Buy a Kit or Build a Coop from Scratch?

[GordonC50]

There are a few screw holes in the metal that we will seal. We will add some more ventilation. We just stopped by for a minute. It appears to be about 5X8 or so.

 

[21hens-incharge]

It looks like a much better choice then the kit by far. I think in the long run your chickens will be happier as will your family.

I do see it has 2 windows on the one side. Do they open? If they don't can they be made to open? You can add 2 vents close to the peak one on either end would be best. I would make them so I could close them. I would only close them if the wind was blowing hard and then only close the one on the windy side.

edited to add...

I went back a page and blew up the pic showing the windows. It looks like they have wire so that is awesome for summer! You would only need to add winter vents then!
Did they have inserts for the windows so you can keep the weather off the birds?

 

[GordonC50]

They don't have inserts, but they could be easily added. We would add gables on each end for better ventilation.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I do not have a close up pic of my window set up but you can get the idea of what I did here. This would be very easy to do on those windows is why I toss this pic out there.



This was in process of coop build and shows the construction on the window the best. If you blow the pic up you can see the hardware pretty well. The other windows have smoked lexan instead of siding. This one is on the north so I wanted to block direct blazing sun in the summer. I used a piano hinge and it is working well to keep weather out as well as let air in in the summer. Plexiglass would work well too just be sure to get a thicker then 1/8 inch piece so the frame wont warp.

 

[allanb]

I toyed with the idea of buying a kit. But after noticing that most kits seem to be smaller than most recomnendations and pricey, I've decided to build my own. I'm fairly certain I will get more coop for the money.

 

[PJones]

This coop was found near our house in East Texas. The man is a cabinet maker and these coops are solidly built and painted. Each coop has 7 nest boxes and a roost that runs the length of the coop.

 

[Raderby Ranchin]

I am assuming you are capable of building a coop since you included that as one of the options you considered.  If so I am curious why you chose the more expensive option, and indicate you can add on or modify a kit.  You could modify or add on to a coop built from scratch and it will be built a lot better. 

I second that!

I looked at a few coops before I built mine. I found that the coops in my price range where to small and poor quality. I am not a craftsman but I like good looking quality things and was worried on my builds appearance... I went for it anyways. I use as much free reclaimed wood, pallets, wooden crates as I could find. All I purchased were screws, fencing, paint and fiberglass panels for the roof. And it still came out cheaper than buying a kit.

Quality, quality, quality. My opinion is the kits I've seen arent strong, quality materials. It just looks nice. More like a showcase.

 

[GordonC50]

We received our Pawhut 144" large chicken coop today. We bought this before we found one near us that's made by a veteran cabinet maker for the same price. Excellent craftsmanship. FedEx delivered the two boxes. The boxes were thrashed and some parts are damaged. This is just viewing through the gashes in the boxes. Not the fault of FedEx, but being shipped from China I think. My question is, should we send it back or maybe assemble it and use it for a transition coop before putting the chicks into the main,and much larger coop.

 

[SLAP STICK487]

ive looked at lot of coop kits myself and tried to imagine myself buying one of those pricey contraptions and i just couldnt go threw it. for one they are very light and easy to lift and smash in....to me they are for people who live in areas that dont have alot of large predators , I mean even a dog can do significant damage to them..so u can imagine a pack of wild/or stray dogs.

Like the guy mentioned the other day reusing material can save you a whole lot of wallet

 

[aart]

We received our Pawhut 144" large chicken coop today. We bought this before we found one near us that's made by a veteran cabinet maker for the same price. Excellent craftsmanship. FedEx delivered the two boxes. The boxes were thrashed and some parts are damaged. This is just viewing through the gashes in the boxes. Not the fault of FedEx, but being shipped from China I think. My question is, should we send it back or maybe assemble it and use it for a transition coop before putting the chicks into the main,and much larger coop.

It can be really handy to have another enclosure separate from the main coop, or sectioned off from the main coop....
...so it might be worth keeping it. Unless it's too damaged to be of use or too rotten of a design to be worth it.
Depends on how much if a PITA it would be to get a refund.