“Pros- 1. put together easily myself in half an hour.
2. Cute! Fits into my garden nicely.
3. Size. I have a flock of 9 silkies currently and it is roomy for them.
Cons-1. Needs to be in the shade all the time in hot climates. I put a Bluetooth thermometer in the nest box on the shaded side today and it quickly hit 101.3F. The outdoor temp is 90F. Silkies are not heat tolerant and I think I lost my favorite hen due to her using the nest box in the late afternoon. I’ve always had wood coops and they do not get this hot. My wood coop is currently 92.5F. Im really upset with myself as I tried to pick the best location for this coop but I didn’t think to put a thermometer in there. The door and vents were open too. I’ve never had this happen before in the 33 years I’ve kept chickens. Again I’ve never had a plastic coop. I’m sure this coop works well in cooler climate but I am not sure I’d recommend this in the south unless you have tons of shade.
2. The roost bars tend to fall out if bumped. Haven’t figured out how I’m going to fix that down the road.
3. The trays that hold bedding are super flimsy.
4. It’d be nice if both sides of the roof could open. I put this coop on the wood stand (on the formex site) and now I can barely reach in to get my chickens if needed. I’m 5’7” and it’s a chore to collect a chicken if needed. The only access is one side of the roof. The front door or nest boxes. If the coop was on the ground, this would be less of an issue.
5. Formex needs to figure out a way to attach the top to the plastic base better. It currently just snaps into place and I don’t think it would stay together in heavy winds. During the hurricane I looped a strap around the whole thing and the wooden base. They need a latch that clips the top to the bottom.
So in hindsight, I think I’ll go back to my crummy “wood dog house” coop. I cannot bear to lose another little hen to heat illness… I’ll box this one up and use it if I move further North.”
Thank you for your review on the Formex Snap Lock Large Chicken Coop. We appreciate both the pros and the cons. We are so very sorry for the loss of your favorite Silkie hen! We have reached out to you separately in regards to the cons you have listed.
“This is a durable, brilliantly designed waterproof coop and my 5 large chickens absolutely love it! I am a 62 year old woman and was able to easily put it together all by myself with no tools. It has a smaller footprint than my last coop (which literally disintegrated after a few years) but is much more spacious on the inside. The plastic panels have some type of double wall insulation and my chickens are cozy and dry and very happy!”
“I'm not overly impressed with this coop, especially for the price. When you stick your head in, you can see gaps and cracks that are going to require winterizing before winter. I plan to fill the cracks with some kind if caulking. One of the nesting box's leaks. I don't know how to fix this. The is a special door that you can remove the bottom trays for cleaning. There is a gap below that I feel like rats can get in there. I do not feel comfortable putting my girls in there as it is now. I am pretty disappointed over all. I also got the stand to keep it off the ground and it's not really very stable. I do not recommend buying this coop. It's disappointing.”
“I absolutely love this chicken coop. Easy to put together. I run a sprinkler for my chickens because it gets so hot where I live. And the coop stay dry inside. My chickens love it.”
Thank you for taking the time to review the Formex Large coop! We absolutely agree that it is a wonderful coop in that it is easy to assemble, to maintain, and keeps our flocks healthy and safe! My Pet Chicken looks forward to helping you in the future for any of your flock needs.
“This thing is awesome!! My only regret is not buying it sooner. It is replacing a pre-fab word coop that I’ve only had two years. The wood, which was sealed yearly, will not last much longer. My three youngest children and I put the Formex plastic co-op together in 30 minutes. I anticipate years of chicken housing. It is sturdy and well made and well designed with so many lifting lifs to have acres to chickens. I have 8 larger ladies and they fit just fine.”
“Very dissatisfied and disappointed. The chicken coop is a lot smaller then we originally thought. The pictures make the coop look a lot bigger then what it actually is. Our chickens are very squished. I called to get my money back and they would do nothing. They said once the box is opened we can not return. We waisted over $1000.00. I do not advise people to purchase anything from these guys because they do NOT work with you if you are unhappy. We wish we got warned beforehand.”
We are so sorry to hear that you are disappointed with the size of your coop! We make every effort to describe the coop in detail on the product page but understand it is sometimes difficult to visualize what that space will really look like. Unfortunately, for biosecurity reasons, we cannot accept a return of an assembled and used coop. We did provide you with options over and above our policy to help and are sorry these options were unsatisfactory. We would still like to help if you have changed your mind. You can contact us at 888-460-1529 or info@mypetchicken.com and we will be happy to help.
“I have 13 hens and 2 coops, one a Snap Lick by Formex and one an Eglu by Omlet. All 13 crowd into the Formex every night! It was a breeze to put together and my girls apparently love it!”
Your hens have very good taste, Mary! Thank you for the review of the most popular coop at My Pet Chicken! We are thrilled that both you and your girls love it. With it being a breeze to assemble and to clean, what's not to love?!
“I was able to put this together easily and by myself, 61 year old woman. My chickens love it and it looks very nice. I am happy that it will never need painting and it can easily be checked for eggs and emptied of waste. Great product. I would probably limit the number of chickens to 5 as I have fluffy chicks.”
