How to find the right coop if you can't build it?

[Henway Park]

Hello everyone! I'm still new to the forum and even newer to chickens (I don't have any yet)! I want to start out with 6-8 chickens but I would like the coop to be big, sturdy, and secure enough to let me expand the flock to 12-15 in a couple years if all goes well.

I am so impressed by all of you who have designed and built your own coops. Unfortunately, my husband and I aren't builders. Finding the right coop is probably going to be our biggest hurdle. I was excited to find a local man who sells BIG sturdy coops. I was disheartened when I saw a picture of the trailer he uses for delivery and realized that it would be impossible to get the trailer to the spot I want in our backyard. I could put it in our field (we have 5 acres) but I'd kind of like to keep it closer to the house. So unless I can find a local person to build me a coop for a price I can afford, it looks like I'm going to have to get a kit (that is simple and quick to assemble) or perhaps buy something fully assembled with wheels I can push into the yard from the road.

What do you all think of this one from https://overezchickencoop.com/product/large-over-ez-chicken-coop/

View attachment 1730399

It is 6 feet long x 5 feet wide and 6 feet high. I wish it was a couple feet longer. I would also purchase the wheels and the large run (6 ft W x 16' ft L x 6' ft H).

View attachment 1730400

Here is the other one I'm looking at from mypetchicken.com

View attachment 1730402
It is 8 ft L x 5 ft W x 8 ft H. I'd also get the optional run (8 ft L x 6 ft H). This coop is delivered fully assembled on a trailer but if it had wheels and was dropped off in the driveway, I could just push it into the backyard...right?

Do either of the above seem like viable choices or should I keep looking for someone local to build one for us? How many chickens do you think these coops could realistically house? I would like the chickens to free range some of the time, but not all day long every day (I worry about the hawks I see perched in our trees every so often, and we have dogs).

Thank you to everyone who kept reading this far. Any advice, small or large, is very welcome!

 

[Henway Park]

I bought a kit from ez clean coops in the Midwest. My daughter and I assembled it eight years ago and it has held up great. I made a couple of simple modifications and can do a straw and litter change in about 10 minutes. I also expanded the run. One suggestion for any coop, before you build it dig out the footprint plus a foot on all sides, lay down a rustproof wire mesh, cover with the dirt you dug out. This will keep predators and vermin from tunneling in and adds enormous security. It is very difficult to do after the coop is built, but very easy before.

 

[miaublau]

I considered getting a coop from this company https://carolinacoops.com but they were a little out of my price range. Quite beautiful and well made though!

I ended up getting this one from Wayfair https://www.wayfair.com/pet/pdp/inn...-chicken-coop-with-roosting-bar-inpe1042.html and it got delivered today, so I can't speak to how I like it, but it did have great reviews and features I liked. I plan to reinforce it and change a few things.

 

[CuriousQueen]

My small coop was purchased from a shed company. It is sturdy! Mine is coop 6x6 with an attached small covered pen of 6 x6 so total is 6x12 building. The delivery guy brought it on a trailer with a ramp that has rollers. So he slid it off of the truck then used a skid lift (like in warehouses) and moved it to where I wanted it. The bottom of the coop has really thick boards (skids) so it didn’t get damaged at all. I used a jigsaw to cut extra ventilation with vents, and a large one on the back wall. I used the cut out wood to make a hinged door that can be closed in winter but open in summer for cooling.
I mention all of this because your delivery guy might can get your building in. Discuss ventilation needs with builder if you can’t make extra yourself.
My second coop is an old shed, I am redoing myself. It is habitable but I’m still tweaking that one.
To add extra outside pen space to my small coop I attached dog kennel panels to the pen part. They free range sometimes too. A nice pen area is handy for when you want to keep them up a couple of days after spotting a hawk etc.
Don’t put your coop too far away. You will want to go out to gather eggs, feed, water, which you might have to haul. Will your water freeze in winter? Is so you either want to make sure it doesn’t, or will haul water a couple of times a day. You will needing bedding/litter and need to dispose of used.
I would rather have a smaller coop and fewer chicken closers than more too far away. (My preference)

 

[seminolewind]

I lived in Florida and had no coop. I worried more about the heat than the cold. Covered pens were good. Now I'm in Indiana and my chickens get totally enclosed in the winter. Think about your weather. My pens were in the shade all day-no panting. That was important.

If you're going to spend that much money, Maybe you should think about a shed possibly even from Lowe's etc. Unless you have to be "chicken stylish". The good thing about sheds is that they are tall enough for you to walk in to. I've done short coops, pen underneath, low 5 foot pens and I can tell you I got very tired of bending, getting on my knees or whacking my head against a ceiling beam. I would never get another coop I can't walk into . You can design the inside of a shed as you like with the egg nests and roosts. You would save a lot of money you could spend on something else.

My current coop has the people door in the front that can be left open with a hardware cloth screen and 2 chicken doors. Ventilation is important-put hardware cloth over the windows.
I've gone thru 3 chicken coops that looked real cute but I got so aggravated from the height that they were eventually chopped up for something else. So, stuff to think about.

 

[kwhites634]

Hello everyone! I'm still new to the forum and even newer to chickens (I don't have any yet)! I want to start out with 6-8 chickens but I would like the coop to be big, sturdy, and secure enough to let me expand the flock to 12-15 in a couple years if all goes well.

I am so impressed by all of you who have designed and built your own coops. Unfortunately, my husband and I aren't builders. Finding the right coop is probably going to be our biggest hurdle. I was excited to find a local man who sells BIG sturdy coops. I was disheartened when I saw a picture of the trailer he uses for delivery and realized that it would be impossible to get the trailer to the spot I want in our backyard. I could put it in our field (we have 5 acres) but I'd kind of like to keep it closer to the house. So unless I can find a local person to build me a coop for a price I can afford, it looks like I'm going to have to get a kit (that is simple and quick to assemble) or perhaps buy something fully assembled with wheels I can push into the yard from the road.

What do you all think of this one from https://overezchickencoop.com/product/large-over-ez-chicken-coop/

View attachment 1730399

It is 6 feet long x 5 feet wide and 6 feet high. I wish it was a couple feet longer. I would also purchase the wheels and the large run (6 ft W x 16' ft L x 6' ft H).

View attachment 1730400

Here is the other one I'm looking at from mypetchicken.com

View attachment 1730402
It is 8 ft L x 5 ft W x 8 ft H. I'd also get the optional run (8 ft L x 6 ft H). This coop is delivered fully assembled on a trailer but if it had wheels and was dropped off in the driveway, I could just push it into the backyard...right?

Do either of the above seem like viable choices or should I keep looking for someone local to build one for us? How many chickens do you think these coops could realistically house? I would like the chickens to free range some of the time, but not all day long every day (I worry about the hawks I see perched in our trees every so often, and we have dogs).

Thank you to everyone who kept reading this far. Any advice, small or large, is very welcome!

Two words: HOOP COOP. Your accountant will love you.

 

[Don P]

It may just be my opinion but I like the egg door to be on the back side of the egg box and not the top. This way it can flop down out of your way so you are not holding it or having to hook it up and also the water rain etc stays out better. The hinge on the top opening ones tend to leak. If anyone has a great idea for material to cover the hinge space that lasts let me know. I have tried everything I can find nothing lasts.

Also I built my egg box on the inside of the coop with the drop down door on the wall so it is flat and does not stick out into the way or the rain. Love this the best of all and stays warmer.

 

[Ms Clucky]

Buy a storage shed and just build roosts and nests in it. That's what we did.

 

[TwoShepherds]

Didn't notice where you live, but I got an excellent coop from Tucker's Coops in Phoenixville, PA. They have YouTube videos, and one is of them placing a coop in a very challenging sitution.

The coop was very well-built, insulated ceiling, metal roof, thick wood, glassboard floor, etc. I had purchased a coop from Tucker for my last house, and am getting a new one at the house I moved to last year. (It comes in two weeks.)

Thanks! I am in Tennessee. They look like they ship nationwide, I'll send them an email and try to find out if the shipping costs would push it out of my price range. They have some bigger options, which is nice, though some are out of my budget. The 6 x 10 quaker style appeals to me if I can afford it on top of the price of constructing a run and the shipping. I've decided that I want to put the coop within our existing fence even if that means getting a smaller coop and fewer chickens. Thanks again, I will probably be in contact with them soon.

 

[TwoShepherds]

I bought a kit from ez clean coops in the Midwest. My daughter and I assembled it eight years ago and it has held up great. I made a couple of simple modifications and can do a straw and litter change in about 10 minutes. I also expanded the run. One suggestion for any coop, before you build it dig out the footprint plus a foot on all sides, lay down a rustproof wire mesh, cover with the dirt you dug out. This will keep predators and vermin from tunneling in and adds enormous security. It is very difficult to do after the coop is built, but very easy before.

Thanks, I'll see if I can find their website. A fast clean up sounds like a good idea to me, as does the wire mesh in the bottom!