Chicken Support Insights - Episode 38: Coop Upgrades That Are Actually Worth the Money

Which chicken coop upgrades are worth it, and which aren't? In this episode of Chicken Insights Podcast, Tina and Nikki break down practical coop improvements that can make daily flock care easier, support a healthier coop environment, and save time on routine maintenance. They also talk about coop accessories that may look useful but are not necessarily must-haves, including decorative nesting boxes, chicken hammocks, swings, dust bath tubs, nesting box curtains, and toys.

What coop upgrade are you most looking forward to adding, and what difference do you hope it will make for your flock or daily routine? 

For more guidance on planning and maintaining a practical chicken coop, check out our Valley Hatchery resource, “Chicken Coop Must-Haves.” It can be a helpful next step if you are building a coop, improving an existing setup, or trying to decide which features are actually worth prioritizing.

For more backyard poultry education, breed selection guidance, chick care resources, and seasonal flock management tips, explore Valley Hatchery's educational content. If this episode helped you rethink your coop bedding and flock environment, be sure to subscribe to Chicken Support Insights for more practical poultry education and backyard chicken insights.

Transcript

Tina 0:08

Welcome back to the Chicken Insights Podcast. I'm Tina and I'm joined by Nikki. And today we're talking about coop upgrades that are actually worth the money.

Nikki 0:19

There are a lot of products marketed to backyard chicken keepers, and it's easy to think you need them all.

Tina 0:25

But the truth is, the best upgrades aren't always the most expensive. Today we'll talk about the improvements that can make your coop healthier, easier to maintain, and more enjoyable to care for. Let's get started.

Nikki 0:37

Exactly, sometimes one smart upgrade saves more time and effort than five expensive accessories.

Tina 0:44

When someone is thinking about upgrading their coop, what's the first thing they should consider, Nikki?

Nikki 0:50

We always tell people to upgrade with a purpose. Instead of asking people what you should buy next, ask what's making daily flock care harder than it has to be. Start by identifying problems in the coop instead of shopping or product. Some things that could make daily care easier could be things like adding large removable trays under roo or using deep litter bedding so you aren't constantly replacing everything or making doors wide enough for a shovel or wheelbarrow to fit through. You can also upgrade the waterers to like an automatic nibble or cup waterers connected to a reservoir, as well as using large capacity hanging feeders and then keeping them elevated keeps the bedding out of the feed. Of course, keep in mind every coop is different, so priorities will vary. Just take a look around your coop and see what is taking you longer to do, and then go from there.

Tina 1:43

Exactly. Solving one daily frustration is usually a much better investment than buying something that just looks nice.

Nikki 1:51

So Tina, which coop upgrades make the biggest difference for flock health?

Tina 1:56

Well, when it comes to keeping the flock healthy, some of the best coop upgrades are also the ones that make daily care easier. One of the biggest improvements is good ventilation. Fresh airflow helps remove moisture, ammonia, dust, excess heat without creating a direct draft on the birds themselves. A drier, better ventilated coop can reduce respiratory irritation that helps prevent moisture-related problems like mold and frostbite. So that's really, really important in the summer and winter. And something that a lot of people deal with. The next, I would say, would be the dry clean bedding. Using an absorbent bedding and keeping wet or heavy soiled areas cleaned out helps control odors, bacteria, flies, parasites, all of the things. If the coop is designed so that bedding can be removed quickly, routine cleaning becomes so much easier and less of a chore. I would say easy-to-clean nesting boxes are another worthwhile upgrade. Removing liners, mats, or smooth surfaces make it easier to remove droppings and broken eggs. Cleaner nesting boxes mean cleaner eggs. And, you know, we all want that and less opportunity for bacteria and things like that. That'll also give us, you know, a much healthier hen. The cedar and waters can also make a huge difference. Like you had mentioned already, Nikki, raising those up off of the ground is huge because the bedding you clean them a lot less when you don't have to constantly clean bedding out of them. Right. So, you know, that's that's huge right there. So if you can do that, make that investment, I would recommend that. You've already explained the reasons why, so I won't have even need to get into that. It just makes it easier. And finally, think about overall coop design, removable roost trays that go under the roosting bars. It helps prevent so much mess of droppings. Make sure they're easy to clean. A great way to do that. You already mentioned the wide doors so that you can get in there and access things. The worst thing is getting in there, fitting in there with a shovel, and then walking outside and dumping it out in the doorway, you know, in the container that you decide, wheelbarrow, whatever. So having access to getting that in there, it just makes it so much easier on you. I think that's probably all I would recommend. But there I'm sure there are lots of other things. The bottom line is you want to keep things easy, dry, well ventilated, and clean.

Nikki 4:25

Exactly. And healthy birds usually come from good daily management, and your coop setup can make that much easier.

Tina 4:32

Oh, absolutely. And before we continue, here's a quick message from Valley Hatchery.

Cortney 4:40

Hey, this is Cortney, Customer Support Manager here at Valley Hatchery. Quick reminder before we get back to the episode. If you've ever wondered why shipping costs are higher for started pullets than for day-old chicks, it helps to understand everything that goes into raising them before they ever leave our farm. Unlike day-old chicks, started pullets have already received four to five months of daily care. From hatch until they're 16 to 20 weeks old, each bird is fed a carefully balanced diet, provided with clean housing, monitored for health, and cared for every single day. On average, it costs approximately $25 per month to raise a chick, $100 to $125 in feed and daily care invested into each pullet before shipping. Because started pullets are much larger than day-old chicks, they also require larger shipping containers, more space, and specialized handling during transportation. These factors naturally increase shipping costs compared to shipping newly hatched chicks. The good news is that your investment comes with significant benefits. Instead of starting with day-old chicks, you'll receive healthy, well-grown pullets that are only weeks away from laying their first eggs. You'll skip the brooder stage, avoid months of raising young chicks, and begin enjoying fresh eggs much sooner. If you have questions about started pullets or whether they're the right fit for your flock, give our customer support team a call at 1-800-652-7606. If we're assisting other customers, please leave a voicemail and we'll get back to you as soon as possible. You can also email us from our website. We monitor our inbox every single day, including weekends. To learn more or see current availability, visit ValleyHatchery.com.

Nikki 6:34

Welcome back to the Chicken Insights Podcast. Let's jump back into today's conversation.

Tina 6:40

Alright, so what are some coop accessories, Nikki, that people often buy but don't necessarily need?

Nikki 6:47

This is a funny one. There's actually a lot of products that look fun, but they don't really improve flock health or save you time. So they probably aren't the first things you should spend money on. Items like decorative nesting boxes. A basic, appropriately sized nesting area works just as well. Chicken hammocks, chicken swing, chicken dustbat bathtubs, nesting box curtains, or chicken toys. A lot of these products are marketed as like must-haves, but they simply aren't convenient. More oftentimes than not, they just add more time to clean. And as long as the chicken is fed, has water, they will be happy. They don't care how fancy it looks. So just avoid spending money just because it's popular, but invest gradually based on your experience.

Tina 7:33

Exactly. Every dollar goes a lot further when it solves an actual issue or problem. If you're planning a coop build or thinking about your next upgrade, we also have a blog called Chicken Coop Must Haves that covers many of the essentials we talked about today. We'll include it in the episode's description. Yep, exactly.

Nikki 7:55

So, Tina, if someone has a limited budget, what upgrade should they prioritize first?

Tina 8:02

If you're working with a limited budget, you don't need to build the perfect coop all at once. Focus on the upgrades that give you the biggest improvement in flock health while reducing your daily cleaning time. Those are the two main things. The first priority should be good ventilation. Adding inexpensive vents near the top of the coop can help moisture, ammonia, dust, heat, escape, all of that that we mentioned earlier. And good airflow also helps keep bedding drier. People don't realize this. So you're kind of getting two, you know, two for one, which means less odor, fewer complete bedding changes. So this is going to help greatly having that airflow. The next thing would I would suggest to make the coop easy to clean, you don't necessarily need expensive materials. A removable tray or a board beneath the roost can catch most of the nighttime droppings and be scraped away quickly, especially with that water vinegar mixture. Even small changes like making sure you can comfortably reach corners and nesting boxes can save a surprising amount of time. Then invest in durable feeders and waterers that stay clean. And like we mentioned, we can't say it enough. Raising it or hanging it reduces the wasted feed and keeps chickens from scratching bedding into it. And that saves you time and money. And in closed nipple style, like you mentioned earlier, a watering system can prevent birds from filling their water with dirt and manure and junk, you know. So this is absolutely beneficial. Absolutely, yeah. These upgrades may cost a little more initially, but you will be happy you did it. It's gonna save you feed, water, cleaning time, and all of that. After that, improve your bedding system. Concentrate on keeping the bedding dry rather than trying to keep it spotless every single day. Replace wet areas promptly, don't allow those to sit. So do check your coop, you know, multiple times a day or when you're you know out and about. Uh, most importantly, build your coop gradually. You can add better nesting boxes or droppings boards, storage, flooring, or automatic systems later. A few inexpensive improvements that keep the coop dry, ventilated, and easy to maintain will have a much bigger impact than spending a lot of money on trying to make everything like look perfect and you know, yeah.

Nikki 10:33

Those upgrades keep paying you back every single day you care for the bird. So they're really good options. Absolutely.

Tina 10:40

Yeah, and Nikki, what's the biggest mistake people make upgrading their coop?

Nikki 10:45

I think one of the biggest mistakes is trying to solve problems you haven't actually experienced yet. Once you've spent time caring for your flock, it becomes much easier to see which upgrades will make the biggest difference. You're trying to build a perfect coop, like kind of what you said, instead of thinking about functionality, making cleaning harder because you're adding things that you don't need. Lacking ventilation, blocking access for the person cleaning the coop. So make sure you fit comfortably inside too, not just the birds living in it. Or planning for expansion is another big one. Yeah. You may have upgraded to fit if you're eight, but six months to a year later, you have 15. So before buying an accessory, ask, will this save me time, improve chicken health or chicken safety, or make routine maintenance easier? If the answer is no, it's probably not an upgrade, and you probably don't need to do that.

Tina 11:36

Absolutely. Chickens will often show you what needs improving long before any catalog does. If you enjoyed today's episode, be sure to follow the Chicken Insights podcast so you never miss a future conversation about raising healthy backyard flocks.

Nikki 11:51

And if there's a topic you'd like us to cover in an upcoming episode, send us your questions using the fan mail feature on Buzz Sprout. We love hearing what's happening in your flock, and your questions often inspire future episodes.

Tina 12:04

For more educational resources, breed guides, and practical coupe tips, visit valleyhatchery.com. Thanks for listening, and until next time, happy flock keeping. Bye.