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- Verified Buyer
I purchased this for my suburban chickens.After reading some other reviews I decided to get hardware cloth and zip ties (used about 125 of them) and cover the entire top portion to make it very sturdy and used a tarp instead of the thin cover that came with it.It’s a very sturdy cage. I had a really hard time lifting one end (husband on the other) to move it over a few feet. Easy to put together.I have 3 chickens in mine and it’s a good amount of space. I wouldn’t put anymore in there (along with a nesting coop). I wish they sold individual panels so I could buy a couple to add on & make it a little bigger.Overall I am very happy with the purchase and would recommend it.Pros: Easy assembly and sturdyCons: 1. The cover is very thin and secured through running roof poles through loops at the ends, as well as ties, but the sides are loose, and even worse, the sides have no ties to secure them or eyelets. Wind easily blows the side up, causing the entire rooftop to loosen with all the movement from airflow entering. I'm going to buy my own tarp with eyelets all the way around to make a more secure cover.2. The door latch lock will quickly fail and slip down if the latch or kennel door is moved much, allowing the kennel door to be unsecured. I will find some type of pin or rod to slip under the locking apparatus so that it stays up and into the lock mode. So, the latch is fine, but the locking mechanism is junk.Overall, this is working well for us. We noticed minor rusting on one of our two sets where panels rubbed together in shipping. Not surprising, given these are manufactured in China. However, long-term care is going to require periodic touch up with rustoleum anyways, so we aren’t worried about that. Panels as well as all the hardware were in good shape.We don’t use this as a fixed kennel in our home, but for traveling with our dogs in our RV and indoor kennel on occasion, when we need to separate dogs. If you have similar uses, consider these:1) Ditch the nuts and bolts that come with the kennel and buy bolts with wing nuts. It makes it much easier to set up and take down the kennel quickly.2) Make sure you install the plastic inserts in the end of the panels with the shortest stubs (so the mess section is as close as possible to the floor, and put the canopy pipes in the end with the longer stubs. Less room for puppies to dig under the panels, and because...3) If you don’t use the cover, the open pipes at the top of the panels will fill with rainwater. Amazon should include caps for the open ends of the panels at the top, so they don’t rust out when filled with water. We ordered these, which fit well and matched beautifully: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07N5LDYY8. These caps fit better on the end of the panel that have the longer stubs.4) If you use this around your RV, turn a few the panels sideways (rotate 90 degrees) for the section right along your RV. This will keep the dogs from crawling out underneath your rig, and reduces the number of panels you have to haul. The only section you’ll have to block off is underneath your steps, if your dogs can get under there. You should be able to use the same hardware to connect the panels, or use zip ties.5) While relatively light, 2 sets of these panels are pretty heavy. Make certain your RV trailer or rack are well within spec to carry this weight.Overall, we’re very happy with this product and would recommend it to others.I needed to carve out a space for foster cats so they can walk around in my basement and not be caged while they get medically squared away and ready for adoption. This thing went together easily -- just wish I had realized earlier I could have put the door anywhere I wanted to. As others have said, the "roof" isn't very substantial (that's why only 4 stars) and one thing I didn't anticipate is that it blocks out the light completely from window and overhead light. I bought a roll of chicken wire to attach instead when I can get a break from feeding and cleaning. Now my imagination is running wild, realizing if I bought another one, I could more than double the size or even make a separation inside if desired because I'd have two doors, too! I wasn't 100% sure how to join at corners and the diagram doesn't make it clear, but it seems like pretty much anything you do works and the thing is quite substantial. Tiny baby kittens might be able to squeeze out here and there, so it's for grown-ups. Really agile ones might venture to climb out so definitely not secure outdoors OR indoors unless roof is replaced with something more substantial. I like that I will be able to take it apart for storage when I don't need to use it for some time. I hesitated to spend the money because all of this is volunteer work, but there is great satisfaction in providing more comfort for the cats. It's also possible to hang things from the wire sides. So I've already attached the same water bowls I use in cages, and I've bungeed a couple of cat trees to the panels so they can withstand huge cats jumping on and off. Trying to think how i might add a shelf or two -- have to see what types of hanging shelf platforms might work with this. It's much cheaper and less daunting than other kennel type things I considered.Arrived busted open with a bag attached to the top. I guess we will see. Will be a pain to return if it's missing stuffGreat and easy to assemble as I built it in the dark by myself but I’m missing an entire panel which shortens the entire kennel by 25%… so I can’t give it 5 stars at all.
