Poorly chicken

[scruffy123]

Hi guys

 

I'm looking at buying a chicken coop and nesting box. Looking to get some normal chickens, but also some silky bantams.

 

Can anyone recommend what to look out for when buying a coop?

 

I'm looking at something second hand, not too big I guess.

 

Turns out there is a quite a lot of wooden second hand options, but am now unsure if that is the way to go. I have found some great cheap options here, but now don't know what to think http://www.for-sale.co.uk/chicken-nest-box

Edited May 31, 2017 by Guest

[mullethunter]

Well - it's always the wood vs plastic debate. We may be a bit plastic centric on here.

 

My mum has wooden houses because she prefers the look of them, I have plastic (Omlet Eglu Go first which I bought new and now an Omlet Cube which I bought third hand).

 

I wouldn't buy a second hand wooden coop.

 

In my opinion, a good quality plastic house is a better investment as it'll possibly never need to be replaced and is easier to keep clean.

 

Let the fray commence....!

[AndyRoo]

Probably biased, but the Eglu Cube is the only one I'd go for having now cleaned out the MiL's Wooden coop.

 

It's definitely much quicker to clean, and IMHO probably gets rid of more of the icky stuff than you can get rid of in a wooden coop. But equally she doesn't like the Eglu because she thinks it's too cramped.

 

There's pros and cons to each, you just have to decide which one you think would be best for you!

[soapdragon]

Wise words! The plastic is so much easier to keep clean. A second hand wooden one may come with other things

[gavclojak]

Another plastic fantastic fan here...a lovely green cube for me and the older one not the new fangled design

[Luvachicken]

We used to have a wooden rabbit hutch - for our rabbits - and it was far more difficult to keep clean and dry than my Cube.

If I ever had rabbits again I would get them a Rablu.

 

Plastic wins over wood for me.

[Beantree]

I think most wooden coops look a lot nicer than plastic, but they do need a lot of maintenance and can harbour red mite more easily. We have 9 wooden coops which keep us pretty busy!

[Grandmashazzie]

I had a wooden coop,which I painted a lovely blue. It looked very pretty but I could not eradicate red mite. I now have cube,classic and a go up and while the colours jarr a bit in the garden,they are a pleasure to clean. Even after power washing they are dry in no time.

[Grandmashazzie]

Meant to add your budget might dictate what you go for. Even if you are lucky enough to get an Omlet coop second hand they are still pricey.

[Sil-El]

I have a wooden coop - mainly because hubby hates plastic ones

 

Plus we could never afford an Eglu even though I think they look pretty groovy.

 

The wooden ones do look more natural perhaps although you do have to keep on top of the maintenance - ours is going to get painted again this summer and the hinge on the roof needs replacing but that won't take much effort.

 

No doubt the plastic ones are easier to keep clean and our wooden one is a spider magnet, but I've never had an issue with red mite (tempting fate now aren't I?) - I use very liberal amounts of diatom earth at regular intervals and also Ground Sanitising powder.

 

I guess though it boils down to what you can afford, how much space you have and what will look best in your garden. Although as others have said, I wouldn't buy a second hand wooden one....................

[scruffy123]

Thanks so much for the balanced opinion. I didn't even think of half of these things!

 

I'll keep my eye out and see what second had options present themselves and make a decision on that.

 

Well - it's always the wood vs plastic debate. We may be a bit plastic centric on here.

 

My mum has wooden houses because she prefers the look of them, I have plastic (Omlet Eglu Go first which I bought new and now an Omlet Cube which I bought third hand).

 

I wouldn't buy a second hand wooden coop.

 

In my opinion, a good quality plastic house is a better investment as it'll possibly never need to be replaced and is easier to keep clean.

 

Let the fray commence....!

[chickencam]

I have an Eglu and a home made wooden coop. The Eglu is a dream to clean compared to the wooden one and we get far less red mite issues, you still have to be vigilant though. I will replace my wooden one with 2 Eglus at some point the area down the side of my house is unfortunately too small for a cube. I keep 2 small flocks one with new youngsters each year and mixed flock of older hens in the wooden house and walk in run.