Mrs

[D sweet]

I am now down to 1 hen who is about 6. I am going to review my chicken housing as have collected quite abit over the last 15 years.  

Classic mark 1 .. excellent for 2 large hens, portability and brilliant metal mesh beneath to stop rats/ mice getting in from below. Kept as 'Camper van' to transport them on their holidays when we go away ( to another chicken keeper...not us, the hens! Would love to replace the bottom sliding metal bar that locks the top to the bottom but Omlet don't have replacements anymore. 🤕 On the negative side they never made moulded plastic perches so watch out for red mite....only ever had that once luckily.

Classic mark 2.....excellent size for 3 large birds. However the rats managed to nibble up through the base through the nesting box hole and lurked in the air space between the base and the floor of the nestbox!.  They also nibbled at the door from the outside! Would love to see that metal mesh put back on this model. Solved by putting housing on a bench and moving into stand up run.

Stand up/ walk in run. ....RATS. got rats. Needs a nice concrete base. Also robins get in easily to feed themselves. 2x waterproof covers...good quality.

What to keep and what to get rid of? Should I go for a GO UP ? What is the quality of them and are any of my old items saleable?

 

[Cat tails]

Although I have a Go Up and still love it, many here will come along shortly and tell you it’s rubbish compared to the Classic and Cube. 
why not try and sell your Classics and invest in a Cube? A cat carrier will happily hold chickens when moving them from one place to another.

[D sweet]

Yes but i forgot to say that i do like and have the space to move the classic around the garden. I feel that the cube would be :

too extravagant for 2/3 hens

quite cumbersome to move ?

The go up seemed to be the answer??

need to see one really.

never going to be a perfect solution i suppose.

[mullethunter]

An original Cube definitely would be cumbersome to move around if you had any more than the very shortest run attached. I don’t know about the new Cube.

I have a third hand original Cube which I’ve now had for 6 years, and a Go which I’ve had for 7 years but have only used intermittently for the last 6. I’ve found the outer layer of plastic on the Go has got quite brittle over the last few years but the inside layer is still as new. There’re no brittle parts on the Cube.

As cattails says, many people really don’t rate the Go / Go Up - but although it definitely isn’t quite as robust as some of the others I would have one if it was the right size for my flock.

On the question of whether your items are saleable, I’d say they probably are but I’m not sure you’ll get that much for them because I’m. It sure many people will want the mark 1 with the wooden perches or a mark 2 with rat holes! If the run is in decent condition I’m pretty sure it would sell.

[HarrisonFamily]

I have had a go for 10 years - we upgraded after a year or two to a cube but the go has been in the garden the whole time - it has been used for introductions - sick chickens etc and every summer as a home for the guinea pigs - some of the plastic is brittle  but considering it is pulled around the garden on the hunt for grass for the piggies it has survived really well.

Its also easy to clean and light enough to move.