Buying guides
14 buying guides guides from Backyard Coops. Plain advice and the gear that goes with it.
Automatic Chicken Coop Doors: What to Check Before You BuyHow to pick an automatic coop door that actually keeps hens safe. Covers light sensors and timers, power, door size, locking and cold weather.
Photo: âOur Chicken Coopâ by furtwangl, CC BY 2.0
Best Brooder Heat Plate for Chicks (Buying Guide)Heat plates that keep baby chicks warm without a hot lamp hanging over dry bedding. How big a plate your batch needs, how to set the height and how to tell if chicks are warm enough.
Photo: Ken_Mayer, CC BY 2.0
Best Chicken Coop Camera: Wireless, Solar and No Wifi OptionsHow to pick a coop camera that works where your hens live. Solar wifi cams, cellular trail cams and simple SD card cameras for spotting night predators.
Photo: âFirst night in the new coopâ by normanack, CC BY 2.0
Best Chicken Coop for 4 Chickens (Buying Guide)Coops that really fit four hens. How much floor and run space four birds need, which kits are honest about size, and what to add so the setup stays safe.
Photo: âUrban Chickenâ by Coco Mault, CC BY 2.0
Best Chicken Coop for 6 Hens With a Run (Buying Guide)How much coop and run space six hens really need, what to check on a prefab kit, and five coop styles that suit a small backyard flock.
Photo: âSeattle Chicken Coop and 2 Hensâ by furtwangl from West Seattle, CC BY 2.0
Best Egg Incubator for Beginners (Buying Guide)Simple incubators for a first hatch of chicken eggs. What the eggs need for 21 days, which features save a beginner the most worry, and how many eggs to start with.
Photo: âSmall Chicken Egg Incubatorâ by Alex Ford from Raleigh, NC, USA, CC BY 2.0
Best Heated Chicken Waterer for Winter (Buying Guide)Heated waterers and bases that keep your flock's water liquid on freezing mornings. Which type suits your setup, how to run power safely, and what to do with no power at all.
Photo: Liamkw, CC BY-SA 4.0
Best Rat Proof Chicken Feeder (Buying Guide)Treadle and port feeders that stop feeding the rats and mice and wild birds. How each type keeps pests out, which one suits your flock and the habits that matter as much as the feeder.
Photo: Rachel Tayse, CC BY 2.0
Chicken Coop Fans: Solar and Thermostat Ways to Cool a Hot CoopHow to cool a hot chicken coop with a fan. Solar kits for coops with no power, thermostat fans for coops with an outlet and what fans can't fix.
Photo: âChicken Coopâ by rebecca.shiraev@sbcglobal.net, CC BY 2.0
Chicken Roosting Bars: How High, How Long and What to BuyHow many inches of roost bar each hen needs, how high and far apart to mount the bars, which wood to use and the roost gear worth buying.
Photo: âThe approach of the chickenâ by benketaro, CC BY 2.0
Chicken Waterer Nipples vs Cups: Best 5 Gallon Bucket SetupsNipples or cups for a 5 gallon bucket waterer? See how much water hens really drink, what each style does well and how to build a bucket that won't leak.
Photo: âChickens Drinking from Waterer on Small Farmâ by Alabama Extension, CC0 1.0
Best Chicken Coop Bedding: Pine Shavings vs Hemp vs Straw vs SandPine shavings suit most backyard coops. Hemp lasts longer between changes. Here is how straw and sand compare and which one fits your flock.
Photo: gchpaco, CC BY-SA 2.0
Best Chicken Coop Kits for Beginners (Buying Guide)The coop kits worth your money for a first flock. How to check the real hen count, which kits suit 3 hens or 8, and the two cheap upgrades every kit needs.
Photo: Josh Larios, CC BY-SA 2.0- Best Chicken Feeders and Waterers (Buying Guide)
The feeders and waterers that keep feed dry and water clean. How much your hens eat and drink each day, which type suits your flock, and how to stop feeding the rats.
Photo: Rachel Tayse, CC BY 2.0