Brand new to BYC with coop buying question!

[Tangent]

Hi everyone,

I’ve been lurking here for a while but finally need some advice. I’m looking to purchase my first coop used and I wanted to get some feedback. I had thought about buying new or building from scratch but I figured one man’s trash is another man’s gold and if I can recycle why not?! I’ve come across the following coop but I am a bit perplexed by some parts of it.

1. The ‘sun room’ that’s attached to it. What is the purpose of this?
2. It seems from the pictures that it’s not really insulated. I live in Alberta Canada and we get temps of – 40 in the winter. Would sprucing up and insulating a second hand coop be a reasonable beginner job?
3. The coop over all is said to be 8x4, which in my mind would fit 8 laying hens, but there seems to be boxes for 24 hens here! If the scratch pen were big enough would that be reasonable?
   1. If yes then what would you recommend the scratch pen size be? I was going to make it 30x30 with a roof taller than me because we’ve seen owls in the area, but I’m unsure of our exact height yet.
4. If I opt to only take my 8 hens as I had initially planned would having the extra boxes be detrimental in anyway?
5. It has a plug on the inside for the heater, but it seems low to the ground, will this need to be protected from pecking?

Like I said, I’ve been lurking and have done some reading but there’s just so much information here so I haven’t had a chance to read it all yet.


Pictures attached below, but I can’t seem to make them rotate.

 

[Tangent]

Oh i forgot to mention that they want 500$ for it.

TIA!

 

[21hens-incharge]

I think you would find that they would only lay in one or two nestboxes and the others would only take up space. The add on on the side is odd. It looks to be just wire. It looks sturdy for sure.
There is potential there.
With the winter lows you get I would say insulation would certainly not hurt.
I do like my plugs to be higher up where they cannot reach them. ( I am a worry wart lol )

 

[cstronks]

Interesting setup. It has no enclosed run, which if fine, and you can either build one or let your chickens free range. Since you can walk in and easily access the coop I like it. I would also redo the nest box portion of the coop because it looks kind of messy and could look a lot nicer with a little work. New boxes, new placement, and you're set. If the materials are in good shape and transporting it is not a problem, then I would say $500 is a pretty fair deal.

 

[21hens-incharge]

OH 500 for it. Oh my.
I built a dog house for my dogs that is 4x6 and 5' at the peak for about 250. I am in Colorado and got all the materials at Home Depot.
You may want to price the materials out and see what you can do building new.

 

[cstronks]

OH 500 for it. Oh my.
I built a dog house for my dogs that is 4x6 and 5' at the peak for about 250. I am in Colorado and got all the materials at Home Depot.
You may want to price the materials out and see what you can do building new.

I was thinking this too, but then you must dedicate the time and skills to build it. I build my coop with a friend, and it took a while. We don't build a lot, but it worked out. You can do something pretty nice for $500, but I'm not sure you could get it to big as that coop if built correctly. I collected some materials from people, but my 6x4 topped out at about $800 bucks. Looks really pretty though!!

 

[blucoondawg]

1. The sun room thing is just someones design idea which I have never seen but is quite interesting as it adds a few more feet of space and will give the birds who hate snow a way of venturing outside in winter.
2. I consider insulating a chicken coop a complete waste of money it isn't necessary.
3. You wouldn't want 24 hens in there especially if they refuse to go out in winter you would most certainly have to overcrowding issues. That looks quite odd the way those nests are and how many there are. I would remove them keeping enough for your number of birds and add some roost bars which I don't see at all in the coop now.
4. Boxes aren't detrimental just sort of wasted space
5. If the plug in is a proper outlet and cover plate as in your home it should be fine if you are worried about it you could pick up an outdoor cover which will allow you to plug something in and shield it from the birds.

500 maybe isn't a terrible price as last long as it is solid and doesn't have rot starting along the bottom I would probably try to offer less just out of principal.

Were i to buy it id remove some nests and add roosts. I would not insulate at all. I would buy a heated waterer of some sort, I wouldn't heat the coop. I would add plenty of ventilation to let air flow while not putting a draft on the roost area. I like my venting above the birds in this case a ridge vent on the roof combined with gable end vents and or soffit ventilation.

I too live in cold climate and birds did fine living as I've described I have pea comb and regular comb birds