Omlet Coop....Fancy Chicken House Update!

Did you see my earlier post about the new chicken coop? Well, I thought I would share a few observations now that we have been using is for a few weeks.

I purchased the coop online and my lovely partner in chicken captivity assembled it. It seems solid and 3 weeks of opening and closing and general rough housing hasn't loosened anything or given my any concerns.

It has a type of "apron" around it to prevent easy tunneling under the sides. That, accompanied with it being easy to move, makes me think it is far more secure than the previous coop we were using (where we had trouble with rats tunneling).

The chickens took a few days to learn to use the nesting area (it's not boxes). But now they are laying their eggs daily in right spot, easy to access. Then they go back to standing on the slotted floor, which as promised is 1) easy to clean and 2) giving them the sense of roosting in a small and cozy space. It is well ventilated and I haven't worried about them in the recent hot weather. Also, I am confident they will be cozy when it turns cold (though we don't live in a particularly cold climate.

My only complaint?

I don't love the food or water dish. This is an area where I think there is form over function.

The food dish is not easily "readable" - I have to bend down and look carefully to see if it needs refilling. It doesn't hold very much, so it frequently does need food. I miss my large, once a week hanging feeder.

The water dish is also a bit minimal and the girls empty in in 2-3 days. Somehow it gets dirty, and needs a good scrubbing to get clean again. I don't think the coop can support my 3-gallon nipple feeder that I was using before, but I miss having clean water for the girls that I only had to fill every 10-14 days. The lightweight coop does not have the structural integrity for such a piece, but I will likely find a way to have something like that in my yard, because it makes it easier to ensure constant access to clean water.

There you have it! Has anyone else had experience with the coop? I found it hard to find reviews of this coop before I bought it. It is one of the few plastic coops on the market, which I wanted for durability and cleaning. I hope this helps someone else who might be considering this for all their chickening needs.