How much did you spend building your coop/run?

[katdam]

mine was FREEEEE!!!!!! built it myself..it's 8x5...pallets were free..took them apart..reassembled to build the coop...already had the nails from a previous project....tin for the roof was from a previous project...chain link and chicken wire were given to us for the run...not for sure how big the run is, still adding on to it...pallets for floor of the coop with linolium on it that was given to us...2 or 3 inches of sand on the linolium..that did cost me 20.00..i got enough sand to last me several years...just have to buy the paint and it'll be done...i have to say i am very proud of myself for doing this myself!!!!

 

[Tigerjane]

Quote:
Love it!

 

[burquechick]

I bought a pre-built 4' x 4' coop for $400, then we added and added to the whole thing to get 8' x 8' run, brooder space, etc. All that couldn't have cost more than $300. So I'd say $700 total. I think the cost really depends on how you go about the whole thing though. We probably could've spent less if we made the coop ourselves. All the materials were new from Home Depot, or could be purchased from Home Depot.

 

[Whitewater]

Ours is 7'x5 with an enclosed run (see The Garden Coop for the plans we used, though we have some significant modifications!!) and because we wanted to build Coop Knox (to keep human predators away! Also dogs and alley cats) we spent some serious $$ to upgrade to hardware cloth and a totally enclosed run and so on. The coop/run is big enough for 4 hens but right now we only have 3 -- and that's enough, they're HUGE birds.

On the other hand, I found most of our building materials second-hand and for HUGE discounts from Craigslist. For example, we bought approximately 125-150 board feet of used cedar siding, painted on one side with exterior white paint in many coats . . . for $20. We have enough siding left over to build a big compost bin now!

In total, our coop cost us somewhere around $375, because we found most of our materials free or pretty cheap. If we'd had to buy everything totally brand new from Home Depot or somewhere (and if we'd had to buy shingles and all that), we could easily have spent $1000.

(search this section of the website for my name and you should find pictures of our coop)


Whitewater

 

[pontoosuc]

we hemmed an hawed at the pre-fab chicken houses. expensive and still have to put on an enclosure, and you are limited to how many chickens you can house (really, did I say that?)

So we decided we needed a dual purpose building so purchased a "shed" 10'x16' and it could be used as a chicken house and as firewood storage.

We don't have leftover building materials, don't have any outbuildings, etc.
We have a new house and some acreage. But we really like our chickens. The outdoor run is completely enclosed in 1'x1" welded wire,
buried 12", 8' covered, another 8" open (under wire).

> $3,000.00

and so far the girls haven't yet asked for the jacuzzi!

 

[undergroundchickens]

I couldn't talk my DH into letting me build my own coop. We went out and tried to find a small shed I could convert. All the sheds we could find were way to big and pricey. After a little while my DH just went and purchased me a coop for $630.00 as a surprise. It is well built but it is only 5 ft by 4 feet...with one of those feet as the nest box area. Really only a 5x3 foot area. I feel I could have built one for less with more space...

We then purchased 4 dog panels and used them and some lumbar to build a run along our fence that is 4 feet by 24 feet. After the roofing tiles and lumbar I would bet it was well over $400.00 to finish it up and I still need to stain that lumbar that is exposed. All in all I sure ended up spending a LOT more money than I could ever have imagined. I thought I was starting a fairly cheap hobby but am quite surprised by the actual cost.

So total for coop and run....$1,030.00.

Not near what some people pay for a nice coop and run but that was a lot for my budget.

So much for a simple and cheap hobby.

 

[Mark & Nique]

Howdy,

Our tractor (or ark) is based upon the following design: http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/better-homes-gardens/article/-/5829854/chicken-coop/

We spent about $115 ttl (most of it on 1/2 steel mesh to enclose the tractor's bottom and sides). I pulled apart discarded pallets for scrap wood to save $.

I changed the design to fit our needs, but would have made it bigger as that is our next move. Overall, I would recommend being generous with your girls' space. Give them as much room as you can!

Good luck!

 

[Baymule]

I am still working on mine, but almost done. I scrounged all the lumber and plywood, plus the tin for the roof. I purchased 12' 4x4's for corner posts, nails, hardware cloth, and paid $60 to a young man to help me the first day to set the posts, put up the rafters and tin. So far I have spent about $350 total. I have to hang my door, put up a few more pieces of wire and paint. It is 8'x7' . I got a 5 gallon bucket of Lowes best paint that retailed for $160 for $50, (an oops, marked down) plus got a $20 mail in rebate at the cash register. WOOHOO!! I am having a great time building this and have built it sturdy enough to make a lawnmower shed out of later if I want to. It has a dirt floor, will add a run later. I have a garage full of lumber. Good places to look are the lumber stores cull racks, pallets, shipping crates and just talk to people, you would be surprised what they want to get rid of. Don't be in a hurry and just have fun with it.

 

[silkieowner]

We spent about $500 dollars building our coops/run not bad if i say so myself consdering here in australia for a tiny one costs just the same.

 

[Gypsi]

I did have a pile of 2x4's and 2x6's sitting around my garage that needed used up, salvaged from a building demolition a couple of years ago. That helped. I had a 4x4 piece of 1 1/4" sub-flooring that had been in the shed for a couple of years. and I had tin for roofing stacked up against my back fence.

Against much advice that said make it bigger, I designed the project around existing materials so my main expenses were chicken wire, hardware cloth, 2x4 fencing, 2 sheets of 3/8 plywood, screws, nails, U nails for the 2x4 fencing and paint. $250 to 300 in materials, $50 in labor when I got a helper out here to get the door on and 2x4 fencing up. My run is 8 x 12, with a 4x8 section at one end covered, my coop is 4 ft x 5 ft, 3 ft tall, with 2 ft legs so the chickens can get under it for more shade. I still need a waterproof roofing material that reflects heat for one side of the roof, the peak and roof under the tin covered side have old pond liner on them. (I can't cut big tin, and I don't like cutting my head on sharp corners so that is strictly OUT.)
And part of the perches are old shovel handles. But the birds are doing well.