Coop Comparison


How does the Tuf-Climate Coop^TM compare to a traditional 8 x 10 foot chicken coop built on concrete? There are many different designs for chicken coops, and your experience may vary, but this is a good starting place to see what’s involved if you’ve never had chickens.
Design
Traditional Coop	Tuf-Climate Coop^TM
If you’ve looked around at plans, you’ll see there are as many plans as there coop owners. Everyone comes up with their own thing. Plan to spend many hours changing things in the smelly coop. You may try many ideas before you get something that works for you.	The beauty of the Tuf-Climate Coop is that everything having to do with a small back-yard flock has been attended to effectively. You don’t have to do research or trust some weekend farmer’s judgment about the best way to keep chickens. Even in climates that get extremely cold or hot for long periods you are prepared for the seasons. No unsightly fenced-in pen is needed.
Mess
Traditional Coop	Tuf-Climate Coop^TM
One first-time chicken owner said “When we first purchased our farm, I told my family that the only animal I refused to have waschickens. The chicken coop on my grandparents farm where I visited growing up, while kept clean, was still stuffy, hot and smelly.” To collect your eggs, you’ll have to walk through chicken manure, put your hand in a dark nest, and hope there aren’t any visiting snakes!	Since you move the Tuf-Climate Coop everyday, most of the mess goes through the plastic mesh floor (”comfort” floor) onto the grass, fertilizing it. In the winter this floor is covered with a tarp and pulled out periodically to be shaken clean.
Predators
Traditional Coop	Tuf-Climate Coop^TM
Chickens are very prone to being killed off by dogs, possums, snakes, weasels, hawks, owls, foxes and other animals. Burrowing animals will eventually get into most stationary chicken pens unless they have extensive protection; electric fences, buried wire, etc. Hawks and predatory birds can fly into open chicken yards. Snakes love eggs and find their way into many coops. Keeping a flock of chickens usually results in an ongoing battle against predators. In the suburbs, dogs are the worst enemy to chickens.	A Tuf-Climate Coop is designed to keep your hens safe from all animals. Flying predators can’t get in, strong animals can’t get through the sunroom mesh, which is much stronger than chicken wire. Burrowing animals never have a chance to start. When the Tuf-Climate Coop is moved daily, predators do not get familiar enough with it to start burrowing.
Time and Maintenance
Traditional Coop	Tuf-Climate Coop^TM
When everything is convenient, you can spend 15 minutes twice a day feeding, watering and egg-collecting. (This is based on my own experience carrying feed and water to a coop and searching for eggs.) Because of the hassle, many people only clean their coops once a year. Consider having friends over to help. Promise them a barbecue, strong drink, clear nasal passages or whatever they think will get them to come.	Make one trip to the Tuf-Climate Coop each day. Collect your eggs and move it 8 feet. (3-5 minutes, depending on how far you walk) Every 4 to 6 days fill the feeder with 20 lbs of feed (7 minutes). Add water to the reservoir every 3-4 days (10 minutes, depending on water pressure and the availability of a hose that reaches). Every few months or so spray down the inside and outside with a power washer (30 minutes).

Estimated Time for One Month of Care
Chore	Coop	Tuf-Climate Coop
1. Feeding	16 hours (1/2 hour/day)	0.75 hour (10 min/ week)
2. Water	(included with feeding)	1.66 hours (10 min/ 3 days)
3. Egg-collecting	(included with feeding)	1.5 hours (3 min/ day)
4. Cleaning coop	(You should, but you won’t)	0.08 hours(15 minutes/ 2months)
5. Moving	none	(included with egg-collecting)
Total Hours/Month	16 hours	4 hours
* Labor $6.00/hr	*$96.00*	$24.00

Money
Traditional Coop	Tuf-Climate Coop^TM
We estimate building a traditional 8′ x 10′ chicken coop shed on a slab with an exterior wire cage will cost at about $1200. This includes site-preparation and concrete, lumber for walls and roof, roofing, chicken wire, fencing, nests, roost poles, electricity and lights.	Even if a Tuf-Climate Coop costs $300-$500 more than you intend to spend on a traditional coop, its benefits make it a sound investment!
* Time = money. If you were paying your kids to take care of the coop at $6.00/ hour, it would cost you an extra $72.42/month to take care of traditional coop. Based on the above assumptions, you could save $869 a year in labor costs. Every subsequent year you re-coop another $869! When you also consider the fact that organic eggs routinely sell for $1-2 a dozen more than store bought eggs and you can quickly realize the economic value of a Tuf-Climate Coop^TM. Now, of course, we know that some other people’s kids don’t always do their chores regularly. Who will take care of your chickens? Isn’t your time worth more than $6.00 an hour?