Chicken Coop Kits or Supplies

[JayneLittle]

Hello, I am just thinking about getting some laying chicken/hens. Maybe 3 or 4. I live close to Houston, Texas. Can someone tell me where the best place to buy coop kits or supplies to make one. I have no idea how to make one but could maybe figure it out. The cheapest I saw on Amazon was $149.00 but it was pretty small. I don't' know what size to go with for 3-4 chickens/hens. Any help at all would be appreciated. Jayne

 

[perkolator]

Welcome. Here on this site in the Articles menu you'll find a whole section dedicated to different sized chicken coop builds, usually with some basic plans on how it was built.
Seems the majority of the pre-fabricated coops on the market are reviewed as not so great and need improvements after assembly, but there are some that are considered fantastic (but usually budget-friendly)

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC and the wonderful world of backyard chickens. If you put your location into your profile people can give better-targeted advice to all your questions because climate matters.

Unfortunately, VERY few prefab coops/kit coops are in any way suited to actually keep chickens in and even fewer are well-built.

In your part of the world, however, you don't need a traditional enclosed coop at all. An Open Air coop is perfect for your climate. That is, a big wire box with a roof and a 3-sided shelter on the windward end.

Here are some Open Air coops for you to look at:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/jens-hens-a-southern-texas-coop.75707/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/my-positive-local-action-coop.72804/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/california-living.68130/

Also, my Camp Cockerel -- which is not a fully-secure facility, but the idea could be redone as a properly secure coop: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/camp-cockerel.77789/

Some people turn a chainlink dog kennel into an Open Air coop by adding hardware cloth to keep smaller predators out (rats, weasels, snakes, and grabby raccoon hands). They put a roof on it and some kind of solid panels to shelter one end.

Hoop coops are considered some of the easiest builds for people who are new to DIY:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hoop-tractor.69336/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hoop-coop-brooder-with-roll-up-sides.75720/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-biddie-bordello-a-hoop-coop-run-combo.72189/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/permanent-hoop-coop-guide.47818/

Here is my article on hot climate chicken-keeping: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hot-climate-chicken-housing-and-care.77263/

And my article on coop ventilation: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/repecka-illustrates-coop-ventilation.77659/

And some numbers (consider an open air coop both coop and run combined).

The Usual Guidelines

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

4 hens

• 16 square feet in the coop. 4'x4' is the only really practical build for this given the common dimensions of lumber.
• 4 feet of roost
• 40 square feet in the run. 4'x10' or 5'x8'. 6'x6' is a bit too small, 6'x8' is more generous and easier to build than 5'x8'.
• 4 square feet of ventilation. A 2'x2' window is theoretically enough, but in practice doesn't create any air FLOW so better to spread the venting around (and even better to exceed the minimums, especially in warm climates).
• 2 nest boxes, to give the hens a choice