How to reinforce cheap coop

[Relleoms]

Btw, welcome to BYC!
I forgot to add, if you live in an area with snow, your flock will hole up for days, even weeks on end. There is barely enough room inside the “house” portion for them to sit let alone be active which will lead to major behavioral and health problems.

 

[Mybackyardpeepers]

Totally agree with @trumpeting_angel. You’ll spend the money now or you’ll spend it later. And you’ll have far more headaches if you spend it later! I had that coop and spent a solid $100, if not more, on hardware, paint, lumber...and after the first major thunderstorm was looking for a replacement. When the “wood” got wet, it warped and I couldn’t open doors. The roof leaked. The lower area flooded. And a strong wind would have sent it flying to Kansas. It would absolutely work great as a broody coop or sick coop in a very protected area (like inside a garage or barn) but I would seriously do yourself a favor and build a proper coop from the get-go!

Mines exactly that in my family room as a nice size brooder!

 

[Eggscaping]

Hi and welcome to the group!
That's the conundrum... we don't have our chickens yet, but I've watched many, many folks come to the board with exactly your problem...the makers of these chicken 'coops' lie. I can't believe it's all planned deception but then...perhaps it is. Perhaps none of them have ever kept chickens and ignore, for some reason, the letters or phone calls they surely must get from people who buy their products.
At any rate, there are some people here who have made pretty impressive coop/runs from scrounged/free materials such as pallets and so on. You might browse the forums and look at that.
On the other hand, I understand your problem - you bought something in good faith and now you are scratching your head, trying to figure out what to do.
Going from everything I've read here, chickens really do not need a nest box apiece. They all seem to gravitate to the same one. To enlarge what you've bought is probably your best bet...I would look at all the plans and builds here and go from there. Don't be discouraged, you CAN improve what you've bought. If you're in an area where there are lots of predators (especially the little ones like rats and weasels) you won't want any holes or cracks larger than about a dime, and remember that raccoons can and will reach through chicken wire to grab a bird and rip her head off.
Good luck, and please keep us posted.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Hi! I was in a similar situation when I got my first chicks. I built mine out of recycled fencing, Craigslist stuff, and few 2x4s and 2x3s. I spent about $250 on the coop. Biggest expenses? Hardware cloth, oops paint from Home Depot, and steel roofing panels. Everything else was old lumber, siding I got off Craigslist for cheap, and an old fence. I have an 8x4 walk in coop that's pretty darn good, if I do say so myself. Stays completely dry in rain and draft-free in wind. And it's secure. And kinda cute, though lopsided. If I could do it over, I'd have retrofitted a used shed. I've seen great coops made from old play houses, dog houses, shipping crates, pallets...

However, my run was stupid expensive, but that's because my DH insisted. I'd have been just as happy with chain link or building one myself. That's a whole story into itself.

Look into building using cheap, recycled, or repurposed stuff. You won't be sorry!

 

[Mvan42]

These coops are not that bad we had our chickens in one for over a year it worked fine and we had at one time 9 in it. The run was crowded but we let them out to free range so it wasn’t to much of a big deal. They kept themselves spaced out nicely and there was never a problem. We also moved ours around so they had fresh grass in the run.

 

[MEK1971]

Hi! Just got our first chicks a few weeks ago and am desperately trying to figure out the coop situation. We bought an inexpensive coop from tractor supply (the “homestead”) and people said the bottom of the nesting boxes was flimsy particle board that wouldn’t last very long. Any ideas on how I can protect this or replace it so it doesn’t deteriorate quickly? Paint? Flashing? Another piece of wood on top? Also seems I need to get better hardware and replace. Any other suggestions? Thank you!!!

We got this exact coop on sale at Tractor Supply! We already have a huge coop & indoor & outdoor run that we built for our 2 year old flock but we needed a place to integrate our babies so this was perfect for the price. Yes it is very flimsy but it was a great buy for what we needed and didn't have time to build. A few things we did was cover the Asphalt shingles with scraps of tin from an old barn (and I painted the tin white). it really helped strengthen it. We also did a 2x4 frame that we set the entire coop on on to because that wood would rot sitting on the ground in a week! I also, prior to assembly, did 2 coats of spray poly coat to help seal the wood (I will likely paint it eventually). Until the chicks are laying age we took more scrap pieces of tin from barn roof and laid them inside on an angle covering the nesting boxes. They should not have access to the nesting boxes until they are near laying age (you don't want them to sleep in them). When they are old enough, the thick clear plastic shelf paper is great to line the nesting boxes with (Costco has a great price for the nice clear thick roll) and then cover in the pine shavings so clean up is a breeze. If not, yes, the particle board will be trashed. We also added another roosting bar since the ones it come with are barely 2" off the ground. As soon as they are a few weeks old you can go in when they are asleep and put them on the roosting bars if they aren't already doing it on their own. btw... we have 4 seven week old chicks in ours. No way that coop holds more than 4-5 full grown birds, despite what the manufacturer says and I would say if they are going to live only in that run space (no other run or free ranging) that no more than 2 would fit be fair to share that space. Best of luck!

 

[Aunt Angus]

We got this exact coop on sale at Tractor Supply! We already have a huge coop & indoor & outdoor run that we built for our 2 year old flock but we needed a place to integrate our babies so this was perfect for the price. Yes it is very flimsy but it was a great buy for what we needed and didn't have time to build. A few things we did was cover the Asphalt shingles with scraps of tin from an old barn (and I painted the tin white). it really helped strengthen it. We also did a 2x4 frame that we set the entire coop on on to because that wood would rot sitting on the ground in a week! I also, prior to assembly, did 2 coats of spray poly coat to help seal the wood (I will likely paint it eventually). Until the chicks are laying age we took more scrap pieces of tin from barn roof and laid them inside on an angle covering the nesting boxes. They should not have access to the nesting boxes until they are near laying age (you don't want them to sleep in them). When they are old enough, the thick clear plastic shelf paper is great to line the nesting boxes with (Costco has a great price for the nice clear thick roll) and then cover in the pine shavings so clean up is a breeze. If not, yes, the particle board will be trashed. We also added another roosting bar since the ones it come with are barely 2" off the ground. As soon as they are a few weeks old you can go in when they are asleep and put them on the roosting bars if they aren't already doing it on their own. btw... we have 4 seven week old chicks in ours. No way that coop holds more than 4-5 full grown birds, despite what the manufacturer says and I would say if they are going to live only in that run space (no other run or free ranging) that no more than 2 would fit be fair to share that space. Best of luck!

Great tips/advice!

 

[Relleoms]

Don’t mean to be a debbie downer, just want your foray into chickens to be a good one!
Agree that a renovated shed is a great idea. Also search this site for hoop coops. You don’t have to spend a lot for a quality structure!

Hardware cloth will likely be your biggest expense. Amazon is much cheaper than big box stores. You’ll want to skirt any structure you have, whether you reinforce what you already have or do something different.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Don’t mean to be a debbie downer, just want your foray into chickens to be a good one!

Oh yes, this! 1000x times this! I want you to be happy and enjoy your chickens!!! They are among the best things that've happened in my little world! I hope it's the same for you!!!

That pre fab might be fine as a temporary coop, but I know I'd be so much happier with a permanent, sturdy coop. One less thing to worry about!

 

[trumpeting_angel]

+1 for hoop coops!