Farming can get messy, and that’s an understatement. Luckily, doing so in the heart of your backyard just got ten times easier and twenty times better looking, thanks to an Austin-based start-up that worked alongside Bould Design to craft a premium smart coop.
The company and its flagship product, both aptly-named COOP, aim to deliver all the typical elements of raising chickens and make them as user-friendly and streamlined as ever. Tech-wise, what qualifies the COOP as smart is its built-in camera that allows you to keep an eye on what’s going on from anywhere — even on vacation! Additionally, its remote-operated front door can be scheduled to open as you see fit, all the while as many as six hens make their march and hatch fresh eggs without you having to deal with any of the hassles that often come with it. From a health perspective, the benefit of fresh eggs is plentiful compared to those you buy at the market, usually containing up to 20 times more nutrients than a store-bought dozen offers.
In addition to the doghouse-adjacent design, you can set up an enclosed run to protect your harmless chickens from predators. Best of all, COOP guarantees its weather-resistant build is built to last, comparing its double-walled molding technique to what you find on a YETI cooler. And while its refined look is much in part to the Bay Area-based design firm, COOP’s ability to fuse tech with activities as eternal (and integral) as gathering eggs makes this all the more notable. Seriously, we’ve seen high-tech iterations of so many kitchen appliances that, at this point, this handsomely-made home for chickens was only a matter of time.
COOP is currently offering pre-orders for $100 that will knock $500 off its asking price, so you pay $1,995 as part of its early bird special. Otherwise, you can pay a total of $2,495 on its website today.
