chicken coops?

[ross]

hi i was thinking wat is better a homemade chicken coop or a bought one...... and also how much did u pay for yours and how much fit in it thanks

 

[Country Gal]

It all depends on your personal preference.

Go into the "Coop Design" section - you'll see LOTS of photos of peoples homemade coops and they are AMAZING!

I built mine, but never thought to put all the creativity that others have put into theirs. But it was a fun project that my fiance and I got to do together and get a sense of accomplishment out of. We probably spent around $500 on it. After finding this site, I can't wait for the wind to blow mine over so that I have to rebuild!!!

Another benefit to building, is that you can customize it to your own preferences and/or needs. And you can always build it in a way so that it will be easy to build additions on later.

Store bought is nice if you have the $$$ for it (some are pretty expensive!) or if you don't have the time or carpentry skills to build it yourself.

Good luck with what ever you decide!

 

[speckledhen]

We scavenged materials from a home construction site, with permission, and built a cute little hexagonal coop for about $60, only because I paid $20 for the paint I wanted. It can be done for LOTS cheaper than buying one prebuilt.

 

[Dawn419]

Both of our coops are prefab's. DH has wonderful carpentry skills but working 50-60 hours a week doesn't leave much time for building from scratch.

main Coop

Chcik-N-Barn & Yard

Hope this is some help!

 

[love2sail]

Ours was about $300. That was purchasing everythhing new at Lowes. I'm sure we could have found materials cheaper or even free if we looked around a little but were pressed for time and the chicks needed to get out of the cardboard box they were living in LOL.

We did find the used tin roofing material for free that saved us about $80.

It's 8'x4' (one standard piece of OSB plywood) and about 7' high at the low side. its defintely nothing fancy (like yours speckledhen, love it!) but it keeps them safe at night. We keep 6 chickens in it. I wouldn't want to keep anymore than in it I think. It has 2 nesting boxes right inside the door on the left with water hanging underneath the boxes and a food trough on the left side further in past the boxes.

We will be enclosing the whole coop in a 7' high predator-proof fenced area as soon as funds allow, the temporary outdoor run is a little small but is better than nothing at this point.

 

[mrs. harris]

Hi everyone! Im new here. I'm trying to get information on how to build a chicken coop. I noticed the one built by love2sail. How much would it cost to fly you to NY and build mine? LOL Where do I begin. Thanks

 

[lurky]

mrs. harris :

Hi everyone! Im new here. I'm trying to get information on how to build a chicken coop. I noticed the one built by love2sail. How much would it cost to fly you to NY and build mine? LOL Where do I begin. Thanks

Welcome to BYC. There are alot of New Yorkers on here. Do you already have any chickens? What part of NY are you from?​

 

[mrs. harris]

My daughter is begging for chicks. I'm not sure I can do this..LOL Im on Long Island. I see your near VT. Are you near Wilmington? Back to the chickens-this looks like a full time job. Am I crazy to start this? Thanks:

 

[tiffanyh]

Yes--it is a full time job! I didnt expect that but it is so fun. I take care of them for 15 min in am and pm and clean every other weekend. But I only have a few chickens in each pen.

I have a modified dog house inside a dog run. The chickens HAVE to go in at night because the run is not predator proof. I cover the top with netting for the hawks.

The run wa sabotu $150 new and the dog house was free- used. It is a perfect start for 4-6 chickens.

 

[seminolewind]

Hi Mrs. Harris, I live in Florida, but I'm from Long Island, lived in Ridge.
Sometimes you can find a rabbit hutch that would make a good hen house for two. Or a used shed. Try Pennysaver. Karen