Roost & RootReviews of roostandroot.com

I live alone - says to use 2 people to assemble and I had to do it myself. I was expecting for the price a little more solid. A lot of coops out there - this one was the best but then it was very costly. The pegs used to secure the winter panels are to me useless. I couldn't get them to hook and actually broke one trying to force it. I think I'll have to use tape to secure them. Chicks are in the house - got a late start, but look forward to introducing them to their new home! LOOKS NICE! Reviews are difficult because they never give you enough time to test the product for a proper review. Arrives in in days......REVIEW PLEASE!

I purchased the tractor for four chickens. I asked some questions about the birds and they responded with some advice which helped me. What was not accurate information was how long can the coop stay in one place in your yard. I have to move it every day with 4 birds because they dig holes. Then the construction. All you have is the photo of it on their web site. It looks much larger like 25% bigger in the photo. The finish of the pictured unit is smooth and stained and the boards fit snugly together on the side door vents. Mine is very rough unstained wood and the gaps in the boards exceed 1/4" between them. I was told they would swell up and seal. I live in the Northwest and it had been rained on for several days before I called. Of course after many months the gaps are unchanged and one is splitting and warping. I'll probably do some kydex or clear polycarb mods to it before winter.

I purchased a round top coop from Urban Coop Company in Sept 2016 through Rent the Chicken, so I've had the coop in use for more than two years now. Although we were thrilled at first, I wanted to share my experience over time with other potential buyers, I think it has some major flaws that are not immediately evident, especially if you live in a place that has cold winters. 1. The coop is very high quality - comes with excellent installation instructions and hardware. We stained it a cedar color during assembly so it looks very nice in the yard. It's also safe and predator-proof. 2. Customer service has been friendly, helpful, and quick, any time we have called. 3. We are not able to use the feeder tube for their feed. Originally I had to have it replaced because the food was getting wet. That problem did not occur with the replacement, however a new problem was that small wild birds would fly in and eat feed from the hopper, and on 2 occasions the birds somehow climbed up into the tube part and got stuck in there, one died, one survived. Also, wild birds tend to bring mites, and I started having problem with mites on the girls around that time as well. I now use the feeder tube for oyster shell, and I bought a 'grandpa's feeder' for their feed which prevents birds and rodents from getting into the food. I keep that feeder inside the coop extension near the door, it's a bit awkward to fill but it's workable. 4. We are not using the waterer either. The issue was in the winter, even the instructions say the tip can freeze. You can't take a chance on the girls not being able to drink water in the winter, and there is no easy way to check if the thing is frozen once it's installed. So I ended up providing backup water in a heated dish, and then there is no point in even using the dripper since the bowl is much easier for the girls to use. You need an external heater to prevent the water in the tube from freezing - so that's two extension cords... why bother. I also think that changing out water daily in a heated bowl is better\healthier than having them drink from a tube where water stays a long time that has a metal heater in it. 5. The girls are exposed to too much cold air with the design of the hen house. The flooring of the hen house is only wire, not solid wood, so it's extremely drafty. In the winter, we cut boards to fit around the floor to prevent so much air from coming up into the hen house. We also lift up the ramp if it drops below 25 at night to close them in. I also have a heating panel on the wall and a heated perch. Still, last night the water dish I put in the hen house (since I had to lift up the ramp overnight) was frozen in the morning :( 6. The wind/snow panels do help with the wind/snow/rain, but mine have blown off so many times that they are cracked around the edges. This year, I crawled into the coop after installing them and fastened them onto the wire panels with string, and so far they are staying put. 7. When the girls are molting, it's a real mess on the floor of the run, and there is no avoiding crawling in there to clean it out properly. It seems like a few times a year for one reason or another I need to crawl under that space. It's a very small space and I don't know how someone large or unfit would manage keeping it clean. 8. The boards for the hen house have separated/shifted a bit over time, creating slats that are large enough to let water in when it rains hard. My husband has used clear caulk to help that, but the slats are wide enough that it doesn't stick well. 9. For all the kits that UCC offers, they should offer something that makes it easier to retrofit the coop when introducing new hens. We put chicken wire between the coop and extension, and the put a large board as a ramp into the hen house, to essentially make the coop into a duplex for a couple of weeks. 10. I just ordered snow panels for the run extension. The confirmation says they will ship in one month, which is disappointingly long. I hope I'm happier with the winter-proofing situation once I have the panels all around. Currently on the run extension I have the top covered but not the sides. So in the end, I just feel like the whole thing has been a very expensive endeavor, and I've had to constantly improvise when the coop itself has let me down in the winter. I have 5 girls, have never lost a hen in 2.5 years, so I guess we are doing something right. In hindsight, I'd have chosen more of a walk-in coop setup that is more insulating during the cold months.

This is a difficult review to make. They're nice people, but, the coop is not worth the amount of money it costs. I bought a duplex coop with the winter covers, the waterers, and the feeders. After just a couple months, all the winter covers were cracked and the wind constantly blew them off. -A lot of $$ in the garbage. Then, the feeders, well the darn feed gets stuck and it doesn't empty into the bottom for the chickensto get to. Plus, the food get soaked when it rains, because of their positioning, & they're impossible to clean. The waterers, don't waste your money! The nipple freezes and a water heater is not adequate enough to unfreeze them to be functional. The wood on our coop is already splitting, too. It's only 10 months old. I'm very frustrated with the expense and difficulty we've had so far. And, fyi, it took almost 2 months to even get our coop, once I paid for it.

I’m not totally satisfied with the coop... it’s nice but the food dispenser does not work ,the interior plate moves and thus inhibits the flow of food to the bottom opening.... the water dispenser should not be used in cold temperatures as the nipples and the seal around the ends of the tube become damaged. The bottom inside perch bar is completely covered in chicken poop from the hens who perch up high ... so it constantly gets covered and is really difficult to clean....

I like Urban Coop, the people are nice and accommodating. But the products are not worth the price. Bought an expandable coop. They say they will last ten years but I don't see that. After one season the wood is warping, the wind screens, half of them are already broken and the doors have trouble opening and closing. The feeding and watering tubes don't work very well, there's better options out there. They're cute little coops but from what I know now, I would just building my own, it's not that hard to do.