Buy? Or Build? Heeeeellllllppppp!!

[FunkyChickenButt]

Hi there. I was in the same position you are about 6 months ago as a first time chicken owner. I bought a pretty good sized prefab coop that said it would hold four LF chickens (about 21 sq ft) which I thought would be great for my four bantams. I’m in the process of building a coop right now as it’s just not doing the trick for times when they have to be in it longer than over night, and is hard to get into to clean. I’ve never built anything before but had two friends help me for a couple hours to build a 4x8 frame, and got a wooden doghouse to use as the actual coop. Both cost about the same at $300 but now I’m tasked with reintroducing to the new coop, possibly stopping egg production (which just started on oct 6th!) and selling the prefab. I wish I would have listened to everyone else’s advice.

 

[nchanson007]

If you buy look at “Carolina Coops“.

 

[brooksmd1948]

Like you, my wife and I are in the planning stage. I've only read through the first 5 or 6 pages and surprised nobody has mentioned YouTube. if you haven't already looked, there are tons of how-to videos on building a coop. Good luck and enjoy.

 

[Lori Stricklin]

I am new to this as well and decided to repurpose an old play house till I figured out exactly what would work for me. It’s a quick and fairly cheap project.. has worked out perfectly so far. You can usually find something like this on the tag sale sites for little or nothing.

 

[Lori Stricklin]

I have an Eglu which is perfect for 3 chickens. I have the extended run but they generally free range during the day.

I was looking at the Eglu as well. How long have you had it? Is it working out ok for you and your flock. How is the temperature inside? What type of girls do you have? I am toying with either the Eglu with a 9 ft. run (just not sure how predator proof it is.....I have two older labs) or building/having one built for me. The Omlet products just look so easy to maintain, am I right? I also can't decide on whether one that can be repositioned in the yard(like the Eglu) or one that is stationary with a run??? There seems to be so many things to consider. I have not yet purchased any chicks. Just a newbie wanting to learn and soak in as much as I can. Sorry for all of the questions but want to hear from someone who has purchased an Omlet set up.

 

[Sequimsquirrel]

I really like this coop plan - DH and my step-son built it for me and it's the Ft Knox of coops! I have to admit it cost more than I thought it would, a few hundred in materials, but it's worth it. The pre-made coops I saw at local stores were cheaply made in China of poor quality materials,and REALLY small.
Here's the coop plan
https://blog.homedepot.com/free-plans-for-an-awesome-chicken-coop/

Our chicks came from Mt Healthy hatchery and they were great to deal with, my chicks were healthy and they've grown into really nice hens (and a rooster that I wanted)

 

[Pghelp]

I didn't expect to become a crazy chicken lady when I accepted 4 rehomed pullets with a prefab coop 4 years ago. If you're new to chickens and you're more comfortable buying a prefab coop, then do it. Probably not supposed to say names on here but both TSC and Wayfair have an assortment. Go for size not cute. Whatever you buy the run will not be big enough. For years we extended the run for our 4 ladies using wire dog crates we took apart and wired together. The coop was predator proof but the run less so. They were shut in the coop every night and left access to run and coop all day. I would strongly advise having a roof on your run. You may think you don't have predators but I used to live in southern Georgia and having chickens will send out the predator call to every feral cat and raccoon that the buffet is served. Again we used the taken apart dog runs and wired another run over the top as a roof. Now I have a custom built giant chicken run -- we call it the chicken palace. We weighed the option of building a new coop to house the flock, now 7, but my family hates waste. We ended up salvaging our original donated coop along with another one from a family giving up chickens, so the giant run has two prefab coops inside it, one of which now has a penthouse extension. The birds have loads of space. Two of my ladies are older with 5 almost 6 month old young ones so they naturally divided themselves into two cooperative flocks each using one of the coops. Do what feels right for you. You can always make changes later on. Building a coop is a big operation and if it feels daunting don't put yourself through that.

 

[LoneOak]

I built this for about $200, It has worked well for several years for 4 or 5 hens.

 

[Gullygarden]

As I am sure you are aware, I am such a newby to the chicken arena that I haven’t even gotten my first chicken yet! I have been studying coops. Now, since I am just beginning, isn’t it okay if I purchase a cute little coop, or do you really have to build one?? Honestly, I would much rather buy one! A builder I ain’t!! And, I would like to the the beginning of this new adventure as simple as possible for me! Now, since I have all that outta the way, which brand is best?
I hope I am not becoming a bother! I want to be successful when I do actually get a chicken! And thank you for all of your help!

Hi! Just be careful - a lot of those cute little coops are concentration camps and make them really miserable! Think about your weather, your predators, and whether you can stand up in there with them! It is way more fun to visit and clean when you are able to stand up!

 

[LoneOak]