Green Frog or Arkus... or something else?!

[greatbarnet]

Hi everyone,

I hope you didn't draw a heavy sigh at the subject line: I know there's a few threads about plastic houses which I've read with interest. Like many others before me I'm looking to replace my coop. I currently have an Eglu (housing a Welsummer, an ex-batt and a Wyandotte cockerel). I love it and have only two issues: firstly, magpies find it very easy to bob inside and peck the eggs before I get there, and secondly, I had to construct a little raised roosting bar which my birds use all the time in preference to the bars Omlet provide. Anyway, I want a second house - with a little more capacity - as I have three 5 week old chicks on the go, and they won't all fit in the Eglu of course. I want to stick with plastic and my favourite is definitely the Green Frog Design Large Lodge; it pretty much ticks all boxes for me (raised, houses 6 large birds, has raised perches, easy to clean etc) but the price is a bit scarey. I recently found the Arkus website - very little information and I've googled it to find reviews but again, very little info out there. Does anyone have one? I'd love to hear what you think if you do! It seems their medium house has very similar floor area to the GFD Large Lodge (but less roosting space, as only one bar) but is £100 cheaper. But I don't know if I'd get the same quality or customer service that I believe I'll get from GFD. I've looked long and hard at Solway too but I'm not sure..... their website contradicts itself regarding sizes of the coops, and I emailed them some questions but they never replied, which doesn't fill me with confidence. Their raised houses aren't big enough anyway I don't think (though I guess I could stick one of their other ones up on breeze blocks) The other plastic options (Omlet Cube, Doodlehouse, Chicube, Oakdene, Carefreecoops) don't appeal to me for various reasons.

Whilst I'm here, a couple of questions re the GFD house too; I want the raised kind so my hens can dig a dust bath underneath it, but is 23cm high enough for my Welsummer to get under? I know the Medium Loft is higher (GFD said it would be better for the Welsummer) but I prefer the shape of the Lodge; it looks easier to clean as the whole back and roof can come off.

Also, since my ex-batt will probably not get up on the provided roosting bar I'm going to put a lower one in for her, though she will likely sleep on the floor from time to time. Does anyone have experience of hens sleeping on the floor under the bars and getting pooped on by the others? Should this put me off? Do chickens really care whether they have raised perches or not anyway (those with Eglus and Cubes seem satisfied)? And will I need to clean it out daily to stop them treading through their mess constantly?!

I'm also hoping the extra distance to get from the entrance into the nest boxes will deter magpies. Am I dreaming?!

Aaaaaaagh!! The number of times I've changed my mind about which house is best is unbelievable (from Cube to Solway to GFD to Arkus and back to GFD so far....)!!!!

Thanks for any comments!!

 

[Margaid]

Have you had a chance to look at any of them? I found both Solway and Green Frog helpful when I telephoned.

I bought a 2nd hand Solway Eco house and my only real criticism is that the walls are screwed to the floor so you can't easily dismantle it completely for cleaning as you can the Green Frog. OH says that if /when the screws strip the plastic he'll replace them with nuts and bolts. At the moment it gets swept out and sprayed with particulaer attention to the edges of the floor.

We've tried putting my 4 Welsummers in there and they do fit on the perch - but as you'll see from previous posts they prefer a house called the Poultry Palace, but that may change in the winter. There were 2 perches but I'm only using one so there would be plenty of room for the hen that sleeps on the floor.

Both the Green Frog and Solway are made from the same type of board; I'm not sure what Arkus use. It is important I think that they are made from solid sheet and not the "plastic chipboard" as that has problmes at exposed edges and also does not seem to be as strong. Durham hen houses also use the solid board but there is someone in Wales that uses Ecosheet - the particle board and they don't seal the edges.

I think the Green Frog is possibly better quality than Solway - it certainly has better ventilation. GF also have a free refund policy whereas Solway will charge you the freight to return it - about £45 if I remember correctly.

Whereabouts are you? If you're near enough to GF go and have a look, Solway will tell you where there is a stockist - I went to someone near Corley services on the M6 because I was going near them on my way somewhere else.

 

[Margaid]

Didn't want to make the post any longer so I've sent some other info in a PM.

 

[greatbarnet]

Thanks for your reply and the PM Margaid, I do appreciate you taking the time, cheers! I'm in Monmouthshire (S Wales), not really handy for viewing the GFs unfortunately, although if I could combine the trip with something else I will try to see one in the flesh if possible. But then if I went with them, as you say, I could return it if for some reason it was totally different from my expectations. I've read nothing but praise for their customer service (I emailed about drastically lowering one perch height - they said they could install one a bit lower for me, but the design wouldn't allow it to be as low as my ex-batt probably requires, so he's offered to give me a few offcuts of plastic that I could use to make stands for my own freestanding one if I wanted, very nice!)

It's odd that there seems to be only 1 or 2 posts on the web about the Arkus - they're in Penzance and I go down there from time to time so could pay a visit, but I'll probably end up saving for a little longer to get a GF just because it's a bit more tried-and-tested it seems. Sorry Arkus!! Though I may give Solway a ring and see if they have a stockist near here.

Always interested to read how other people's hens get on with moving home. I'm worried whatever I get my Welsummer (stroppy at the best of times!) will hold it against me for moving her out of the Eglu!

Thanks!

 

[Marigold]

I've been very pleased with my Medium Frog, which holds 2 hybrids, a Legbar and a Sussex with room for two more in time. One advantage which might help you is that you can adjust the amount the door closes, since it hinges on one point at the top of what is basically a triangle which slides to the side to open or close. By shortening or lengthening the cord provided, you can make a wider or narrower gap for the hens to go through without losing headroom. This might help with the magpie problem perhaps. In winter I half close the door - I almost never close it completely - and they get through it OK. The back is very easy to remove for a 2- minute daily cleanup. Just pick out the poo, either on newspaper linings to make a parcel, or handfuls of Aubiose or similar. It's worth doing this as it keeps it fresh and the hens don't tread in muck on their way into the nestboxes.

 

[chrismahon]

On the height Greatbarnet, I've raised our houses to 45cm as any less and the cockerels won't go under. They don't like bending down much when they are with their hens it seems! Discovered that when the hens were under the coop out of the rain but the cockerel just stood under the nest box area getting wet, which is 10cm higher (45cm). He goes under the new coops no problem now.

 

[greatbarnet]

the cockerel just stood under the nest box area getting wet

The creates such a sorrowful picture in my head, bless!!

Good advice though chrismahon, thanks, I'll try and raise it for my cockerel.

That's also a great tip about trying to keep the magpies out Marigold, thanks. So yours is a Medium Lodge but will fit 6? Hmm, what to do.... If my 3 chicks turn out to be girls (as if!) then I need a coop large enough for 6 and I had been thinking of going for the Large Lodge rather than Medium just to be on the safe side. Maybe I'm going over the top? It sounds like a Medium Lodge will actually be fine. And if some of my chicks turn out to be boys and housed separately, the remaining 3 or 4 chickens would probably rattle around in a Large Lodge? I *could* just about afford a Large Lodge (give up wine for a couple of weeks, ha!) but would I be wiser to get the Medium, or get the biggest I can afford (gives me room to expand too I guess)? Can a coop even be too big, or is there no such thing?

Thanks again, sorry for all the questions!

 

[Marigold]

As Green Frog claim, the medium lodge is fine for four large birds or up to six medium sized, eg hybrids. If you might ever need more than this, or intend getting large breeds, then a larger house would be a good idea, though it's usually more useful to have a second coop for the many times you need to separate birds for one reason or another. Though at least with plastic you don't ever have to allow up to 3 weeks for a coop to be out of use because it's had a dose of creosote!
My four girls often roost three on one perch and the other girl on the second one so I know they must feel comfortable like that.

 

[greatbarnet]

In the end I went for a Green Frog Medium Lodge in blue which I'm pleased with. I'm still getting used to it and will try to post a review sometime for other people who are going through the same difficult decision! My hen hasn't laid in there yet but I've put up a curtain (a piece of lightweight black canvas, cut into ribbons) across the nest boxes which will hopefully be another obstacle for the pesky magpies.

 

[Marigold]

If the magpies are still a problem you could try adjusting the string on the pophole door so the door is partly shut. This still allows enough room for medium-sized birds to get in and out easily and also makes the inside of the coop darker, good for nesting hens and would perhaps worry magpies.

 

[sharon_h]

We are looking into keeping chickens and after looking at a number of coops have narrowed it down to Green Frog & Arkus. What would the 2014 view of these be? Which would you recommend? Is there something better?

Thanks (and sorry not to be very original with my post!)

 

[Marigold]

Hi Sharon, and a big welcome to the Forum.
You'll see my posts above, in this thread, and can only say that my Green Frog is still going strong two years on, no signs of deterioration, still very easy to clean, no redmite, well ventilated, and if I ever needed a new coop I would get the same again. Or if I stopped keeping hens (heaven forbid!) I know I could easily dismantle and sell it for a good price.

 

[dinosaw]

Like Marigold I have found the Green Frog to be a very good coop, no experience of the Arkus I'm afraid.