Coop/run advice please - Can I have it all?

[newmumwithquestions]

Have finally talked the OH into getting chickens 😄. Looking at houses and am a bit shocked with the cost, but I am a believer that you buy cheap buy twice so have decided to steer away from the cheaper wood ones. Please can anyone help me understand if I'm making a bad decision?

We're looking at 3 chickens or maybe 4 (2 full size 2 bantam) but would rather over than under spec.
They will be confined to their run a lot with occasional free ranging (foxes around) so I'd like a fox proof run.

I'm looking at a plastic house for easy of cleaning and lack of annual maintenance.
So I was thinking eglu go up with an extended run.

But I'd like an automatic opener as it makes it much easier if we go away and would make it easier day to day.

So I'm now thinking a green frog medium lodge as this takes the auto opener, but I'll still need a run so I was thinking of putting the house inside the Omlet high run.

But we're getting into ££££ and it seems overkill to have a fox proof house with a fox proof run, and I'm not sure if it will be a faff having to take the bit's of the green frog house out the run for cleaning.

Any advice? Are there any other easy clean houses that take an auto opener, or any fox proof run recommendations? Thanks

[glorious]

I don't know but wanted exactly the same! Did you know omlet have £50 off their runs until tomorrow?

[phenomenomenological]

We bought a cheap wood house and run and it is beyond terrible, seriously. It took literally weeks to build, bits kept splitting, nothing fits or lines up, I regret it so much. We LOVE the automatic door opener though!

[Lunar1]

For my run I bought aviary panels from eBay. Including a door one. It's brilliant because you can walk in. I got a roll of decent mesh for the roof and did that myself with old decking boards. They free range all day in my garden.

[newmumwithquestions]

Thanks for the responses. Aviary panels do sound like a good option but I got a bit confused with which ones should be strong enough to be fox proof, and we're really pushed for spare time at the moment to build anything so an off the shelf solution won me over. Omlet run ordered! With the £50 off.

Still not decided on the house though!

[NiceCuppaTeaAndASitDown]

If you get an automatic opener, I'd recommend splashing out on a combination light sensor/timed one. It means that in summer we don't open until 7.15 so the girls don't wake the neighbours, but the door only closes when it's dark so they never get locked out.
Can't help with the house or fox proofing as our girls are in a horrible wooden thing (that I would love to replace with plastic I, so I'll be watching to see what you go for) and we're fox free

[newmumwithquestions]

Phenomenon - yeah I've heard a few bad stories of cheaper houses, someone who only lives a couple of streets away had a fox bury under their run and get in through the nesting box. And with another aquaintance a fox got the door open - both on cheaper wooden houses. I know the first one could have put a bolt on the nesting box but I think they thought as the house was in a run they were ok, the other one free ranged but thought the house was strong enough.

And I really like the auto opener idea!

Green frog it's likely to be... Just once I can bring myself to part with the ££

[curlywillow]

Think carefully. We have an eglu cube with a 1.5m run. It was very expensive and not worth that amount of money IMO

[newmumwithquestions]

Thanks curly. What is it about the cube you don't like? A 1.5 m run sounds quite small - I guess you free range as well?

[Ruhrpott]

I have an Omlet cube with two run extensions and then a 1 m go run and a Omlet go tagged on the end. Bought them all off gumtree and tied them together with cable ties. Works well for us and I leave the door open most of the time as I am too lazy to go in and out morning and night. We have had them three years now and no fix us ever managed to get in. Also have a wooden frame round the bottom and wood chip on the flagged ground.
Omlet go is a lot thinner plastic than a classic or cube and break a lot easier. I love the cube though and the chickens spend a lot of time in the area under it. They have a choice of cube or go to sleep and they ways choose the cube.

[Ruhrpott]

And I would love a walk in run but would be too wide for my chicken area

[Ruhrpott]

I have 5 bantam hens and one bantam cockerel

[curlywillow]

Yes we free range and so they're only in the run until we let them out in the morning. Actually I measured it earlier and its 2 metres, not 1.5

There's nothing wrong with it per se but it wasn't worth that amount of money. Its heavy to move around (although a lot of our garden is sloped). We'd have been better off with a walk in run made of aviary panels.