What makes a chicken coop easy to live with?

[Sageandonion]

We're hoping to get 3 chickens in September and are considering types of housing. My hubbie wants an Eglu (his argument being easy to clean and less likely to get red mite but my heart is set on (dare I say it - looks around furtively and whispers) a wooden hen house. I've seen some lovely ones on a website - flytesofancy - very traditional and cute - though a bit pricey. Just wondering if anyone has experience of both types of housing - plastic versus wood and what are the pros and cons of both. Also if anyone has a flytesofancy house and if they would recommend them.

 

Many thanks

 

Jac

Edited June 17, 2010 by Guest

[cooker]

Not sure if we're really allowed to say it on here....but...I am really not an eglu fan, they maybe easy to clean, and I might have wished I had one in the depths of winter when scrubbing mud from our wooden house. But I'm afraid the bottom line for me is....they are so ugly!!! I dont want to sit in my garden and stare at a pink peice of plastic! I much prefer the 'natural' look of the wooden house, we just treat our wooden house once/year. I put red mite powder in everytime I clean the house out, once/week, and we have never had a problem.

 

Rachel

[docsquid]

I love the the cube, and it is really, really easy to keep clean. That is the main reason why I bought it. Also, it is beautifully designed. Wooden hen houses do tend to pong a bit, when I've visited them elsewhere. I don't think the cube is ugly, and having it up on stilts makes it easy to care for. I would not rule out a wooden hen house in the future, but I really like my cube.

 

The Eglu on the ground means you have to bend over to remove the poo tray and get the eggs out, and if you have a slightly dodgy back or knees that can be more of a problem. Still like them though.

[Tweety]

I have both types of housing and much prefer the Cube and Eglu. I felt the same as you when I was considering what type of housing to get and preferred the look of the traditional wooden housing, and almost got one of the lovely flytesofancy houses myself. However, I eventually decided to get a Cube - because I thought it would be easier to keep clean and to move around - and I am so glad that I did. I also have an Eglu, which is great too but not as easy as the Cube. My wooden ark comes 3rd I'm afraid, and I only use it now in emergencies, but others will feel differently and, at the end of the day, whatever suits you will be fine for your girls.

[Redwing]

I also have both types of housing, the Eglus are brill but a well designed and maintained wooden house is nearly as easy to keep clean - I have to add that badly designed or very cheap wooden houses are an absolute nightmare!

[Christian]

Not sure if we're really allowed to say it on here....but...I am really not an eglu fan, they maybe easy to clean, and I might have wished I had one in the depths of winter when scrubbing mud from our wooden house. But I'm afraid the bottom line for me is....they are so ugly!!! I dont want to sit in my garden and stare at a pink peice of plastic! I much prefer the 'natural' look of the wooden house, we just treat our wooden house once/year. I put red mite powder in everytime I clean the house out, once/week, and we have never had a problem.

 

Rachel

 

You are entitled to your opinion Rachel As long as you aren't nasty on the Omlet forum, we always welcome views. Each to their own. I love my eglus and wouldn't be without them. If you don't like pink plastic, other colours are available.

[sparkysmum]

I also have both & like them equally. The eglu is easier to clean but my wooden bantam chalet is pretty, smells good & seems to be warmer. I do worry about keeping it free of red mite but hopefully being aware of it means that I'll stay on top of the cleaning. The pekin's chalet is from Jim Vyse Arks & is well worth a look. I painted mine a blue/green & is lovely

 

My eglu was second hand & is a mark 1 so is slightly older. However like others I wouldn't be without it. The hens love it too In fact if I didn't have the eglu I probably wouldn't have all my lovely Omlet friends or be a member of this great forum

[txswanie]

My green cube is the first chicken house that I ever owned. I decided on plastic after my experiences with wooden rabbit housing I did a lot of research and was put off by the price at first but I am so glad I bought it. I find it easy to maintain and the girls seem to like it. I live in a traditional Cape Cod style house and IMO the green cube does not stick out like a sore thumb. It sits in the garden and blends into the landscape, its not a really in your face colour. I love the fact that I can do a quick mid week poo clean up by simply pulling out the trays. A full clean take me 30-45 minutes (depending on how messy they have been)

I may change accommodation in the future if I want more chickens but for the 4 I have it works wonderfully.

Colette

[bigmommasally]

I have a purple cube and love it, I don't think it sticks out like a sore thumb in my garden its more like a piece of stunning modern art! I also have a beautifully made wooden rabbit house and enclosure which looks good but it is a pain to clean especially in the winter. Scrubbing clean the wooden pull out tray and trying to get it dry in winter has been a big problem sometimes. If Omlet made a cube for rabbits I would definitely have one.

[patsylabrador]

I only have a wooden coop, but have found it easy to keep fresh and clean. I think that if I had a different type of housing I would miss the way they line up at the window when it's time to get up. If I'm doing something in their run and haven't immediately let them out, I can see the outrage.

I suspect it's easier to maintain if it's in a covered WIR, I'm not sure how well their wooden coop would have held up in all that rain and snow we had earlier this year.

[Jools]

I have neither Flytes of Fancy nor Omlet housing, so I can't comment on either of those, but I do have (too many) wooden houses and have had for over 7 years. I can quite categorically state that wooden houses do not smell. Chicken poo smells, not wood.

 

Red mite prevention with wooden houses doesn't have to be difficult - it's a myth that wood = red mite.

 

You most definitely get what you pay for with wood. If you buy one of the flimsy imports from ebay (or elsewhere), you will regret it - they're not called Chinese Takeaways for nothing! So if you choose wood, then go for one of the long-standing, reputable manufacturers like Flytes or Forsham.

 

I'd also suggest have a good look at various styles before committing to a purchase. Have a good fiddle to see how easy (or difficult) access is for cleaning, chook catching etc, how secure it is, how heavy etc etc.

 

The main thing to consider is whether you think you'll stick at three hens or if you'll end up wanting more. If that's the case, then get something bigger in the first place to accommodate any expansion!

 

Whatever you go for, good luck and welcome to the world of chicken keeping.

[Sageandonion]

Thank you all for your replies, it's great to get your opinions. I am really torn at the moment. I know I want something of decent quality, something with room for expansion as I can see this chicken keeping malarkey is addictive and we haven't even got ours yet! I'd also love at some point a buff orpington as I think they're beautiful but I'm told they're big girls. I think if I went for an omlet house we could well end up getting a cube as I'd prefer something off the ground so it's easier on the back when cleaning out. As I said we'll start with 3 chickens. Would 3 girls be ok in a cube if we went for one or would they be too cold in the Winter? Also is a cube easily movable? We'd go for the smaller run probably at 1st . I work 2 days a week so they'd be shut in the run when I'm at work. Would the smaller run be ok if they're shut in it all day?

 

I'll also look at the Forsham wooden ones - thanks for the pointer Jools - we have a forsham rabbit hutch and it's fab - better built than our house.

 

I'm going to the New Forest Show in July and I believe both Omlet and Flytesofancy are exhibiting so it will be good to see the housing in the flesh and compare.

[ubereglu]

I had a wooden coop before I got my eglu and although generally ok there were a few downsides:

 

Wooden coops tend to be VERY heavy to move around, and I couldn't do this on my own, which meant I had to wait for other people to be at home. The wood tended to swell during the winter and I had to resort to a mallet on several occasions to open up bits of it. The eglu is much easier to clean and you don't have to wait as long for it to dry out when you've scrubbed everything down as it dries a lot quicker.

[ISCA]

There are arguments for and against both, as always I have a wooden coop and run, as do many on this forum.

I chose wood for several reasons:

 

I like the "traditional" look and the Omlet Cube would not fit in with my garden environment.

 

A Go (or Eglu) were a no-go as far as my back goes!

 

I think the Omlet runs are too small, My chooks are confined to the run while I am at work, but I do think with a WIR the Cubes are probably suitable hen houses.

 

I generally dislike anything made of plastic (which is suprising for a child of the early 1970s, when plastic ruled. I think my phobia stems from my mothers Tupperware parties ).

 

I agree with Jools, wooden coops do not smell if you clean them. Red mite is a risk for all as they can infest any type of coop and the Omlet products do get infested if precaustions are not taken.

 

If you do choose to go for wood then DO get the best you can afford, you really do not want a cheap imported wooden hen house. Do NOT get one with a felt roof, that is a recipe for disaster as far as red mite is concerned. Onduline roofs are best I believe. Good ventilation in the coop is essential for healthy, happy chickens.

 

Good luck in whatever you choose. You will love having chickens

 

Mine came from here and I can highly recommend the product and the customer service

 

http://www.woodenart.org.uk

[Sageandonion]

Thanks for that Isca - off to have a little lookie

[Christian]

I'm going to the New Forest Show in July and I believe both Omlet and Flytesofancy are exhibiting so it will be good to see the housing in the flesh and compare.

 

Ooooh, I'm helping out, so pop over and say hello. Would be nice to put a face to a name.

[pipistrelle]

I love our red cube and all our visitor have been impressed by it. We only have 3 girls and I doubt we'd every have more than 5 chickens at any one time.

 

Both DH and myself have dreadful backs and cleaning out the poo trays is so easy with the cube, it's barely even a job let alone a chore

 

I would say though that a walk in run is a good idea, we're hoping to get one soon that we can stand up in, particularly as the cube run is hard on bad backs

[Sageandonion]

I'm going to the New Forest Show in July and I believe both Omlet and Flytesofancy are exhibiting so it will be good to see the housing in the flesh and compare.

 

Ooooh, I'm helping out, so pop over and say hello. Would be nice to put a face to a name.

 

Will do - apologies in advance for my "henthusiatic" offspring

[theherd123]

Ive just got home from helping Omlet at the 3 counties show and i have had customer after customer stating how easy the Omlet products are to clean.

One lady is currently battling with red mite in her wooden house - she is scrubbing & power washing it down every 3 days and it takes her over 2 hours each time she does it!!

[Jools]

Power washing (pressure??) doesn't work against red mite, nor does scrubbing so sadly she's wasting her two hours.

 

Steam cleaning is meant to be very effective if she wants to avoid using chemicals. Creosote (even the new formula apparantly) is still popular amongst the die-hard wooden poultry house fans.

[sadietoo]

I've no experience of Wooden houses, but with chronic Reynauds I can't be spending too long fiddling about cleaning in the Winter.. and that's what made me choose an Eglu.....the thought of struggling with swollen catches on wooden houses in the winter months really put me off, although I love the look of a wooden house. I chose a green eglu so that it would blend in with the garden, and really it is not an eyesore, it looks smart and works very well.

 

However, I would with hindsight have bought a cube. I much prefer the idea of waist high cleaning....

 

Whatever you choose I am sure you will love keeping chickens.

[Jools]

I've no experience of Wooden houses, but with chronic Reynauds I can't be spending too long fiddling about cleaning in the Winter.. and that's what made me choose an Eglu.....the thought of struggling with swollen catches on wooden houses in the winter months really put me off, although I love the look of a wooden house.

 

Ouch, poor you - my MIL has Reynauds too so I know how difficult it can make things.

 

I did just want to say something about the swollen catches on wooden houses though. What swollen catches??

 

It's not something I've ever encountered on any of my poultry houses over the past seven years. Maybe it's down to the quality of the wood - thin and flimsy will move more than thicker, good quality wood. I guess the catches have something to do with it too. One of my husband's sheds is horrible to fasten, but then it was very cheap and I'm a firm believer in you get what you pay for.

[chicken bark]

I too can see the appeal of wooden houses but I have opted for plastic. I have a Solway, I also had an eglu but needed to upgrade to something bigger. As I couldn't stretch to a cube I went for a Green Frog Design house and am really, really pleased with it.

So there are options for plastic hen houses too.

 

Good idea going to look at some in the flesh.