Best premade coops

[Hedgeland Farms]

Has anyone suggested pallets??
If ypu can source them for free....its a great option. I built my second coop for less then 400 ...outta pallets, and filled in the gaps with broken off pallet boards I sourced from work...

Just a thought if you can get free pallets locally

 

[21hens-incharge]

A few links worth looking at.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/top-10-hoop-coop-ideas.76490/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...y-friendly-approach-to-poultry-keeping.78370/

I really like this shipping crate coop. Crates this size can be hard to find but you never know if you don't look.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/moogies-member-page.57036/

 

[Perris]

You might want to have a look at this firm - you can even try getting one for free
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/nestera-coop-giveaway-total-worth-1595.1584415/unread

I started with one and now have four of these coops, and cannot recommend them highly enough if you intend to let your chickens range and not keep them locked up all day long.

I advise you also to read people's posts on battling mites in their wooden coops before deciding which type of coop to get/build.

 

[Shadrach]

View attachment 3571997
The box is a cover for the dust bath. No chickens in it yet. Next sunday....

I took one of these to bits a while ago. This generic design has a lot of problems but can be made more functional. The coop itself isn't for for more than four hens really and the run isn't fit for one.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/flat-pack-coop-takedown-and-appraisal.78406/

The OP might consider a recycled plastic coop which is likely to last longer and provide fewer cleaning problems for both general hygiene and parasite infestation.

Something like this might fit the bill.
https://nestera.us/products/chicken-coop?variant=42966300262651

All in one (coop and run) flatpacks rarely provide sufficient run space if one is going to keep the chickens confined.

An easy build and easy clean wooden coop might be something like this for a small number of chickens.

One would of course have to build a suitable run if keeping the chickens confined.

This was a dog kennel conversion. Fine as a broody coop but almost impossible to keep clean and parasite free.

This is what I'm currently using. It's a recycled plastic coop with some alterations. Really like this one and I doubt I'll ever build another wooden coop. I've built lots of coops. They all had their advantages and disadvantages.

People tend to recommend what they built or bought and most chicken keepers probably only buy or build one or perhaps two coops in their chicken keeping life. There are lots of options, many of which get ignored for various reasons. But, as I wrote above, how one intends to keep ones chickens has a massive bearing on what type of coop is likely to perform best.

 

[Acre4Me]

Good luck! Chickens are fun and the kids will learn a lot.

Buying pre-made: I’d suggest, as @21hens-incharge suggested, maybe a farm store sells or has contact info/flyer on bulletin board, some locally made ones. These are a bit $$, but not usually terrible. In my area they are usually on skids for ease of moving, and are walk in. Then your own family can construct a run.

If building, then decide if you want a walk in style, or an elevated “box” you can reach in to clean/maintain. We built an elevated walk-in style- this is the best of both worlds, but not always needed. Elevation allows the coop to dry out, provides shade for the birds if enough elevation (otherwise use HWC to keep them from going under), and can discourage critters from getting in so easily.

Ease of construction: agree with others that a hoop coop can be a quick way to beget the chickens housed for a reasonable cost.

 

[ChickyCh00k]

What is your budget? My suggestion would be to get a shed with windows and alter it to fit your needs. I have an Over EZ Coop (the large size, 4x6, that says it fits 15 chickens, but I have 8 in there and I wouldn't try to fit any more). We made several modifications to the Over EZ to increase ventilation (a necessity). It works just fine for the 8 chickens we have, but if I had it to do over, I would have purchased a 8x8 shed with windows and modified that (added roost bars, chicken door, nest boxes, and more ventilation up high). The cost would have been about the same (perhaps a bit more for the shed) but I could fit twice as many chickens in it and walk into it/clean it with ease!

Good luck!

 

[2ndTink]

I have 3 coops, 1 pre-fab, 1 made from scrap wood, and 1 really great walk in coop. Here is the coop I have:

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/producers-pride-defender-chicken-coop-2020-1168239n

Would I buy a second one, no. As my first coop would I do this over again, yes. It was easy to put together, checked all the boxes I needed to start my first flock. It has more nesting boxes than you need, not quite enough ventilation, thin wood, but very functional. Our weather is a few weeks of single digits / teens in the winter, lots of rain throughout the year, occasionally we get snow storms of 5" to 20". In the summer we have 80s to 90s and high humidity. I haven't lost any chickens due to weather issues.

I did end up expanding the coop which increased the ventilation for me. Without the expansion you would need to add more screen, but you can easily take out the plexiglass windows and put screen in for the summer or add some louvers. I also added 2x4's to the top of the roosting sticks they had to make it more comfortable for the hens. I would put 6, maybe 7 hens in this coop, with my expansion I had 9 in there and probably could have had 1 or 2 more if needed.

I've attached the stock photo and two photos of my coop with the expansion. It's easy to see my addition, it's not seamless but it works well for me

 

[Krugerrand]

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

This looks like what @BoomChickWow just built. You want to reach out and get feedback:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/dust-bath-question.1588276/#post-26991223

But, seeing that you're in AZ (unless that's a high elevation) you may want an open air coop ... or keep that wall open into the run.

 

[BoomChickWow]

This looks like what @BoomChickWow just built. You want to reach out and get feedback:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/dust-bath-question.1588276/#post-26991223

But, seeing that you're in AZ (unless that's a high elevation) you may want an open air coop ... or keep that wall open into the run.

Yes this is the one. It was a lot of work to build but we love it! Great design and plans

 

[BoomChickWow]

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

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

We made this one. The design and plans are amazing. It took us about 8 weekends to build. Totally worth it though