Help with cheap/easy coop

[Zeebraore]

Right now I have 3 silkie mixed chicks, I was planning to buy a coop off amazon but the reviews all say they're much too small. Right now, I don't plan to get anymore chickens.

I plan to let them loose during the day and put away at night.

I can get wood pallets for free and have some left over floor. Vinyl.

This would be my first big project.

These are the premade houses I've saved that I've considered, lmk what you think.

https://www.wayfair.com/pet/pdp/tucker-murphy-pet-denzel-wooden-pet-house-w003026661.html

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07M9K3X9...abc_JTAJKKX4J0PFHCDYD576?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08DDHXWR...abc_SY53QW5QEDXR9ZMCPDDF?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Aapomp831]

All pre-fab coops are terrible. I would save your money and build your own - we did ours for $250 (it holds 8 birds comfortably, and we have since built 3 more identical ones and attached them). My husband downloaded plans online (he paid about $15 for them), went to Lowe’s and built it in a day

 

[Aapomp831]

And now that I’ve had an opportunity to take an updated pic, this is what it looks like now.... 30 feet long, each coop approx. $250 so $1000 for a coop that can easily house 50 birds. First pic is of a pre fab coop we bought originally when we didn’t know any better.... stupid thing also cost $250 and you couldn’t even humanely fit 3 bantams in there.... it’s now a playhouse for chicks.

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC! Where, in general, are you located? Climate matters, especially in regards to housing.

Rules of Thumb in re: Prefab Coops,

• If it looks like a dollhouse it's only suitable for toy chickens.
• If it's measured in inches instead of feet it's too small.
• If your walk-in closet is larger than the coop-run combo you're thinking of buying think carefully about whether you have an utterly awesome closet or are looking at a seriously undersized chicken coop.
• If it has more nestboxes than the number of chickens it can legitimately hold the designer knew nothing about chickens' actual needs and it probably has other design flaws too.

The Usual Guidelines

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop,
• 10 square feet in the run,
• 1 linear foot of roost,
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

So, for a flock of 3 you need:

• 12 square feet in the coop -- 3x4
• 30 square feet in the run -- 4x8
• 3 feet of roost -- but since you have Silkies, who don't roost, make that sleeping space instead
• 3 square feet of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation.

If your Silkies are the usual bantams, you can fit a few more into these numbers, but since lumber comes in multiples of 4 feet and you will want to avoid waste with today's high prices, a 4x4 coop is probably more practical (and takes less cutting), than a 3x4 coop.

You might want to look at this build I just made as an outdoor brooder for some scrap-build inspiration: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/run-to-outdoor-brooder-conversion.76634/

This coop is prettier and sturdier but would take the assistance of someone with some building experience: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-little-monitor-coop.76275/

I could make some other suggestions after you tell me what kind of climate you're working with.

Additionally, I'd like to note that since Silkies are small, can't fly, and have obstructed vision they are EXTREMELY vulnerable to predation when free-ranged. You will probably want to consider a fully-enclosed run for when you can't be right there with them.