Affordable coops

[wrathsfarm]

I built my two coops as well.

Our garage is full of lumber so i didnt have to buy any besides the roost.

The feeder, waterer, auto door, windows, vents, and run were the only thing i spent money on.
I even got all the tin for free.

Oooh.. I need to find some tin for run roofing. That would be dreamy.

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

Oooh.. I need to find some tin for run roofing. That would be dreamy.

We cant free range and we have so many predators i wouldnt do it anyways.
And because of winters and cold rainy springs a covered run is best.

I love my coop right now, only wish i made it walk in

 

[WaterfowlsPoultry]

Our coop is right next to our house, My uncle wanted to make a doghouse for the two dogs with a little hut next to our house outside and store them in the back but we ended up turning it into a coop to store our birds, They love it and there are many roosts and our ducks like hanging out in the nest beds (and not budging so the chickens have to sleep on the floor) The total cost of all of it.. 0 dollars. It's safe from hawks, Raccoons, coyotes, and every predator imaginable, On top of that it's secured with our dogs and fencing to ensure nothing gets in. The only way a predator can attack is when they free range. This will not likely happen because they only free-range during the day and get put back at night and our dogs are always nearby incase a fox sticks its nose where its not supposed to be.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

only wish i made it walk in

This confirms my suspicion that I can see the future.... I predict you will...

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

This confirms my suspicion that I can see the future.... I predict you will...

Ive been wanting to do a renovation on it.

But my dreams of having more than one large coop my be coming true as well

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hi, welcome to the forum. Glad you joined.

Hello,
I'm curious what yall recommend for an affordable coop that's safe from coyotes and eagles and hawks. Something budget friendly and easy to make in a way, we can do complicated but again mainly budget friendly any ideas and advice are welcome thank you.

How many chickens do you expect to end up with? What size of chickens? Will you be raising and integrating chicks later? What is your weather like, especially winter. These is going to determine size which has a lot to do with what type of coop. You might follow the link in my signature below to get some of my ideas about room needed. Many may not apply to you but some should.

You don't just need a coop, you need a coop and a run. The coop is where they sleep, lay eggs, and get out of the worst of the weather. The run is where they go outside to enjoy being outside.

I'm not sure what country you are in. That can affect how these answers actually mean anything to you. If you put your general location in your profile that information is always available for us. Since you mentioned coyotes I'll assume the USA.

To protect against digging predators like coyotes I recommend you lay an 18" to 24" wide piece of wire mesh all around the coop and run. I like to bury it about 2", just below the grass so it is out of the way of weed eaters and lawn mowers. If a digging predator goes up to the fence and starts digging they hit the wire mesh and can't get through. They don't know to back up. To protect against climbing and flying predators you want the run covered.

Under the "Articles" section at the top of this page you will see a "coops" section. Many of those come with plans to build them. How much that costs will depend a lot on where your materials come from. Sometimes you can find inexpensive or even free materials on a site like Craigslist in the USA, maybe at a construction site. Some of the wood they buy is for temporary things like concrete forms. Sometimes you can find entire buildings that can be repurposed on Craigslist or torn down for the materials. You can often find interesting things at a Habitat for Humanity or similar if you have one near you. Or maybe scrounge the streets ahead of the garbage collectors. Be on the lookout for hardware, that can get expensive of you buy it new.

You can buy a prefab building and convert it by adding roosts, nests, ventilation, and a pop door. These are usually pretty expensive but can save a lot of time.

Good luck and welcome to the adventure.

 

[GXPWeasel]

I found this site after I had already started building my coop/run, so I didn't know about the coop plans in the articles section. That being said, We (my wife) found a coop design she really liked on Etsy. Not sure of your building abilities, and/or access to tools like drills and mitre saws/circular saws, but if you DO have those and know haw to use them even as a beginner, I'd recommend looking on that site. Our plans did cost us $30, but I was very impressed that it gave me a very detailed materials list (that was spot on by the way) and the instructions were VERY clear. It honestly made it a pretty easy (and fun for the family) project. I know that what I've build is sturdy, and fractions of the cost of a pre-fab one. And if we decide we don't like the chicken raising idea (I know, blasphemy) then my wife will have a nice garden shed!