Cheap Coop.

[ChickBro]

I am wanting to build a new coop(for breeding), but I need it to be cheap because I am too young to have a job and my parents don't wanna pay for it. The whole homestead was my idea so they fund it and I do all the chores, but this time they don't want to pay for it so I have to. So I would appreciate any coop plans/ideas that wouldn't cost too much. Thanks in advance .

 

[chickchicklife]

Some wood and a few roofing sheets, a hammer, electric or hand saw, welded wire fence for possible windows. These are the only things that I used for building my coop didn't really cost anything since we got the material from the farm we live, the roofing sheets could simply be plastic.

 

[TillyPeeps]

The cheapest would be pallet coop. There are many pallet coop designs in this website. You can get free pallets from home deport, walmart, etc. You will need to get some roof panels and hardware cloth to cover the opening. You may find some used pieces for free on craiglist, facebook, etc.

 

[3KillerBs]

Building materials are very expensive right now. A pallet coop is probably the lowest cost, but will require careful building to make sure it's safe for you and for your chickens. How much help will you have for the actually construction part?

 

[Krugerrand]

How quickly are you looking to have something in place? If you have the time/space - whatever you can get your hands on from a material standpoint can then dictate what you can build. Also, don't forget to watch classifieds, estate sales, etc to see what's already out there that people may not want anymore.

 

[CluckerFamily]

Pallet coops are cheap!

 

[Tonyroo]

If your not too far away in the middle of nowhere, go on Craigslist-free stuff section. They should have most of the materials you can use to build a pen. It's basically things people don’t want on there property so sometimes you can find exactly what you can use.

 

[HawaiiCoyote]

If you have a large dog kennel ( at least 8 x 10 ) then you could build a coop out of it, I made a very low-cost coop that way.

 

[Tonyroo]

Also like with old dressers or other wood furniture can be re-purposed to build something new. Just need some power tools to do it.

 

[3KillerBs]

Also like with old dressers or other wood furniture can be re-purposed to build something new. Just need some power tools to do it.

Used furniture that is solid enough to be of any use is probably too valuable to be converted to a chicken coop -- as well as too small -- and might better be sold for the money to purchase materials.

Unwanted doghouses and outgrown children's playhouses have far more potential.

It's important, even when trying to build something inexpensively, that chickens have certain space needs, that is, for each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

4 square feet in the coop,
10 square feet in the run,
1 linear foot of roost,
And 1 square foot of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

So a flock of 4 requires a coop no smaller than 4x4 with 4 square feet of ventilation and a run no smaller than 5x8.

A flock of 6 requires a coop no smaller than 4x 6 with 6 square feet of ventilation and a run no smaller than 8x8.

A flock of 10 requires a coop no smaller than 6x7 with 10 square feet of ventilation and a run no smaller than 10x10.

Additionally, though chickens do not stack for storage and thus height can't compensate for floor space, the coop has to be tall enough to make that ventilation possible.

My Little Monitor Coop is designed to meet all the minimums for a flock of 4. It's not a cheap build, but it does illustrate what's needed space-wise to make for a long-term, healthy environment.