and you are having the coop butted up to a run, you might need to secure a piece of wood across the front legs to block the entrance for Mr Fox.
Kev

[sellickbhoy]

i'm not planning to move the coop around :-)

the coop is going to be in a secure run, but when i'm home - most days - they'll be let out to free range in the garden

if i'm not going to be about, they'll be left out in the secure run until i'm home.

so i think i'm sorted!!! :-)

[doganjo]

I don't have a  removable floor in my chicken shed but the big sheet of vinyl which is slightly bigger all round than the floor of the shed was a really good idea.  I sort of fold it in a bit at the sides and drag it out onto the ground then pull it out of the run to clean it, then sweep the shed of any bits left behind (not many usually)  I also put a small sheet of cardboard under the perches to catch the droppings, then it's even easier to clean out.  As for the cobwebs though, I'll need top get the hoover onto that!

[Rosemary]

I lined the floor of mine with newspaper - with the intention of wrapping it all up. Laid it all neat with masking tape. Lasted about 24 hours then the hens had it ripped up. As it turned out the Hemcore is easy to get out anyway.

[johnmac]

I have one of these coops.... bought about three months back. Arrived slightly damages but easy fixed. You get what you pay for.

As someone else said...perches are too low! Slide out tray isn't deep enough, but okay to a point. Light enough to move around with 2 people easily. I've turned the three nest boxes into two.

Other than that i'd say it's well built and looks very smart.

Maximum five hens i'd say!

John