Best premade coops

[Jessie_Marie]

Hi all. So ideally we’d love to build a coop ourselves but we have little children that take up a lot of our time. We’ve been considering purchasing a coop. Any suggestions on which brands are worth looking into? Thank you for any advice on this!

 

[aart]

Most are rotten designs and substandard construction.
A decent one will cost a couple thousand dollars.
Well worth the time and effort to build your own....
...and great lessons for your kids.
How old are the kids?

Do you already have chickens?
What are your goals with chickens, how many, etc?

Oh, and.... Welcome to BYC! @Jessie_Marie
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[sourland]

Most of the prefab coops are poor quality and not made to hold the numbers they claim. If you have access to an Amish made coop, they are generally far better choices.

 

[Jessie_Marie]

Most are rotten designs and substandard construction.
A decent one will cost a couple thousand dollars.
Well worth the time and effort to build your own....
...and great lessons for your kids.
How old are the kids?

Do you already have chickens?
What are your goals with chickens, how many, etc?

Oh, and.... Welcome to BYC! @Jessie_Marie
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!
View attachment 3571822

Hi thank you for the advice. It does seem nearly impossible to find a coop that has good reviews, unless it’s 3k+. For that, I’d rather build one for sure. We do have chicks already, they’re a few weeks old. We have an airy green house that they spend their days in right now. But definitely need to get going in a coop.

Kids are small, oldest is almost 5 but of course he’d love to help build and learn from the experience. Thanks again for the most helpful info!

Will update my profile.

 

[aart]

We do have chicks already, they’re a few weeks old. We have an airy green house that they spend their days in right now. But definitely need to get going in a coop.

OhBoy...better get humpin'!
Beware that many plans for coops are as bad as the prefab one....too small, lack of ventilation, lack of good keeper access.

 

[Jessie_Marie]

OhBoy...better get humpin'!
Beware that many plans for coops are as bad as the prefab one....too small, lack of ventilation, lack of good keeper access.

What about this one? https://www.etsy.com/listing/1147892062/

 

[ChickNanny13]

May I suggest a dog kennel, have been told the welded wire holds up better than the chain link. Depending on how may chickens you get but bigger is always better. Add a plastic dog house or 5gal buckets or storage crates for nest box, install some 2x4 for roosts & a cover for the top. Check with your hardware outlets (Home Depot) TSC has nice ones ... https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/search/dog kennel?
They last a lot longer than those prefabs. Not knowing your location/climate you can always improvise .... It's secure enclosure, oh may want to chicken wire under & up at least 2' so chicks don't get thru and added predator safety.

 

[aart]

What about this one? https://www.etsy.com/listing/1147892062/

Eh...not too bad, I'd put the rafters 90° from what's shown for open soffit ventilation.
Not so easy for cleaning and/or grabbing birds for exams off the roosts at night, unless you are far more nimble than I.
I'd not put more than 6 birds in there.

Will update my profile.

Did you forget to hit save at the bottom?

 

[Shadrach]

How many chicks do you have? That's the first important point.
What is your climate like? That's the next most important point.
How much space do you have to allocate to your chickens and how do you intend to keep them; free range, ranging under supervision, permenantly confined?

All these factors are important when trying to decide on a coop.
After these, how much do you want to spend? What degree of mobility do you have? What construction skills do you have.

Once these factors are known you might get some sensible advice.

 

[Jessie_Marie]

How many chicks do you have? That's the first important point.
What is your climate like? That's the next most important point.
How much space do you have to allocate to your chickens and how do you intend to keep them; free range, ranging under supervision, permenantly confined?

All these factors are important when trying to decide on a coop.
After these, how much do you want to spend? What degree of mobility do you have? What construction skills do you have.

Once these factors are known you might get some sensible advice.

We know what we want/need for our area, I was simply asking for any reputable brands or companies. Now that I see the poor reviews and comments here advising against prebuilt, we’ll build our own.