Keep your chickens safe from 'Foxy woxy' (Comfy Pets Large Deluxe Chicken Coop)

Member Name: markos9

Product:	Comfy Pets Large Deluxe Chicken Coop
Date:	08/06/09 (180 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good quality wood, secure from predators, good size.

Disadvantages: Locks and hinges are built to a poor standard

A few months ago I decided that I wanted to keep chickens. I'd been buying free range eggs from a local farm and realised that they were much tastier than supermarket eggs as well as cheaper.

If I was keeping hens, I wanted to do it properly, and look after them to ensure their wellbeing and my source of eggs. I did plenty of research (I'd advise anyone who's thinking of keeping hens to look into the subject fully before hand so that you know all the pros and cons before getting any livestock), and realised that one of the main requirements was a good hen coop.

Research on the internet showed that most good sized, good quality coops were over £200. Resigned to paying this, I found Cumfy Pets. They had their Large Deluxe Chicken Coop / Hen House with Nest Box (Model: CP002) for only £140. This seemed like a bargain.

This item does not have a run for the chickens. This was not a problem for me as I'd decided to give them the run of the back garden (which has six foot fencing all round) as I was not too garden-proud of the rear. For most people, this would not be an option and a run would be required (unless you give them a massive lawn as a run, chickens will trash your garden; my father recently described my back garden as looking like the moon's surface!). Cumfy Pets do have runs that fit to the CP002 for between £80 and £100.

I ordered the coop over the internet and it was delivered within three days. This is when the challenges began!

The coop is supplied as a flat pack. Full, but brief instructions are provided, but being male, I wanted to dive straight in and build it. Fortunately, my sensible girlfriend who's very organised insisted that we sit down, unpack it in order, count all the pieces, and lay them out in order! This was extremely frustrating at the time, but paid dividends once the build got underway.

Upon unpacking the box, it was evident that the good quality appearance from the photographs on the Cumfy Pets website was correct. The coop is made from treated 12mm timber so it's strong and sturdy. The wood treatment imparts an attractive light brown colouration to the timber; an attractive appearance.

The lid of the coop is covered in what looks like an asphalt material, presumably for waterproofing. The bottom of the coop is not watertight, however, this is deliberate to allow any spilt water to flow onto the ground below (the coop is raised three inches above the ground on four legs).

Putting the coop together (with my girlfriend's organised pre-work) was relatively straightforward. Some of the diagrams were not completely clear, so on several occasions we were asking, for example "is this piece g"? Generally, however, construction proceeded at a good speed.

We did find, near the end, that the instructions were for a slightly different model, with a different design. At this point, however, it was obvious what bits went where, so the instructions went in the bin (finally!). The coop took about an hour to build from unpacking to putting it in place.

The coop is quite heavy and bulky, and takes two people to lift, but Cumfy Pets have thoughtfully provided four carrying handles (two on the front, two on the back) so this is not a problem.

Having built the coop, we were able to stand back and admire the design. This is a really good design for a hen coop. There's a large three compartment nest box, two doors, and a nice ventilation grille. There are two perches for the hens to sit on during the night, to roost (although they sometimes use them, sometimes not). The lid lifts up and holds in place at approximately 60 degree angle on two locking hinges.

Here, however, we found a problem. The standard of hinge supplied is poor. They are thin metal and unlock easily. After a few days, I was cleaning the coop with the lid hinged open and my little red chicken jumped up (to say hi?). Unfortunately, she dislodged the lid which landed on both of us. I yelled, she squawked! Fortunately(?), my hand took the brunt of the lid's weight and the chicken was unharmed, just startled. It could have been much worse for me and the chicken if the heavy lid had landed on our heads. After this, we fitted a chain to the fence to tie the lid to, to prevent this happening again.

The quality of the other metal work was just as poor as the hinges. Flimsy locks for the doors, lid and nest box lid meant that they were fiddly to lock in place. Within a week of struggling to lock and unlock the coop, we gave up, took them off, and replaced them with better quality items from B&Q.

We've now had the coop for four months and it's now home to seven chickens which are providing us with tasty eggs with gorgeous orange yolks. Cumfy Pets state that their coop is good for five large or ten small hens; our seven medium to large hens fit perfectly without any overcrowding and seem to enjoy their home (although they are ready to come out in the morning at first light, and rush out as soon as the door is opened).

The coop is not showing much evidence of weathering, although one of the doors does look a little waterlogged. The coop does not look out of place or ugly, so is a nice addition to a garden as well as being very functional.

Despite the problems with the metal work, we're really pleased with our Cumfy Pets coop. It does (after the modifications) exactly what a coop needs to do (protect from predators and rodents, provide adequate ventilation and roosting space) and looks good, too. I can recommend it as a real bargain for anyone wanting to get into keeping chickens. If you buy this particular model, watch out for the poor hinges and locks, however.

Summary: An excellent home for your chickens