Poorly chicken

[Pamela Baker]

Hi Everyone,

Need some help. I purchased the largest of the omlet coops with 13ft run/tractor option. The problem is that my yard is sloped---and it is really difficult to move around. Also, given that the ground is not level---the protection mesh around the bottom doesn't lie flat unless I am really careful where I place the coop. Other issues I've encountered---chickens destroy a patch of grass within a week. It does grow back, but for an urban chicken coop option I am not sure I want the grass destroyed (which would likely be the case).

Also, the water/food dish have to been cleaned/refilled a lot---and if you want to be able to move your coop around, I wouldn't want to put larger waterers/feeders inside the coop (just adds to the difficulty of moving the coop). 

I would tell anyone who doesn't have a relatively flat yard the a tractor coop is not a great option. Additionally, it requires a lot more maintenance because of the feeder/waterer size.  (The Omlet waterer needs to be redesigned as the chickens trash it within hours).

I saw on the Omlet blog that you can extend your run up (and out I am presuming). Has anyone else converted their tractor coop to a stand up coop (that doesn't move).

Thanks in advance for the advice.

[Cat tails]

I struggle to understand your set up. I presume you have a Cube with extended run attached.

Moving a coop around is only feasible when you have a relative short run and a very large garden. Chickens will dig and grass won’t stand much chance.

You’ll be best off placing your coop and run on paving slabs to prevent them turning the ground into mud. You could fill the run with woodchips. 
You can add a walk in run to your run, but you can’t modify your existing run to make it higher. You’ll need to buy a different run to do this.

[mullethunter]

Hi Pamela. I agree with Cattails and I think pretty much everyone on here would too - a permanently sited coop / run on something like paving slabs with woodchip or other ‘bedding’ is pretty much always the best option.

I think I understand what you’re asking about. You can’t expand the run that attaches directly to the Eglu (except for making it longer which I don’t think is what you want) but you can attach a bigger run to that run, or replace it with a larger run that attaches directly to the Eglu (either the Omlet ‘Walk in run’) or something else.

Here is mine which is a ‘lo-rise walk in run’ attached to a shorter version of what I think you have.