How to find the right coop if you can't build it?

[TwoShepherds]

Buy a storage shed and just build roosts and nests in it. That's what we did.

Good idea, I just may end up doing that. I like the looks of the shed-style coops and they seem very secure from predators.

 

[TwoShepherds]

Two words: HOOP COOP. Your accountant will love you.

Thanks, I will google and search the forum for hoop coops. My "cheap" and easy (soon-to-be, I hope) chicken hobby is not turning out to be cheap or easy at all, lol!

 

[TwoShepherds]

I considered getting a coop from this company https://carolinacoops.com but they were a little out of my price range. Quite beautiful and well made though!

I ended up getting this one from Wayfair https://www.wayfair.com/pet/pdp/inn...-chicken-coop-with-roosting-bar-inpe1042.html and it got delivered today, so I can't speak to how I like it, but it did have great reviews and features I liked. I plan to reinforce it and change a few things.

Thanks for the links! The Carolina coops are beautiful...I think I found them in one of my searches as well. I wish I could afford one of their big ones...but then the chickens might have a prettier house than we do, and I might get jealous, haha.

 

[TwoShepherds]

I lived in Florida and had no coop. I worried more about the heat than the cold. Covered pens were good. Now I'm in Indiana and my chickens get totally enclosed in the winter. Think about your weather. My pens were in the shade all day-no panting. That was important.

If you're going to spend that much money, Maybe you should think about a shed possibly even from Lowe's etc. Unless you have to be "chicken stylish". The good thing about sheds is that they are tall enough for you to walk in to. I've done short coops, pen underneath, low 5 foot pens and I can tell you I got very tired of bending, getting on my knees or whacking my head against a ceiling beam. I would never get another coop I can't walk into . You can design the inside of a shed as you like with the egg nests and roosts. You would save a lot of money you could spend on something else.

My current coop has the people door in the front that can be left open with a hardware cloth screen and 2 chicken doors. Ventilation is important-put hardware cloth over the windows.
I've gone thru 3 chicken coops that looked real cute but I got so aggravated from the height that they were eventually chopped up for something else. So, stuff to think about.

Thanks for sharing your experiences. I like the sturdiness and the look of the shed coops. For our hot and humid summers, it would have to have windows to open (with hardware cloth protection, of course). The winters here are mild, snow is rare, but it does it cold. If our old coop was only tall enough to walk in or had nesting boxes accessible on the outside, I would use it.

 

[kwhites634]

Thanks for sharing your experiences. I like the sturdiness and the look of the shed coops. For our hot and humid summers, it would have to have windows to open (with hardware cloth protection, of course). The winters here are mild, snow is rare, but it does it cold. If our old coop was only tall enough to walk in or had nesting boxes accessible on the outside, I would use it.

School's getting ready to let out for a couple months, lots of football jocks looking for ways to stay in shape so August practices aren't so rough for them, they'd like a little jingle in their jeans, & Lowe's sells shovels. You getting an idea here?

 

[Don P]

 

[seminolewind]

Wow! Nice picture!

 

[TwoShepherds]

View attachment 1737165

Looking great! is that a coop you are currently building?

 

[Ms Clucky]

Buy a storage shed and just build roosts and nests in it. That's what we did.

You can go to the misc pictures in coops to look at mine or

plastic tarp is for the rain.

We had three runs because we separated our cochins and my Golden Sebright from the others til we gave them away.

 

[TwoShepherds]

What do you all think of this one?

https://www.leonardusa.com/chicken-coops#product-group-889

8 ft x 10 ft, not a lot of details/pictures, may be bigger than I need but that's better than smaller, I'm sure. I had to fill out a form to get pricing, but the form said it's around $2100. If the cost of shipping doesn't push it out of our price range (it's two hours away), I'm thinking it could be a possibility....