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Honestly the only "turn key" coops I have seen that are really all that great are VERY expensive. I wouldn't even call them prefabs. They are like $1500+. Being in the South your girls will spend all day outside so there is less of a need for room inside the coop. Also, like you I read everything I could get my hands on, but there is no substitute for the past 3-4 months of real life chicken husbandry.

Now, a lot of prefabs are truly a joke and wouldn't even hold 2 girls comfortably, or keep them dry in a rainstorm.

So, where to go from here?

My suggestion is to get a prefab on the larger side (it will probably say for 6-8 birds which means more like 3-4 max) and get 3-4 birds. Like one with a hen house that is at least 3x4 feet. Put it on a firm foundation like pavers so it doesn't rot and to keep predators from easily digging. Have it somewhere protected from direct downpours and use clear silicone caulk to seal it to be weathertight (your first storm will tell you quickly where to seal). You will probably have to cut out some real ventilation holes. At that point you will have a good start, and over the coming months, I think you will constantly learn and come up with ideas on what you REALLY need. And, building a coop from scratch (or buying a small shed and converting) will start to feel much more doable as you learn what your girls need and also what works in YOUR space/yard, YOUR climate, etc. That is where I am at now. I have 7 girls in an XL prefab. They only sleep and lay in there. The "yard" is 6x30 feet where they hang out during the day, and it has full shade in the afternoon (KEY for hot climates). It is on the side of my house so I have certain limitations (property line / fence is 6 feet from side of house, i am in the city of Dallas). I covered the "run" so they have an outside space when it is raining so its almost like the whole run is sort of the coop in a way. My PVC feeder is mounted on the outside and the elbows come into the run, so it doesn't take up floor space either. It is a little tight right now but I am rehoming two in a month or so when my friend finishes her coop. Honestly it seems more tight in the run even though its larger, which is why I let them out right at sunrise. The coop looks small on the outside, but inside everyone seems to have plenty of room and then some to move around / roost.

I think a lot of the really aggressive anti-prefab opinions on here turn people off. For me, I needed a prefab to get the ball rolling, did a good job at installing it on a strong foundation and improved weatherproofing and ventilation. That allowed me to get my feet wet without spending thousands. I now feel like I know enough to build my own or do a conversion. I am currently on the craigslist / facebook lookout for a 6ft wide shed that will fit in the end of my side yard to be the starting point for my build. But, the girls are in good shape for now. I DO however find that keeping a dense population of hens requires me to scoop the coop and run daily or the poop builds up quick. Also no way I could do "deep litter" as it would just be "deep poop" haha. I use granulated PDZ and sand mix in the coop, and sand in the run inside the 4-5" high pavers. I also have hens all the same age. Making choices like that (and others, see below) minimize ammonia buildup and flock conflict in a small space.

This is what I have, but like I said its been modified a bit. https://www.walmart.com/ip/SummerHawk-Ranch-Vintage-Red-XL-Barn-Chicken-Coop/922179146
I have hesitated even posting this because people are always so adamant about the 4 sq ft per bird thing, but it works for me and my girls are happy and healthy. However I think that is because I truly have the full square footage available (NOTHING on the ground in the run or the floor of the coop), and I let them out at sunrise every morning (by 5:45am). A couple times I did sleep in until 7 or so, and they seemed to have been pissy with each other. Also, I deliberately got birds that are on the small side of large fowl for the most part (easter eggers, leghorns, etc). And like I said, for the long term 7 is probably too crowded. But I think i will be fine with 5, and sometime in the next year I would like to do a custom shed conversion and now feel knowledgeable enough to do so. Something 5-6 feet wide and 4-6 feet deep would be perfect. I would like to use resin since it wont rot and doesnt need to be treated/painted, hose off to clean, etc.
 
Also, in case anyone is wondering why I didn't just get 3 birds... I needed to start out with at least 5 birds since I have a family of four, wanted to have extra eggs to give to friends, and NO WAY i am doing all this and still buying ANY eggs! I also rounded up in case I lost any to illness or whatever. Got them at 7 weeks of age (well, the two leghorns I added at 10 weeks of age, one week after getting the first five) and so far, so good! The original 5 are now 16 weeks and the leghorns are 20. The two leghorns started laying about 2 weeks ago. So, will be right sizing to 5 girls soon and with my hens all being high producing breeds, I should have 2-3 dozen eggs a week. Our family goes through about 1.5 dozen on average so there ya go.
 
DallasLoneStar said:
Honestly the only "turn key" coops I have seen that are really all that great are VERY expensive. I wouldn't even call them prefabs. They are like $1500+. Being in the South your girls will spend all day outside so there is less of a need for room inside the coop. Also, like you I read everything I could get my hands on, but there is no substitute for the past 3-4 months of real life chicken husbandry.

Now, a lot of prefabs are truly a joke and wouldn't even hold 2 girls comfortably, or keep them dry in a rainstorm.

So, where to go from here?

My suggestion is to get a prefab on the larger side (it will probably say for 6-8 birds which means more like 3-4 max) and get 3-4 birds. Like one with a hen house that is at least 3x4 feet. Put it on a firm foundation like pavers so it doesn't rot and to keep predators from easily digging. Have it somewhere protected from direct downpours and use clear silicone caulk to seal it to be weathertight (your first storm will tell you quickly where to seal). You will probably have to cut out some real ventilation holes. At that point you will have a good start, and over the coming months, I think you will constantly learn and come up with ideas on what you REALLY need. And, building a coop from scratch (or buying a small shed and converting) will start to feel much more doable as you learn what your girls need and also what works in YOUR space/yard, YOUR climate, etc. That is where I am at now. I have 7 girls in an XL prefab. They only sleep and lay in there. The "yard" is 6x30 feet where they hang out during the day, and it has full shade in the afternoon (KEY for hot climates). It is on the side of my house so I have certain limitations (property line / fence is 6 feet from side of house, i am in the city of Dallas). I covered the "run" so they have an outside space when it is raining so its almost like the whole run is sort of the coop in a way. My PVC feeder is mounted on the outside and the elbows come into the run, so it doesn't take up floor space either. It is a little tight right now but I am rehoming two in a month or so when my friend finishes her coop. Honestly it seems more tight in the run even though its larger, which is why I let them out right at sunrise. The coop looks small on the outside, but inside everyone seems to have plenty of room and then some to move around / roost.

I think a lot of the really aggressive anti-prefab opinions on here turn people off. For me, I needed a prefab to get the ball rolling, did a good job at installing it on a strong foundation and improved weatherproofing and ventilation. That allowed me to get my feet wet without spending thousands. I now feel like I know enough to build my own or do a conversion. I am currently on the craigslist / facebook lookout for a 6ft wide shed that will fit in the end of my side yard to be the starting point for my build. But, the girls are in good shape for now. I DO however find that keeping a dense population of hens requires me to scoop the coop and run daily or the poop builds up quick. Also no way I could do "deep litter" as it would just be "deep poop" haha. I use granulated PDZ and sand mix in the coop, and sand in the run inside the 4-5" high pavers. I also have hens all the same age. Making choices like that (and others, see below) minimize ammonia buildup and flock conflict in a small space.

This is what I have, but like I said its been modified a bit. https://www.walmart.com/ip/SummerHawk-Ranch-Vintage-Red-XL-Barn-Chicken-Coop/922179146
I have hesitated even posting this because people are always so adamant about the 4 sq ft per bird thing, but it works for me and my girls are happy and healthy. However I think that is because I truly have the full square footage available (NOTHING on the ground in the run or the floor of the coop), and I let them out at sunrise every morning (by 5:45am). A couple times I did sleep in until 7 or so, and they seemed to have been pissy with each other. Also, I deliberately got birds that are on the small side of large fowl for the most part (easter eggers, leghorns, etc). And like I said, for the long term 7 is probably too crowded. But I think i will be fine with 5, and sometime in the next year I would like to do a custom shed conversion and now feel knowledgeable enough to do so. Something 5-6 feet wide and 4-6 feet deep would be perfect. I would like to use resin since it wont rot and doesnt need to be treated/painted, hose off to clean, etc.
Click to expand...

I was looking at that coop myself at one time.. Hubby is real good with building things and like you, he could add to a “starter” coop. I don’t have a lot of yard space, as I am surrounded by woods.. I do have a little patch of woods on front/side of my house and that is where Lucy hangs out in. It has a clearing where I could put a coop in and was thinking about fencing in the small wooded area where she could roam freely. I would have an area where she could get out of the weather. I have a ton of ideas in my head, just not sure which way to go.. people on here gave me great advice, including you.. and I do appreciate the time you took to post.
 
I think Lucy and a friend would be fine. But imo, the money you will spend for that coop you could put into slightly better supplies and make your own better quality/longer life coop. Though it is cute! You pay for the ease and the cute. Not the stability or quality. 4 8' treated 4x4s, a few 2x4s and some 1/2" plywood would make the same thing basically. Then just coop safe paint and a roll of wire/hardware cloth and you are done. The rest is just to make it nice to look at for the owner. Check out the forum here for coop and runs. Tons of ideas. And I mean tons! For incredibly simple to wildly fancy. I am not a builder but making a box is fairly easy and will outlast a store-bought coop. Just my preference though.
 

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