Gotchickens started in the yard, not in an office. We keep layers, broilers and a few bantams ourselves, and the supplies on our shelves are the ones that survived real coops across Gauteng, the Free State and the Cape.
A short record of the seasons, the failed fittings and the small changes that shaped what Gotchickens stocks today.
Early 2019
It started with eight hens and a secondhand feeder that cracked in the first cold snap. The first lesson was simple: cheap plastic does not survive a Highveld winter, and the feed bill climbs when half of it ends up on the floor.
Late 2020
A single gap under the door frame cost four birds in one night. After that, every coop we built got a buried mesh skirt and a heavier latch. The predator mesh we sell now is the same tight weave we fitted ourselves, not a lighter substitute.
Spring 2021
We ran a small clutch through an incubator with a clear lid and moved the chicks under a brooder plate instead of an open lamp. Fewer losses, no scorched bedding, and the chicks feathered out on schedule. That setup became the standard advice we give to new keepers.
Mid 2022
Keepers kept asking for layouts that fit a smallstand boundary or a farm werf corner. We drew plans with cutting lists in millimetres and wrote down the ventilation notes we had learned the hard way, rather than copying plans meant for colder climates.
Summer 2023
Two heatwaves in a row pushed us to shade every run roof. Hens went off lay, water drums warmed up, and the nests baked. Shade cloth clips and fittings went onto the shelf permanently after that season.
Now
The range still gets tested in our own coops before it goes on the shelf. When you ask about a sick hen or a leaking drinker, the answer comes from someone who cleaned nests that morning, across Gauteng, the Free State and the Cape.
How years of carrying feed bins and cleaning nests shaped what Gotchickens stocks, draws and answers.
Early days
It started with a small run on a Gauteng smallstand, a handful of layers and a lot of trial and error. Feeders tipped over, drinkers grew algae, and the first nest boxes were built from whatever timber was lying around. Those early fixes turned into the first proper orders.
Learning the hard way
Cheap hinges rusted solid within a season. Thin mesh did not stop a determined mongoose. Shade cloth sagged and cooked the run in February. Each failure sent us back to suppliers with a clearer list of what a coop in this climate has to survive.
The range takes shape
Rust-treated hinges, galvanised laying nests, predator mesh for mongoose and caracal, shade cloth for Highveld heat. Feeders and drinkers that stay upright. Wood shavings, diatomaceous earth and poultry grit that keepers ask for by name. Nothing on the shelf that we would not use ourselves.
Plans for real yards
The coop plans came out of building our own. Cutting lists are in millimetres, ventilation notes are written for hot, dusty summers, and the layouts fit the awkward corners people actually have. No showpiece coops that only work on paper.
Across three provinces
Keepers in these regions face different pressures: Highveld heat and dust, Free State cold snaps, coastal damp and wind. The advice desk grew from those conversations, and the stock list shifted to match what each area keeps asking for.
Where it stands now
Flock questions still get answered by people who clean nests and carry 50 kg feed bins, not a call centre. Layers, broilers and a few bantams are part of daily work here, and that is what keeps the range honest.
We started this shop because we were tired of buying coop gear that fell apart in the first season. The people behind Gotchickens keep layers, broilers and a few bantams on smallstands and farm werfs in Gauteng, the Free State and the Cape, and the range is built around what actually survives a yard here.
Rust-treated hinges, mongoose-grade predator mesh and shade cloth for Highveld heat did not come off a supplier catalogue. They replaced parts we watched rust, bend or give way, so the hardware we stock is the version that held up.
Our coop plans fit smallstand and farm werf layouts, with cutting lists in millimetres and ventilation notes written for people building on a weekend. No scaled drawings that assume a workshop you do not have.
Flock questions get answered by people who clean nests and carry 50 kg feed bins, not a call centre reading a script. If a hen looks off or a hatch stalls, you are talking to someone who has dealt with the same morning.
A yard that works without constant repairs. Birds that stay shaded, watered and safe from predators. Eggs that come out clean because the nest was built properly the first time. That is the whole point of the range, the plans and the advice desk: fewer surprises, more mornings where the flock is simply fine.