Comparing Pre-Fab Chicken Coops and Little Cottage Company Chicken Coop Kits
When we were comparing barns, we noticed chicken coops. More and more of our neighbors are raising chickens. We hear roosters from every direction in the morning and we see chickens in fenced yards every time we walk the dog.
One of the houses has a little barn with a chicken ramp going into it. This morning I saw one on Pinterest that looks like the same little chicken barn, maybe.
I clicked on it and it is by the Little Cottage Co., who makes the Victorian playhouses.
We had chickens when I was a kid. At first, the chicken coop came with the farm we rented. Then Dad built a chicken coop. It was big. We had too many chickens, too.
Little Cottage Company Chicken Coop Kits
Little Cottage Company has two Chick House kits, the Gambrel Barn Coop, like the one I saw, and a Colonial Gable Coop, more like a traditional chicken coop.
They are available in two sizes, 4’ x 6’ and 6’ x 8’.
These Chicken Coops allow you to have fresh eggs from your backyard! There are several great reasons to raise your own chickens: easy to manage, endless supply of fresh eggs, as well as free fertilizer and something to eat your weeds and garden pests. And what better way to house your feathered friends then with one of our quality built chicken coops!
www.littlecottageco.com/product/gambrel-barn-coop-panelized-kit
These come as kits. You build them yourself. You can even order them on Amazon.
Little Cottage Co Chicken Coops on Amazon
What’s in the kit?
- Step-by-step instruction manual
- All necessary hardware; Screws, Latches, Handles, Nails
- One Window
14” x 21” working window with tempered glass and screen - One Entry Door
- One Chicken Door with Ramp
- Nesting Boxes with Exterior Egg Access
4 x 6: 4 nesting bins for 8 to 12 hens
6 x 8: 6 Nesting Bins for 8 to 22 hens - Aluminum Gable Vent
They are delivered in pre-fab panelized sections. Just like prefab houses.
“Panelized means the walls are in prefabbed sections, everything else is precut and labeled for you! NO EXTRA CUTTING!“
www.littlecottageco.com/product/gambrel-barn-coop-panelized-kit
Window
- One Window
14” x 21” working window with tempered glass and screen
The kit comes with one window. They show the window set low. I know our chickens preferred to sleep at night close to the ceiling of our chicken coop. That way they wouldn’t get spooked by seeing things out the window when they are winding down at night.
Entry Door
- One Entry Door
The entry door is big. You want it big. This allows you to easily get in there and keep the coop clean and maintained.
Chicken Door with Ramp
- One Chicken Door with Ramp
The chicken door has a latch, so that if you have predators, you can close the chickens in at night.
We thought we would have to round up chickens or something at night if we wanted to lock them in, but they just went home by themselves when it started getting dusk. (Our guinea fowl went to someone else’s home at night and never came back.)
This photo shows the door hinged on the side, with the latch on the other side. There is a hook to keep the door from swinging closed during the day. You don’t have to remove the ramp to close the door at night.
This photo shows the door hinged at the bottom with the latch at the top. Gravity keeps it open, but you have to move the ramp to close it.
Nesting Boxes
- Nesting Boxes with Exterior Egg Access
4 x 6: 4 nesting bins for 8 to 12 hens
6 x 8: 6 Nesting Bins for 8 to 22 hens
The nesting box has access from outside. The lid hooks, so you can reach the eggs easily.
The 4 x 6 coop has 4 nesting bins for 8 to 12 hens. The 6 x 8 coop has 6 Nesting Bins for 8 to 22 hens.
The nest bins can be reached easily from outside. We fed the chickens first, that way no chickens were on the nest. Some chickens prefer to keep their eggs. They would peck at us or whap us with their wings.
The nest boxes are pretty basic, but they are really all you need. Just give them some hay.
Aluminum Gable Vent
The website says there is an aluminum gable vent. This is the vent that is shown in the pictures. It is big enough to actually vent the chicken coop.
The vent window has screen over it. It is big enough to let the heat out in the summer, but it shuts tightly for the winter.
Roost
Chickens like to sit up high at night to sleep. This board is a chicken bed.
Floor
Unlike other little house kits, the chicken coop includes a floor. Paint it so that it will be easier to clean.
Ceiling
This is what the ceiling looks like in the chicken barn. Even though chickens won’t get the ceiling as dirty as they will the floor, I would still recommend you paint everything inside.
What’s not in the kit?
“With these kits, the customer provides the shingles, drip edge, and paint.”
www.littlecottageco.com/product/gambrel-barn-coop-panelized-kit
The chicken coops come primed and ready to paint, but you paint them whatever color you want.
It comes with the basic roof, but you choose the shingles you want. Or put on a metal roof.
They say they also have them available completely pre-built in color choices with 25 Year Shingles.
Chicken Coop on Wheels
Little Cottage Company Chicken Coops are also available with wheels. I found these at www.betterchickencoops.com.
Can’t you imagine Dick and Jane pulling this around with Spot chasing along behind?
The Chicken Coop Collection from Carolina Storage Solutions
Carolina Storage Solutions has The Chicken Coop Collection. They sell four chicken coop models in three sizes, 4′ x 8′, 6′ x 8′ or 8′ x 12′. You can get them with a run under the coop, an extended roofed run, or no run at all. They have a chicken door with a ramp, an entry door (for a human), a drop vent to give the chicken coop more ventilation when it is hot out, two windows and nesting boxes with exterior egg access. If there is a run, the run has a fence door.
Every chicken coop comes with these features.
What’s Included?
- Two Windows
- One Entry Door
- One Chicken Door with Ramp
- Nesting Boxes with Exterior Egg Access
- Drop Vent
- Roost
- LP SmartSide Siding (50 yr. warranty)
- Metal or Shingle Roof
- Siding & Trim Paint Colors
See more about these Pre-Fab Chicken Coops from Carolina Storage Solutions.
Paint Ideas for Little Cottage Company Chicken Coop Kits
You provide the shingles and the paint, so the chicken coop can be any color you want.
You can paint it to match your house.
Or have fun and paint it a bright color.
The chickens will not complain.