Building Coops to sell?

[sharondoright]

Anyone built coops to sell on craigslist or FB marketplace? I really enjoyed making mine, and curious if it is at all a viable profit center?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Anyone built coops to sell on craigslist or FB marketplace? I really enjoyed making mine, and curious if it is at all a viable profit center?

I see them on CL all the time but never touch FB. Hope you are enjoying BYC!

Whatcha got? Let's see Pics!

And how much does it cost ya to build?

Adding your general location to your profile will help peeps make the most relevant suggestion possible.

 

[sharondoright]

First coop was 4x8 raised with external nest boxes. Hubby helped tons. 2nd (current coop) is walk-in 15x15 with a 4'x15' section walled off for roost area. big doors to roost so I can walk in and rake out as needed. LOVE IT! I will update profile to show location... SW Idaho.

 

[IamRainey]

I think you'd be providing local first time chicken keepers with a valuable resource.

The problem I see is that if you built yours to be the sort to sturdy durable shelters that would be worth buying, they'd have to cost multiples of the thin particle board pieces of junk that are offered for sale. That would make them a tough sell unless you can make clear why people should spend the money on really adequate shelter and protection for their flocks.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

First coop was 4x8 raised with external nest boxes. Hubby helped tons.

They often do.

My first tractor coop is 3x5 raised with wheels on the "feet". I tried to design it so all the walls and bracing and such would only require about 1 cut using the dimensional lumber and maximizing my material usage. It is painted to look like a cow ( with legs, not ground beef ) and the head attached on the front outside creates the ventilation. Inside accommodates 3, 12x12 lay boxes near the head with drop down doors and there are two roost that are 4' long inside. It's still a work in progress getting the finishing touches to make it as cute as my idea. One whole side drops for cleaning and birds enter in the rear, lol!

This guys is selling his for $450. Last year was 350...

https://redding.craigslist.org/grd/d/redding-chicken-coop/6922269616.html

 

[sharondoright]

They often do.

My first tractor coop is 3x5 raised with wheels on the "feet". I tried to design it so all the walls and bracing and such would only require about 1 cut using the dimensional lumber and maximizing my material usage. It is painted to look like a cow ( with legs, not ground beef ) and the head attached on the front outside creates the ventilation. Inside accommodates 3, 12x12 lay boxes near the head with drop down doors and there are two roost that are 4' long inside. It's still a work in progress getting the finishing touches to make it as cute as my idea. One whole side drops for cleaning and birds enter in the rear, lol!

This guys is selling his for $450. Last year was 350...

https://redding.craigslist.org/grd/d/redding-chicken-coop/6922269616.html

guessing that if he has gone up in price $100, then he must have enough demand. otherwise, basic sense would dictate he lower prices... those are way cute. I would LOVE to see your cow coop!

 

[sharondoright]

I think you'd be providing local first time chicken keepers with a valuable resource.

The problem I see is that if you built yours to be the sort to sturdy durable shelters that would be worth buying, they'd have to cost multiples of the thin particle board pieces of junk that are offered for sale. That would make them a tough sell unless you can make clear why people should spend the money on really adequate shelter and protection for their flocks.

That's my concern. I do see coops for sale in SW Idaho on craigslist, for good money, but I haven't researched if they actually sell. I think it would be great to tap into the urban chicken movement as a mentor/supplier. I am fairly newbie, but it is easy and fun to have the girls.

 

[sharondoright]

I see them on CL all the time but never touch FB. Hope you are enjoying BYC!

Whatcha got? Let's see Pics!

And how much does it cost ya to build?

Adding your general location to your profile will help peeps make the most relevant suggestion possible.

I do have some pics of new coop on my profile / album. Old coop is visible in some of these. If i did make coops, I would have to design a simple, efficient pattern to use. I am no carpenter, but have learned so much and really enjoy putting them together.

 

[aart]

guessing that if he has gone up in price $100, then he must have enough demand. otherwise, basic sense would dictate he lower prices... those are way cute.

Maybe.
Cute, yes, but tiny dollhouse coops are not good for chickens.

Building bigger ones takes the ability to move them or building them onsite.

There's no accounting for what some people sell/buy.

 

[Ghosty]

If you live close to a metropolitan area, and there isn't already a glut of coop makers on craigslist. I thought about this as well, but it seems like they have to use inferior materials, like chicken wire on the runs, etc, in order to make a profit. Also, I don't like tiny coops or runs, and invariably that is what you run into with premades; all run and no coop, or all coop with no run. This all may be fine for a few chickens in the city, but is not my thing.

You could make it high quality, but we all know that most entry level chickeneers are not too savvy about things like hardware cloth, perimeter aprons, how much space they really need and the like. I see so many people posting up 4 foot wide boxes on craigslist and saying, "you can easily keep 20 chickens in here."

I wouldn't want to do it for profit unless I was making high quality stuff for people in the know. Right now, there are so many coops for sale local to me that I wouldn't even consider it.