Country Coops in Birmingham AL

[maybaby45]

Anyone ever ordered from Country Coops in Birmingham AL? He only delivers in a certain radius from B'ham. Everything is pressure treated, wired for electricity, water just has to be hooked up. I don't think I could make anything myself this nice and I know I'd spend more on it than he charges because I'd mess up so much.

http://countrycoops.com/index.htm

 

[maybaby45]

So does anyone have any opinions on the coop? I like the looks and it seems OK but I've never had a coop (our chickens roosted in trees in a pen when I was a child) so I'm not sure it's not enough or too much.

 

[HighStreetCoop]

They seem very expensive to me (and I say that as someone who bought a coop from a very similar place) and they are GREATLY exaggerating their capacity. For example, the smallest one lists its footprint as 8'x4' (32 sq feet). Which means it can hold THREE chickens, not 10. The two largest ones which are roughly the size of mine can hold a max of SIX-SEVEN chickens. No way are you getting 20+ birds in there.

The one in my signature cost me $1300 including delivery and set up. It's 11' x 5'. And even with more than 10 sq ft per bird, it's not "roomy" for the five I have. It's adequate as long as they get free range time, too.

 

[21hens-incharge]

It is cute but very overpriced IMO. Most premade coop places will state an unrealistic number can be housed in them. I have found a lot of them include the nest boxes in the square footage measurement.
You could buy a shed from Home Depot that is much larger for far less than that. You would have lots of money left over for a nice large run too.

http://www.homedepot.com/b/Storage-...ded/Ntt-wood+sheds?Ns=P_REP_PRC_MODE|0&NCNI-5

I actually have the Princeton one in my backyard. I did beef up some of the framing. It was easy enough to build with 2 people. I do have a lot of building experience though so that comes into play.
Our total cost since floor and shingles are not included was roughly 1100.

Have you looked on Craigs List?

 

[maybaby45]

Thanks! I plan on free ranging and only getting 4. I guess I could go back to buying a 6x8 shed for 220.00 and adding roosts, nesting boxes, and mesh screen.

I like the look of your coop!

 

[21hens-incharge]

If you plan on only getting 4 then the 6x8 is a very nice size. You would have room for around 10 with that.

Your 4 would not mind the extra room and you could add a few if you wanted to.

 

[maybaby45]

I found the 6x8 on Amazon and it has double doors so I could screen that area and put some ventilation holes up near the roof and be good to go. With the money I save I could build a run, maybe.

 

[21hens-incharge]

You could build a super sized covered run with the money you would be saving. 4x4 posts are about 16 dollars at Home Depot. Hardware cloth is costly but would end up in your budget if you still plan on spending that much.
I built my coop and run for about 1200. I did reuse the chain link fencing and top rail from some we took down. My coop is 8x14 and has 11 windows in it. I have gutters and a metal roof. (Roofing was a reuse but I did buy it in order to reuse it)
Just a pic of what I did in case you need ideas.


My coop has 2x4 framing and 2x6 roof trusses. I did the floor with 2x8 treated lumber and 3/4 inch plywood. It was more expensive that way but also sturdier.
If you are spending 300 on the coop you could do a really nice run.
My run is 16x20 by the way.