The Little Coop
This is the coop I picked up second hand. It came with a run as well which you can see has been moved away from the coop so that I could take a better picture of the coop itself. I think I could house about 6-8 bantams in this coop but the run is definitely too small for that number. At present I only have 2 chickens living in it so its great for them.
There are many similar looking things on the market and it is worthwhile keeping an eye out for a second hand one on sites such as Gumtree. It is a lot cheaper than buying it brand new and often, as was the case with my one, in pristine condition. The wood quality is somewhat questionable as it is very thin. Without regular maintenance it will fall to pieces. My plans are to paint it in the summer.
It is a fairly nice looking coop but the roof is asphalt which in a heavy downpour is not at waterproof as it is meant to be. This is one of the reasons a tarp (the black bundle on top of the coop) is a permanent feature of this coop. The tarp is also useful in keeping my rooster from crowing at first light. I usually uncover him after 9 am at which time he crows his heart out for about 5 minutes and then usually only crows only a few more times through the day. In the future, I plan to either redo the asphalt or attach a PVC roof to sort out the waterproofing. To keep my rooster in darkness I'd like to attach some heavy duty but more visually appealing curtains/ blockout fabric across the front of the coop which can be drawn aside or rolled up. The tarp is a bit of an eye sore from the kitchen window!
The interior design could be better as the roost bars are practically the same level as the nest box (on the left of the coop in the picture). I need to modify the nest box space so that it feels more like a nest box. More work!
There are many similar looking things on the market and it is worthwhile keeping an eye out for a second hand one on sites such as Gumtree. It is a lot cheaper than buying it brand new and often, as was the case with my one, in pristine condition. The wood quality is somewhat questionable as it is very thin. Without regular maintenance it will fall to pieces. My plans are to paint it in the summer.
It is a fairly nice looking coop but the roof is asphalt which in a heavy downpour is not at waterproof as it is meant to be. This is one of the reasons a tarp (the black bundle on top of the coop) is a permanent feature of this coop. The tarp is also useful in keeping my rooster from crowing at first light. I usually uncover him after 9 am at which time he crows his heart out for about 5 minutes and then usually only crows only a few more times through the day. In the future, I plan to either redo the asphalt or attach a PVC roof to sort out the waterproofing. To keep my rooster in darkness I'd like to attach some heavy duty but more visually appealing curtains/ blockout fabric across the front of the coop which can be drawn aside or rolled up. The tarp is a bit of an eye sore from the kitchen window!
The interior design could be better as the roost bars are practically the same level as the nest box (on the left of the coop in the picture). I need to modify the nest box space so that it feels more like a nest box. More work!