Any thoughts on those cheap coops on ebay and amazon?

[Forrest]

Hello All.

New guy here. I am trying to determine the best route for a guy who is strapped for money to get started. I have about a 500 dollar budget. I have been thinking I would make one, but after looking online it looks like there are quite a few options in that price range.

I plan on keeping 2 chickens, but figure I would like to have the room for 4 to 5. I live in an area that is very mild, so they can be outside pretty much year round, only confined to the run when I am not home.

I am capable of building the coop, but I do have a few projects going right now, so if I could buy my way out of that it would be nice.

Any thoughts on those inexpensive units? Are they just junk in general or could they be a nice place to start?

Thanks!

 

[Judy]

I don't know about Amazon; I wouldn't think you'd find anything cheap and worthwhile there. A lot of people buy something on ebay and Craigslist, and there is another site similar to Craigslist that I can't remember -- maybe some others will chime in. There are all sorts of things out there either cheap or free. Building sites throw away all sorts of usable scrap lumber, for example, and if you have access to a dump.... A little cobbling together and many sorts of old sheds, dog houses or pens, etc. can be useful, esp. for only a few chickens. Old playhouses are another thing to look for. You can build a coop essentially out of old pallets, for example (much easier if you don't try to take them apart, just use them for framing the walls and roof.) I have about a 10x12 coop built just about for the cost of the screws; we already had some materials, and got others for free.

 

[Wheels]

This is what I did went to lowe's got what I needed. Went to Wal mart got some beer ribs, hambugers bread and chips. Invited friends and family. They had my coop and run up in a few hours. I spent less than 1500 for everything I needed to build a 10 x 20 coop and a 20 x 20 run food included.

 

[jackson41]

My Coop cost about 250.00 . The most expensive thing was the wire.

I wanted it to be secure so used cage wire instead of hardware cloth. You can find reclaimed wood for the build.

 

[pw30]

I took over my husbands wooden storage shed and added a runway coop on the side so they can go outside when I have them locked up. You can turn a lot into a nice chicken coop. If you want photos of what I did, let me know.

 

[kichohana]

very cute coop jackson41! looks so natural in your yard.

to the op, i think you can get a better quality product and get exactly what you want if you diy. some of the coops (locally at least) on craigslist are ridiculously expensive - you are paying for someone else to do the work. if you're handy, you're better off building what you want. i also find that some of the advertising for the "pre-fab" coops on ebay/amazon is a bit OFF when they describe the quantity of chickens they can hold. they seem to think you can smush a lot of birds in some tight spaces assuming all they do is sleep in their coops. take winter into consideration when they may not come out at all pending weather. my girls coop and attached/enclosed run size is 6' by 10' for 4 birds. they use all of the space, inside and out, day and night.

good luck and happy building!

p.s. - you mentioned only wanting/getting 2 birds. keep in mind they are very social animals and live in a flock. better to have more. study "chicken math"!

 

[jeb251]

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mmmmmmmmmmmmmm beeeeeeeeeeeeeer, can I come next time lol

 

[jeb251]

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photos photos photos

 

[pw30]

OK I'll get some tomorrow for you.

 

[jeb251]

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nice coop, I have about $650 in mine so far but I still have about $250 left to go, but geese I cant imagine what someone would charge me to build them