LIKES = PVC siding - this was the only pre-fab model we could find that has it- it protects the wood underneath and there’s no outside wood to treat later on. One piece floor. Opening window with mesh screen. Hardware mesh is a decent grade. Easy to put together with 2 people (2-3hrs) and “can” be done with one handy person. Big accessible clean-out door - but it really could use a ‘real’ door handle for easier opening. DIS-Likes = the cheap chick escape door, the very thin roosting nest bottom, the ever so slightly elevated floor panel, the zero protection between coop & roof panels. MODifications NEEDED at time of installation = ok, these are fairly easy mods that “should” be done when you put this Hill Country coop together to keep your chickens safe. We noticed these fails and made all these improvements with way less than $100 worth of extras. We had most on-hand already, so I’m sure you may too. #1 : flooring : place pavers underneath the support bars to hold the weight of the bedding and the chickens. Those little cheap metal and fake wood bars will not support all that weight overtime. #2 : roof : there’s two things you could do here. A - plywood for extra insulation B - Hardware mesh for predator protection or both - either way, one or the other is needed. Without it there is a large gap at the top of the roof peak that is simply covered with a peak cap and decent sized gaps at each corner. ‘Both’ is what we chose to do - mesh stapled corner to corner to the wood sides then laid a sheet of plywood to the roof, then screwed the roof panels to the plywood. We left the ‘gap’ at the top for ventilation and meshed that gap then placed the cap. I promise it’s not complicated once you get yours together and see what I’m talking about - screenshot this and read it as you go. #3 : roof : for waterproofing - we suggest using silicone caulking when placing the roof panels to the bars. This would ensure the plywood as dry as possible. #4 : chicken escape door : while putting ours together, my clumsy self accidentally tripped over the pulley handle and broke the door. The door itself is made of very cheap and thin plywood. My foot is what caught the handle and that one simple act broke the entire piece of wood, so I suggest replacing that if you are as surefoot as I am. If not, I may need lessons please #5 : layer box : the floor of the layer box may be the thinnest we’ve ever seen. This will be replaced with a waterproof material for easy cleaning as well as the divider pieces. I suggest carrying the divider pieces to your hardware store so that the measurements can be matched for thickness as the divider pieces slide down into holders unless you plan on changing those out too. #6 : roosting bars : this model comes with (2) 2x2 bars. We swapped them for 2x4s and installed metal brackets to hold them. Those brackets are generally at any hardware store - just ask someone in the lumber dept where they are hidden. We have 8 hens that are graduating to their big bird home very soon. We will be moving to our 5 acre homestead in about a year, so we were not interested in a very large coop at this time. We wanted something on the smaller/portable side of the realm for this location, but also large enough for them to move around comfortably. We attached.(2) of these coops at the run ends, creating about a 14 foot run with two cozy coops for them to enjoy. When doing this, you remove the end-cap door panels and move them to the opposing sides. This does leave you with roughly a 4ft un-covered section and you have to drill new holes in each panel to connect them properly. This section on ours, will be covered with metal roofing panels to give them a covered area for shade. Overall, we are very happy with the install of this model. We elevated it on concrete pavers to protect it from the ground moisture and I think we might outline the run with wide pallet panels so we can thicken the run bedding - coop bedding is pellets and run is construction sand/pellets. Other than that it’s pretty much ready for the little crew to move in (coop first-run later). And ohhhh boy are we ready for them to move out of their brooder pen that they have sooo quickly grown out of!!!. Messy little things they are! It does not matter what you buy or build, everything will need modifications at some point. Do it right the first time, take care of it and you’ll be happy with it! Happy Chick’n peeps! Hope this helps!

I purchased this coop as a second one for my backyard girls. The one I got was the display, it was damaged (the large door was detached). The three hinges that attach this door were all damaged. We had some high winds that caught this door and twisted the hinges to the point that the aluminum rivets had snapped. I elected to replace the three hinges with two hinges that are 12” long each, now the heavy door is supported and shouldn’t have any other issues. My other concern is the use of self tapping screws to hold on th roof panels. It feels like if we get a rain they could leak. Again another modification, I replace the screwed for the roof with ones designed for applications like this, they have a rubber washer that makes a great seal. My last complaint is the roosting bars are not fitted well, they are a bit to short and fall, I added bracing and now they feel secure for the girls to sit on. To sum things up my true concerns are the roosting bars not properly fitting and the possibility of the roof panels leaking at the screws. Overall the coop is designed and constructed very well.

This coop was the worst purchase we’ve made in awhile. Hasn’t even held up a year for our 4 chickens. The chicken door shattered in the first 3 months, the side access door broke by about month 5. The whole thing is basically being held together by my husbands efforts to try to keep it going. Ridiculous that it can’t even make it a year with normal, gentle usage and care. Save your money.

This coop is great for 4 chickens (hens). I had two young Roo’s with 4 hens. I currently have 4 hens in this coop. I cannot have roosters where I live and I do not want any more chicks, lol! I hatched 20 of them in an incubator and gave the rest away. Four hens is very manageable with this coop. The opening from the coop to the run isn’t easy. I just keep it open into the run, my husband built a frame with a waterproof covering. I open the run when I get home from work around 3:00 pm. They forage in the backyard with a privacy fence and go in at dusk. Great coop with modifications!