Nestera wagon

[emat]

Does anyone have experience with the Nestera wagon?

 

[Molpet]

@Perris has that brand, I don't think they are the wagon

 

[Themellowyellows]

Dont have any excperince, but it does not seem to be to secure, any other pics?

 

[21hens-incharge]

A feed store near me had them. I got to give it a good looking over.
They are small as to usable floor space and lack ventilation. The door and latches while better than most were still flimsy in my opinion.

 

[emat]

A feed store near me had them. I got to give it a good looking over.
They are small as to usable floor space and lack ventilation. The door and latches while better than most were still flimsy in my opinion.

Yeah I was wondering how many could actually fit. Not as many as advertised id guess. They look like the have ventilation along the top on front and back some of which is adjustable

 

[Perris]

I have Nestera coops so can speak from experience, rather than just guessing or repeating what I've heard like most do.

I initially bought one second-hand large Lodge, back in 2017. Chicken math being what it is, I have added 3 more over the years - the medium sized Lodge rather than the large one, one new, and two more second-hand. That I have bought second-hand when I have years of experience of owning and using them should tell you everything you need to know about how robust they are and how well they stand up to use, the weather and predators, year in, year out. I prefer medium size because they are a little lighter and therefore easier to move (needs 2 people; handles built in to the roof canopy).

The whole point of small coops like this is that they are just for roosting and laying in; the chickens do not spend the day in them. They are small and mobile so that you can move them to fresh ground regularly, and thereby prevent all the problems of fixed coops - which arise chiefly from the build up of chicken droppings, which en masse pollute the ground, create foul smells, attract rats and flies, and leave the chickens constantly exposed to everything their bodies expelled as waste, plus any worm or other parasite eggs that get expelled with it.

On the health front, my flock do not suffer the long litany of ills that fill page after page of posts on BYC and that usually arise from the birds having to live in their own waste. No respiratory infections. No eye infections. No need to sanitize the ground. No endless cycle of meds for endo- and ecto- parasites.

They are made of thick, recycled agricultural plastic. They are tough as old boots. Predators here do not include large fauna like bears. But what we do have - foxes, dogs, mustelids, birds of prey, rats - have not even scratched the surface. No nestbox has been predated by anything.

I don't know about the wagon, but the lodges are easily disassembled into flat smooth sheets of plastic for thorough cleaning - there is absolutely nowhere for ectoparasites to hide then. A quicker but less thorough cleaning can be done with a jet washer. For a quickie clean I have recently even tried a kitchen blow torch for dealing with mites, with mixed results, and the plastic has some scorch marks but not melted. In any case, they are a lot easier to clean than wood, and it is possible to clean them completely with antivirals like Virkon - which really matters if avian flu or other really nasty avian disease comes to your area.

If you do go this route, I strongly recommend getting the legs to raise it off the ground, and the poop trays to facilitate poop picking; the extra expense is well worth it for your back and your time, and the shelter underneath is very handy for broodies with chicks when it rains.

 

[Perris]

I was wondering how many could actually fit

The capacity of the large lodge is 8 LF and of the medium is 6 LF. Obviously more for bantams. That's on the basis of UK minimum size allowances, which I think are a bit bigger than US ones. And before people rush to judge, please note that in practice, twice as many can actually fit in these coops, and sometimes choose to here.

Further, I am assured by the Animal and Plant Health Agency inspector, who visits periodically (unannounced) because I am registered with them, that as long as the birds have options, so could go elsewhere but choose to roost more densely, that is absolutely fine. Minimum allowances are intended to ensure minimum standards where birds have no choice.

They look like the have ventilation along the top on front and back some of which is adjustable

Close to correct. The top of the whole length of one side is crenellated, so plenty of air flow guaranteed, while there are adjustable vents on the other side. And there is a small hole in the base sheet at the lowest point, so any condensation can drip out.

 

[emat]

I have Nestera coops so can speak from experience, rather than just guessing or repeating what I've heard like most do.

I initially bought one second-hand large Lodge, back in 2017. Chicken math being what it is, I have added 3 more over the years - the medium sized Lodge rather than the large one, one new, and two more second-hand. That I have bought second-hand when I have years of experience of owning and using them should tell you everything you need to know about how robust they are and how well they stand up to use, the weather and predators, year in, year out. I prefer medium size because they are a little lighter and therefore easier to move (needs 2 people; handles built in to the roof canopy).

The whole point of small coops like this is that they are just for roosting and laying in; the chickens do not spend the day in them. They are small and mobile so that you can move them to fresh ground regularly, and thereby prevent all the problems of fixed coops - which arise chiefly from the build up of chicken droppings, which en masse pollute the ground, create foul smells, attract rats and flies, and leave the chickens constantly exposed to everything their bodies expelled as waste, plus any worm or other parasite eggs that get expelled with it.

On the health front, my flock do not suffer the long litany of ills that fill page after page of posts on BYC and that usually arise from the birds having to live in their own waste. No respiratory infections. No eye infections. No need to sanitize the ground. No endless cycle of meds for endo- and ecto- parasites.

They are made of thick, recycled agricultural plastic. They are tough as old boots. Predators here do not include large fauna like bears. But what we do have - foxes, dogs, mustelids, birds of prey, rats - have not even scratched the surface. No nestbox has been predated by anything.

I don't know about the wagon, but the lodges are easily disassembled into flat smooth sheets of plastic for thorough cleaning - there is absolutely nowhere for ectoparasites to hide then. A quicker but less thorough cleaning can be done with a jet washer. For a quickie clean I have recently even tried a kitchen blow torch for dealing with mites, with mixed results, and the plastic has some scorch marks but not melted. In any case, they are a lot easier to clean than wood, and it is possible to clean them completely with antivirals like Virkon - which really matters if avian flu or other really nasty avian disease comes to your area.

If you do go this route, I strongly recommend getting the legs to raise it off the ground, and the poop trays to facilitate poop picking; the extra expense is well worth it for your back and your time, and the shelter underneath is very handy for broodies with chicks when it rains.

Thank you for your thorough reply! I am new to chickens and mine are still babies right now so I have no experience with any type of coop set up. Right now they are in a highly controlled area in my back yard but they won’t be able to fit there at full size. I really like the idea of the wheels on the wagon so it can be moved around easily to new places to forage. I am very tempted to free range just because I’m sure birds will be happiest but we have so many predators here. The ones during the day that I think we will have to be most aware of are the hawks and foxes. Bears would be the biggest predator we have but likely wouldn’t be bold enough in the daytime unless really starving. So I may have to do some kind of chicken tractor set up. In which case having a predator proof easy to clean and easy to roll coop is what I am hoping for

I need to figure out the details but that is what I hope to do. I have a run in shed that we are framing in the front and predator proofing for times of bad weather when they won’t really want to be out and about.

 

[Molpet]

You will need electric fence to keep bears out. Don't leave any feed out at night

Bears would be the biggest predator we have

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/a-treatise-on-electric-fences-for-poultry.72229/