Costs for pen & coop

[keeperofthechickens]

The money thrown into building a coop and fence can get high quickly, but remember it is mostly a one time cost.

I spent around $300 for materials for my 16"x24" enclosed run, but I just bought all the materials at Menards and had it delivered.

 

[arwmommy]

We are having this one built for us by my husband's friend who is a contractor. He gets killer prices on lumber because he builds houses for a living and gets contrator's pricing. However, even though it says that this coop/run is only supposed to cost $350 for new materials, we are at about twice that--- at contrator's pricing!!! Our friend says that is because the guy who designed and sells these plans lives in the midwest (wisconsin??) and we are in So. California. *sigh*

Granted, this is a small coop (4-5 standards or 10 bantams max--- it is 4'x8' total-- house is 2'x4'), but we have 6 bantams right now and we are urban, so this is the perfect size for us (right now--- until we buy that ranch in a few years--- then this thing is going on ebay!!

)

 

[Jsto]

We've been incredibly lucky thus far, although the coop/run isn't finished yet

We've framed the entire thing and have only spent $20 on a few brand new 2x4s for the roof trusses. We've had good luck at construction sites. We made out like bandits at a site where they were making a formed concrete building. They use brand new 2x4s to hold it up and then toss them away. See, it's more expensive for them to haul the materials away than to just dump them. We got there and just asked, leaving with a trailer-full of 2x4s. Now, we weren't able to use it all, but that's the price you pay for free wood I suppose! Usually they are more than willing to let you make off with their scraps because it saves them time and money.

It's been nice because now we can be a bit extravagant and get the siding that matches the house. We were also able to make an 8x8 coop rather than the much smaller one we were plannning. 8x8 for 5 birds?!?! Hmmm, looks like we'll have to expand the flock. Oh darn

Not looking forward to the cost of the run, though. We will be free ranging, so it doesn't have to be incredibly large, but still. Hardware cloth is not cheap.

 

[jag]

It sure does add up! We spent $1000 *cough, cough* at Home Depot and had it delivered (woo hoo, they're bringing it today!)

But, it's funny that you guys bring up husbands glorifying the project. Mine certainly did! We had to have two gates so he can fit the tractor in there and snowblow the pen in the winter, ya know!

Here's the breakdown for all you out there getting ready to go shopping for this stuff...try and save you the sticker shock!

7 sheets foam insulation @ $27+ each
7 sheets plywood @ $13+ each
50' Roll Green Chain Link Fence $119.00
2 Green Chain Link Walk Gates @ $49 each
Latch & Hinges for fence & gate (not sure what those all cost)
11 Posts @ $9.00 each
1 Post Driver $19+
2 wrought iron door latches/locks @ $19+ each
3 rolls 4' harware cloth @ $39+ each
3 rolls 2' hardware cloth @ $19+ each
1 Screen Door (for inside) @ $19+
Snips - not sure, but of course DH grabbed a really nice pair.

Small list, big bill!

 

[MissPrissy]

Way too much!!

 

[jag]

Glad I'm not alone!

You guys rock!

 

[WoodlandWoman]

I was talking to my husband about the idea of building a light-weight chicken tractor for use in warm weather. That way, I could have a few chickens by the patio, to visit with, while I have a cup of coffee in the morning. They'd also be easier to take care of. I don't get around very well, now, and the big coop is farther away, so I though this might be an interesting idea. The thing is, for me to move it on my own, it would have to be very light-weight.

Well, you should hear the things he had to say after giving this some thought for a day or two! Holy Smokes! I don't know how we would ever move it. He tried to say he could move it every few days with the lawn tractor, but I'm thinking it would be a better job for the big diesel pick-up, by the time he got done!

He is the King of Over-Building! Although, I think he's got some stiff competition on this board. Maybe we'll have to have a contest for this, some day. He loves me very much, maybe the strength of his building is one of his ways of showing that. What a guy...

(Look for a most expensive and heavy chicken tractor thread in the future!)

 

[schmoo]

If we wouldn't have had a barn and extra materials on hand I probably wouldn't have a coop......I can only imagine the cost. We don't have alot of extra $

We have a barn already, so we made a coop in the lower portion where they used to have other animals (10 years ago) we had to insulate and put up plywood over it. Then we had extra rolls of fencing and fence posts for the run. Even with all those supplies on hand I still had to purchase the following-

Feeder and waterer
poultry netting for around chain link fence
cement to cement posts in for fence
light bulbs for warming and light fixture
deer netting for over the top of the run

I'd say about $100.00 and we had 90% of the materials already. We were very fortunate. My husband kept reminding of that fact, because I used to bug him about all the "junk" he kept collecting. I told him I will never say anything about his collecting again.

Its been totally worth it already and the babies are only 2 weeks old. Just imagine when they give us their precious eggs

 

[tiffanyh]

Geez, I got lucky. I used a cahin link run already in place and a very large oversized dog house my father had built for his two dogs, so although at one point all of it cost money, by the time I got to it for the ladies, it was free. Although I did have to by wire for the top and bottom....

I only have 4 chickens (with a few morre hatching soon). Its small enough that I have no point put to maintain and control myself. That and the 4 goats and 4 rabbits on my small center of town under an acre plot!

 

[Barnyard Dawg]

I spent approximately $100. I used mostly dunnage for its construction along with wire and wood from neighborhood cleanups. For the floor I used two heavy-duty skids so the floor is raised and two rubber floor mats I had that weren’t being used. All I needed to buy was a couple pieces of plywood and screws, I use the same paint I use for my house an the tar paper and a roofing roll that was given to me along with the metal edging from when I had my home re-roofed.