Choosing Your Eglu Chicken Coop

Published Sunday 7th August 2022

Choosing a new chicken coop is a really exciting part of getting chickens. You want to provide your hens with a lovely new house so they settle in with you as quickly as possible. Chicken coops come in all shapes, sizes, colours and materials so you will be spoilt for choice when you start looking for a new coop.

What Makes The Best Chicken Coop?

Below are the 6 essentials of any chicken coop. Without every single one of these points covered a chicken coop will either be completely useless or provide a significantly lower quality of life for our chickens.

• Security: When you lock your chickens away at night you must be 100% confident that their coop is secure against any attacks from predators. It is also important for the chicken coop to be rat proof as rats will spread disease, eat feed and may even steal eggs.
• Roosting: When chickens go to bed they prefer to stand on roosting bars. These bars need to be in a separate area to nesting and should be thick enough to allow a chicken to get a good grip.
• Nesting: All chicken coops should have a nesting area that a chicken can lie down in. Chickens lay their eggs when they are nesting so it really is important for a coop to have a nesting area. The general ratio of nesting boxes to hens is 1:5.
• Insulation: All chicken coops should be insulated enough that they remain warm inside even in the midst of winter. Please note insulation does not refer to pink batts like in human houses.
• Ventilation: A well ventilated chicken coop will ensure that plenty of fresh air gets inside the coop as well as ensuring that the coop doesn’t get too hot in summer.
• Weather Protection: The coop must be weatherproof. You have to be confident that your chickens will stay warm and dry even in torrential rain.

Essential Considerations

Next we will look at some points that really can separate the best from the rest.

• Lifespan: The best chicken coops are built to last but this can be tricky to spot to the untrained eye. Here at Appletons our coops are built to last and you can expect any of our Eglus to last between 10+ years, if not longer. In our timber range we use treated timbers and ply, which helps prevent your chicken house from rotting and increases the coop’s lifespan.
• Parasites: All parasites are dreaded by chicken keepers but I am sure we would all agree that Red Mite can be considered our nemesis. Red Mite hides in the nooks and crannies of chicken coops to sneak out and feed off the chicken’s blood whilst they sleep. Plastic chicken coops provide almost no hideaways for these pesky pests so you a far less likely to face a plague of creepy crawlies.
• Cleaning: The best chicken coops are designed to make cleaning out a doddle. The things that make cleaning easy are a pull out droppings tray, it should be easy to dismantle and the option to pressure wash.
• Personal Taste: When buying a chicken coop you have to consider that you are going to have it in your garden for the next 10 + years. You want something that you enjoy keeping your chickens in, something that your chickens love and something that you are proud to show off to your friends.

Different Types of Hen Houses & Chicken Coops

There is a huge selection of chicken coops currently on the market. Whether you have a large garden flock of 10-12 bantams or just two to three brown shavers to have some eggs each morning there is a perfect coop for you.

The bigger the coop, the more hens you can have but you would be surprised by how many hens can fit in even some of the smaller coops. When your hens are sleeping they will roost on bars and huddle together to keep warm. You may think that your coop is totally full but try opening it at night and you will be amazed by how much space the chickens leave as they huddle as close together as possible. Most people keep 3-8 chickens as their garden pets. This is usually because of space limitations or if they simply don’t need as many eggs as larger flocks produce.

Eglu Go Chicken Coop

Small Coops

A small garden coop will accommodate 3 to 4 hens. Most first time chicken keepers will start with 3-4 hens so this is where there really is an abundance of different coops to choose from.  For any chicken keeper but particularly the first time keepers you really want a coop that is minimal fuss with maximum reward. Omlet has designed the Eglu Go Chicken Coop to fit perfectly into this role.This coop is designed to make keeping chickens as carefree as possible and both will house up to 4 medium sized hens and 2-3 larger Heritage hens.

Eglu Cube  - Large Chicken Coop

Raised | Small & Large Coops

The biggest benefit to have a coop that is raised off the ground is the extra run space you get without increasing the footprint of the coop. Raised coops give your chickens a shaded area underneath the house and are perfect to maximise the space you dedicate to your hens.  An added benefit of a raised coop is that they tend to be at a more convenient working height, this can be perfect for us chicken keepers that prefer not to be bent double or have limited mobility.  The Eglu Go UP Raised Coop accommodated 3 to 4 hens while the fantastic plastic Eglu Cube Chicken Coop will comfortably house 6-8 large breed hens 8-10 medium breed hens or up to 12 bantam hens.

Appletons Walk-In Batten Hen House

Timber Walk-In Housing

Walk-in timber housing works brilliantly if you have a designated large chicken run or opt to run your chooks in the paddock (easily towed on skids). Ensure person access is easy for cleaning with a wide, person height door. Nest boxes work best if positioned with internal chook access and external egg collection. Good housekeeping is essential as Red Mites can become a problem very quickly.

Materials

The material that your coop is made of can make a huge difference to the coop’s lifespan, its likelihood to harbour parasites, how easy it is to clean and insulating properties. One main benefit of plastic coops is that they are much less likely to become infested with red mite. This is because there are almost no nooks and crannies for the parasites to hideaway in. If you do have red mite you can just disassemble a plastic coop and pressure wash it to get it spotlessly clean. Plastic coops also won’t absorb any moisture like a wooden coop will. This not only means you can pressure wash them but also that they won’t become sodden and start to rot. An added benefit, no waiting for the coop to dry...

Wood: If you are a traditionalist then you might only be considering wooden coops. Wooden coops have been used for hundreds, if not thousands of years and are a fantastic way to keep hens. One thing you need to look out for is cheap materials that simply won’t last more than a couple of years.

No Grass? Keep Your Chickens on Wood Chips

If you want to keep the eglu in one place in the garden keeping it on wood chippings is a great solution. Cleaning the run is as simple as raking out and replacing the soiled chippings every month or so. Making a chipped area for your Eglu doesn't take long and is quite cheap too.

MK1 Eglu Cube Chicken Coop attached to an Omlet Walk In Chicken Run

Happy Hens!

Eglu Classic Chicken Coop set up on a raised bed with brick border and a bark base.

Eglu Cube Chicken Coop inside a Large Omlet Walk In Run (Size D)

Eglu Go UP - Raised Chicken Coop + 1m Run Extension on a raised bed with wooden border.

Eglu Chicken Coop Comparison Chart

Can't decide which Eglu Chicken Coop is the right one for you and your hens? Not to worry, we've created this handy chart to help make that decision a little bit easier!
All Eglu Chicken Coops are predator resistant and quick to clean, however the size and functionality between each Eglu differs slightly to suit the number of hens you have and your own requirements. To help decide simply browse the comparison chart below to see the different features and sizes of each Eglu. If you are still unsure as to which Eglu you would like to purchase please don't hesitate to give us a call.

The Eglu chicken coops and runs make keeping chickens in your backyard easy and fun!
Quick to clean smooth and hygienic surfaces, anti-predator design features and wheels that allow you to move the coop in a breeze, this is the perfect new home for your flock!