Are there any good pre-fab coops?

[WanderlustinRose]

I just got my first 5 chicks, about 3 weeks old now inside and growing fast. I need to get going on the outdoor plans.
I am not very handy and don't have time to build, so i'm looking for a pre-fab unit.

They all seem to have very poor reviews.

Does anyone know of a GOOD brand? i'm not looking to spend a ton, but i don't want to waste $200 on crap either. Appreciate any brand names or suggestions.

We do have a lot of predadtors here (coyotes, fox, hawks, bears? etc) so it needs to be pretty secure.

I just got a nice aluminum shed in the mail for 260 bucks from Walmart. Im not that handy either, but I put my little greenhouse together with minimal issues. Its just me and I am 54 years old. I'll have to build a run, of course, but that's the easy part. I'll be using the shade from the apple trees over the shed and probably a sun shade for the summer months, and some type of foam board on the inside that I can cover in the winter months for insulation. With the wood and rabbit wire it's all in total going to be around 500 bucks but it will be split up over the next 2 months. There are some awesome aluminum shed coop modifications on Pinterest. There are also resin sheds but I went with the aluminum.

 

[BDutch]

and some type of foam board on the inside that I can cover in the winter months for insulation.

Not a good idea imho. Chickens eat it. Chickens don’t need isolation in most climates if you have bought a local breed.
They do need lots ventilation. Where fo you live? Best put this in your account details.

With the wood and rabbit wire

What is rabbit wire?

 

[WanderlustinRose]

Not a good idea imho. Chickens eat it. Chickens don’t need isolation in most climates if you have bought a local breed.
They do need lots ventilation. Where fo you live? Best put this in your account details.

What is rabbit wire?

Sorry I should have clarified. I was going to put the foam board and cover with wood to keep them from it. I'm in zone 7b but I assumed an aluminum shed might be a lot colder in winter

 

[CraziChknLady]

I think what I'm doing might work for you and your wife and it would be within your price range. For reference, I live in the equivalent of planting zone 4b. I have 3 chickens and 5 ducks so have two of the following coops/runs set up, one for ducks and one for chickens-they don't get along.

I bought a 9.5'x6.5x6.5'high metal chicken coop run. I spray painted it black. On Amazon they now have a black one for $136. Don't use the wire or the plastic zip ties that come with it. Rats chewed through my zip ties so I used 20 gauge wire to make my own ties. Reviews said these cheap units won't hold up and will collapse. Mine haven't. I bought a 100' roll of 4' high 19 gauge 1/4" black coated mesh (very little will be left over). Wrapped up the short wall side, over the top, down the opposite wall and under the bottom. This made one seam. Had to do this twice to cover the 6.5' width, leaving a 1.5' excess. I laid the two lengths needed to do the above, side by side, with a 1" overlap and twist-tied them together. Installed them with the sharp ends of the ties inside of the coop so they wouldn't rip the roof tarp. The excess 1.5' was wrapped (like wrapping a Xmas present) and then pieces were cut to fill in the long sides. Be sure to make the mesh when cut long enough so that the mesh fills in the space above, below and along the sides of the door if you want to keep out voles, mice and rats. The all-black looks nice. I have a white roof tarp for summer and bought a black tarp for the roof for winter (so it melts the snow). I tie ropes in a big X over the top of the tarp and stake the rope to the ground. If in high wind area, add a couple more ropes over floppy areas and use the twist-into-ground stakes. This keeps the tarp from flopping and tearing. Add an 8' T-stake to the center of the back at the peak and attach to the coop with wire every 6-8". Add t-stakes at each of the corners and attach to the coop. All of this makes a very strong structure. We had several days of 24-hours+ sustained winds over 45mph with gusts over 65mph and no issues. And this was with the walls covered in black tarps, causing more resistance. Tarps are ugly but necessary for me because I placed a resin doghouse (with a homemade roost stand) that has no door inside the run for the house/coop. Temperatures were down to -29F (not windchill) and my Americaunas have done well with this set up. I used river rock for the interior floor on the mesh but wish I had just used the deep pine and straw bedding I use for my ducks. It's more cost effective and absorbent. But river rock or sand would look a lot better than pine shaving and/or straw. I have many types of predators and rodents but no bears. None have gotten into coop. I use odor control in the summer. Best price for odor control is Tractor Supply, Sweet PDZ $13.99 for 25 lbs. Hope this helps. (I'm 72 and built these by myself so anyone can do it.)

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I appreciate you posting the links. So helpful! I'm doing something similar for some roos. Manage to find a preloved, small coop for $50 on marketplace. Thanks for sharing!

 

[MichDFix]

Most prefabs are crap, I agree. And most of what you get online is too small.

I winded up getting ,similar to Aituvian, a rabbit hutch. It was about $150. Watch out for Amazon delivery fees. Worked out perfect for a mama and babies, or some growing chicks for few weeks. Not for standard adult birds! I then surround whole thing with a dog panel (4-5ft ones on Amazon, $50.) I used the plastic fence stakes (used for temp fencing) and zip ties and made an area. Of course this isn't permanent, but gave a safe, albeit little bit larger space. And got them out of the previous area they were in.
Although I went into that knowing that it wasn't super great and it's not their final permanent home. And I will need to modify and eventually paint it. Now these double as a med coup area / separation/ or for growing chicks.

One of the coops I have is the Producers Pride Defender Coop with run, at the time got it for $300 as a family was moving out of state. I do recommend ( if applicable) use barn or outdoor paint as well as lining the bottom with metal or linoleum. Also add extra vents for any or all coops.

Hoop coops are great depending on your area. Unable to in mine as the temps fluctuate so much.

For cheap route we did a 12 x 12 shed, wood floor with metal all around. At the time for supplies it was $1,200. You could always get a cheap metal shed at Lowe's for $400 and be better off space wise.

Try to scout Facebook marketplace too. I found an old playhouse that I am going to rehab into a breeding coop.
Unfortunately now, my 12 x 12 shed (5-6yrs old)and defender (7-8 possibly 9-10, as it was a year or 2 old when we got it) coops are starting to have problems so definitely doing coop refurbishing this year. Although they are quite old too. I definitely recommend trying to get something prefab, even if it's an old doghouse, crate, etc. Although if you have time, definitely make a decent one, but larger than you think. Also remember about storing supplies, feed ect (that goes for what you are currently feeding and what you have in storage. )

There's a variety of options, just see what works for you. You could always get something to tide you over until you source a larger one. I hope this helps.

We went with the Producers Pride and they are CRAP!! They share a roosting (sleeping) and nesting area. Meaning that if you leave the bars in for roosting, then they can not use if for nesting bc the bars basically sit on 50% of the floor and do not provide proper roosts. If you remove a bar like we did, you end up with hens not roosting, but sitting on the nests all night. Basically, way to small for what they say they can hold. If you buy prefab, cut the number of birds in half for what is advertised. Also, we have spent a small fortune (a little at a time) trying to make it right. I would have rather spent the money up front and not been pressured to make the changes.

 

[MichDFix]

We went with the Producers Pride and they are CRAP!! They share a roosting (sleeping) and nesting area. Meaning that if you leave the bars in for roosting, then they can not use if for nesting bc the bars basically sit on 50% of the floor and do not provide proper roosts. If you remove a bar like we did, you end up with hens not roosting, but sitting on the nests all night. Basically, way to small for what they say they can hold. If you buy prefab, cut the number of birds in half for what is advertised. Also, we have spent a small fortune (a little at a time) trying to make it right. I would have rather spent the money up front and not been pressured to make the changes.

 

[WanderlustinRose]

Rabbit wire is hardware cloth. Bur we've always called it rabbit wire for decades

 

[TooCheep]

Those are beautiful, but it would take me about 15 years to break even on cost vs buying eggs. Trying to stay in the 3-5 hundred range

I'm afraid your thinking is way off on the economics of producing eggs. There is almost no product that you can produce as cheaply as the mass produced version. Mass productions primary value is that it lowers overhead costs (like housing) relative to output. You can produce better quality eggs at home, but it is very hard to produce cheaper.

Related:
There is a basic saying in engineering: cheap, quality, fast- choose any two. You can emphasize any two, but you sacrifice the third. You can't produce easy/fast and cheap housing without sacrificing quality. Some housing designs are good quality that are comparatively cheaper (ex: hoop houses) and you can reuse some materials for free to lower costs, but you will need to invest more manual labor/time. So, decide which of the three you can sacrifice, but you will never get all three.

 

[StacyT]

I have eglu’s and TSC guardian coops. The eglus are great for easeof cleaning but rather expensive. They are sturdy and pretty predator proof. The TSC coops aren’t bad but require some modification. If you keep an eye out both eglu and TSC run Easter specials on coops. I purchased all my coops on Black Fridays when they were on sale for 50% off. You can get a descent size setup that should work from TSC if you wait for a sale.

 

[BDutch]

You can produce better quality eggs at home, but it is very hard to produce cheaper.

It shouldn’t be a goal to produce as cheap as factory farmed eggs. That system is full of animal abuse.

Chickens have feelings just like cats and dogs. Abusing chickens to produce cheap eggs should be banned. IMO.

If you keep BY chickens to get wonderful presents , and observe the way they do things, you start to enjoy them as amazing living creatures.
But chickens can only thrive with good food, more than enough space and proper housing.

It doesn’t have to be expensive. DIY, convert a shed or a (second hand ) playhouse -> costs way less. And 4-10 chickens don’t need anything out of the ordinary.

Free ranging saves a lot of money if your predator load is acceptable. You can save even more if have a rooster for free maintenance. Choose a breed that is flighty and a pick a few hens that have it in them to be great broodies and mama’s.