Can I buy a decent pre-made coop for under $300?

Hi guys, new here & to the chick world. Our family of 6 (4 daughters) grew when we got 9 (10 but one died) baby chicks. - 6 red Rangers and 3 buff Orpinghtons. Right now they are being spoiled in a small box in our living room. The reds are growing fast! We are building a larger coop when the weather is better but we've been having some rainy chilly days here. I've been looking at pre-made coops all over the Internet. From amazon to tractor supply and even target. I'm really nervous about throwing away a couple hundred bucks. I've been reading about thin boards and just worthless coops. We still have a few weeks to go before we transition the babies outside but I'd like to buy a coop (under $300) if possible that would fit about 4+ chickens. We likely will give all the roosters away so I'm assuming we will have about that many when we know which are female maybe more or less. Right now I'm comfortable with spending about $300 until we really figure out what we are going to be doing. Do you have a recommendation on a prefab coop that could last us longer than a year? I know building will be most cost effective and durable but it's just not something we can do until summer but even so I'd still like to make use of the coop we purchase and get our money worth. Thanks so much in advance!!

Welcome! Check craigs list, or friends, to find a shed or playhouse that might convert to a coop. Hoop houses are cheap to build (look in the coop section) but $300 won't come close to buying a big enough coop for your flock. If you live in a warm climate, a three sided structure is fine too. Nine chicks will need at least 2o sq. ft. of floor space very soon, and raise a huge amount of nasty dust your family shouldn't be breathing, so moving them out of the living room should happen soon. Your 'red rangers' are meat birds, who will be poor laying hens at best, and are meant to go into the freezer at about twelve weeks of age. If you have a garden shed, convert that. mARY

Thank you we are going to let them free range do we still need one that large? Also do the rangers HAVE to be eaten?

You will need four or five sq. ft. at least in the coop for adolescent and adult chickens, because they need a safe predator proof place every night, and when there's snow, or daytime predator issues. A safe attached covered run will also be important, for the same reasons. Re ranger type chickens grow slower than the Cornishx birds, but will still get very large, and many will have joint issues at least. They are also hybrids, not meant to live long or produce well. Mary

Thanks for the info!

You can build a fairly large coop for about that price, especially if you can find free pallets or scrap wood. Do bit of asking around at your local hardware stores or local facebook yard-sale page.