msmeg26
Chirping
Cheap cheap option would be the cattle panel route if you have the space!
I was looking at the low cost and no previous building experience. It is a viable option.....but is twice as big as the OP would like.
I bought "horse panels" ... 5' tall, by 16' long, and all 4" squares ... I used bolt cutters to snip it where I wanted it cut ... they bend easily, and could make a real narrow tall run/coop, or cut a couple of feet off one end, to make it shorter ...
If OP went with tall ... it probably would only be 7' tall in the center ... and 5' wide ... so 5X10 ... put an elevated coop inside at one end ...
If OP went with tall ... it probably would only be 7' tall in the center ... and 5' wide ... so 5X10 ... put an elevated coop inside at one end ...
The problem is I think the people on this site have completely different views on keeping chickens depending on where they live, people on massive patches of land or farmsteads can keep chickens on massive areas of grass and have huge coops. But people in the city have to try and work with what they have and try and keep chickens but also having to worry about the welfare of the chickens, I am not stupid enough to keep 5 or more chickens in my small coop because I know that it wont be good for the chickens health but at the same time I want to keep at least a few chickens (around 3 or 4). Of course when I go to get chickens I look at the life they were having before, If they were flying around and having a great time I would not buy them. But if they were in a small cramped coop wanting to be let out I will get them knowing I will be offering a better life to them than before.
So in terms of coop size it is very hard for city dwellers and people on farms to see eye to eye
It may not be a case of stupidity ... but lots of first time chicken owners are just uneducated in regards to chicken keeping, and trust the sale personal at the store, which pretty much just repeat what the manufacturers say ... many, many examples on this site of manufacturing claims as far as capacity of coop, which end up with cramped coops, and behavioral problems ... so we get the voice of experience here ... many times we will see someone post "yeah, I had that coop ... it was terrible, and tiny, no way will it hold as many chickens as it claims, and I still let them out to forage" ...
And what you consider cramped, the previous owner may feel is just fine ... there are more chickens kept in the world in less than two square feet of total inside space (and never see the light of day!) their entire lives, than those who get lots more ... and what you feel is fine for space, I might feel like I was rescuing your chickens buying them off you to give them a better life ...
While chickens don't mind a grass lawn (or garden for those in the UK) ... show them a patch of brush and bushes, and you will understand why they were called Jungle Fowl.
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Several people have already mentioned a hoop coop made from pre-made panels - either cattle panel (least expensive but largest holes- 50" tall so two will make an approximately 8'x8' square), hog panel (only 36" tall - will need more to make a longer coop run), horse panel (not sure of the height). Still INEXPENSIVE overall, easy to put up BY YOURSELF in a variety of styles w/ a variety of materials and can be added to for weather protection even where you are. Can be customized in SO MANY different ways. If you truly need it narrower to fit your space, you can cut the panels (that does take some math to make sure you don't cut too short, but still not difficult). As the panels are, they will hoop about 8' wide if you want them between 5.5 - 6' tall. You don't even need to have a wood base as most appear to be built with, you can use Blooie's style w/ t-posts if you can put them in the ground w/o hitting electric, water or sewer lines - then this is easy to take down or remove later, too. Bolt cutters will be one of your main tools when using any of the pre-made, welded panels.
You can start small and add panels to it to make it longer. You can use different types of wire - on the bottom part you can use hardware cloth where predators may have access & up higher go with larger wire such as 2x4" (less expensive, but some predators can get in and smaller breed or younger chickens can get out). From experience, I can tell you that the chicken wire rusts in about 3 years here in NC and the birds can rip right through it when they are bored - no predators needed. Chicken wire is not enough protection in most areas. You do not have to have a wood frame or framing or you may decide to use it for support. You can make gates and doors with cattle panel and wire instead - no saws or nails needed. Nesting boxes can be as simple as a card board box or plastic crate on the floor or up on a shelf (framed up, made with a board and blocks or purchased). Or you can buy an already made nesting box or use the coop you already have inside the hooped coop/run area - again as someone else already mentioned.
Our first 3 were made with wood framing and on previous property were towed around as tractors. Here, that didn't work plus they are HEAVY. So those became permanent. Sitting on our sand and doing DLM in them, the bases are rotting out (they were outdoor decking, pressure treated 2x4 & 2x6 boards - all 3 built between July & October 2014). As they rot, we'll raise them up on other material. The ones that I'm building now all have slightly different dimensions as they are worked around pallets (some were FREE & some were up to $5 each - but they are different weights & sizes & spaces between the boards). So each of our new 8x8' coops costs a bit different. The more wire used, the more it cost. The next one is planned to be 8'x16' and will be built with tires as the base that will be filled with the compost we pull out of the other coops - so this one will have a "garden" all around it all on its own! The only lumber that will be used in that one may be the front of the coop - base - due to not figuring out how to cut all these steel belted tires in half and i raise my coops so that i can more easily do DLM. We'll see how it goes.
Working on a coop page. I do have photo albums with lots of pictures now. They aren't fancy, I have quite a few now and am building more - as we are breeding for specific breeds of chickens and I wanted smaller groups in each "coop"/pen. They do free range and we are now building paddocks and pastures as well as will continue to use electrified poultry netting that is movable to get them in new areas and looking into the tunnels to route them to areas away from the growing garden during specific times of year. They work for us in our situations and the best part - I BUILD THEM ALONE, since my children are gone now and hubby has no interest what so ever in helping and we argue about how to do each part when we try to work together, so... IF me, a mid-50's woman with terrible, non-squaring carpenter skills can build it, so can anyone else.
Edited to add the link to photo album. If you go all the way to the bottom - you can see our build of the first hoop coop in 2014.
Coops, Cattle Panels, DLM & Sheds
Edited to add - OMG - I just inserted 2 text boxes into my google album and it completely changed the order of pictures. it will take some time getting them all back where they should be as Google is not responding to order - newest to oldest or vice versa, but is putting it all custom and I have no idea why they all moved about!
You can start small and add panels to it to make it longer. You can use different types of wire - on the bottom part you can use hardware cloth where predators may have access & up higher go with larger wire such as 2x4" (less expensive, but some predators can get in and smaller breed or younger chickens can get out). From experience, I can tell you that the chicken wire rusts in about 3 years here in NC and the birds can rip right through it when they are bored - no predators needed. Chicken wire is not enough protection in most areas. You do not have to have a wood frame or framing or you may decide to use it for support. You can make gates and doors with cattle panel and wire instead - no saws or nails needed. Nesting boxes can be as simple as a card board box or plastic crate on the floor or up on a shelf (framed up, made with a board and blocks or purchased). Or you can buy an already made nesting box or use the coop you already have inside the hooped coop/run area - again as someone else already mentioned.
Our first 3 were made with wood framing and on previous property were towed around as tractors. Here, that didn't work plus they are HEAVY. So those became permanent. Sitting on our sand and doing DLM in them, the bases are rotting out (they were outdoor decking, pressure treated 2x4 & 2x6 boards - all 3 built between July & October 2014). As they rot, we'll raise them up on other material. The ones that I'm building now all have slightly different dimensions as they are worked around pallets (some were FREE & some were up to $5 each - but they are different weights & sizes & spaces between the boards). So each of our new 8x8' coops costs a bit different. The more wire used, the more it cost. The next one is planned to be 8'x16' and will be built with tires as the base that will be filled with the compost we pull out of the other coops - so this one will have a "garden" all around it all on its own! The only lumber that will be used in that one may be the front of the coop - base - due to not figuring out how to cut all these steel belted tires in half and i raise my coops so that i can more easily do DLM. We'll see how it goes.
Working on a coop page. I do have photo albums with lots of pictures now. They aren't fancy, I have quite a few now and am building more - as we are breeding for specific breeds of chickens and I wanted smaller groups in each "coop"/pen. They do free range and we are now building paddocks and pastures as well as will continue to use electrified poultry netting that is movable to get them in new areas and looking into the tunnels to route them to areas away from the growing garden during specific times of year. They work for us in our situations and the best part - I BUILD THEM ALONE, since my children are gone now and hubby has no interest what so ever in helping and we argue about how to do each part when we try to work together, so... IF me, a mid-50's woman with terrible, non-squaring carpenter skills can build it, so can anyone else.
Edited to add the link to photo album. If you go all the way to the bottom - you can see our build of the first hoop coop in 2014.
Coops, Cattle Panels, DLM & Sheds
Edited to add - OMG - I just inserted 2 text boxes into my google album and it completely changed the order of pictures. it will take some time getting them all back where they should be as Google is not responding to order - newest to oldest or vice versa, but is putting it all custom and I have no idea why they all moved about!
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This is similar to what I bought at my local feed store, except mine was 4 gauge, not 6 ... about the same price as TCS 10 miles farther away ... 5' X 16' https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/utility-panel-5-ft-x-16-ft
This is the sheep ... only 4' tall X 16' long ... https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/feedlot-panel-sheep-goat-16-ft-l-x-48-in-h
I like the consistent 4" squares ...
This is the sheep ... only 4' tall X 16' long ... https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/feedlot-panel-sheep-goat-16-ft-l-x-48-in-h
I like the consistent 4" squares ...
It may not be a case of stupidity ... but lots of first time chicken owners are just uneducated in regards to chicken keeping, and trust the sale personal at the store, which pretty much just repeat what the manufacturers say ... many, many examples on this site of manufacturing claims as far as capacity of coop, which end up with cramped coops, and behavioral problems ... so we get the voice of experience here ... many times we will see someone post "yeah, I had that coop ... it was terrible, and tiny, no way will it hold as many chickens as it claims, and I still let them out to forage" ...
And what you consider cramped, the previous owner may feel is just fine ... there are more chickens kept in the world in less than two square feet of total inside space (and never see the light of day!) their entire lives, than those who get lots more ... and what you feel is fine for space, I might feel like I was rescuing your chickens buying them off you to give them a better life ...
While chickens don't mind a grass lawn (or garden for those in the UK) ... show them a patch of brush and bushes, and you will understand why they were called Jungle Fowl.
I guess I didn't word it right, what I meant was if I went to get chickens and they were living in less space then what I had I would be happy taking them knowing I wouldn't be downgrading the chickens quality of life. for example lets say I went to a massive field and chickens spent all their time free ranging in a huge space it wouldn't feel right taking them into a smaller space as It would essentially be a downgrade to the quality of life they had.
But at the end of the day chickens are one of the toughest animals in the planet and can adapt to any circumstance even if it was sadly 2 square feet of inside space as you said.
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