I Don't Understand Coop Pricing, I Really Don't

[calista]

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THAT IS INCREDIBLE!!!

So what does a regular person (without a contractor's license) building a coop DO besides CL and Freecycle and wood pallets to score reasonably priced lumber in this market?

I know, make a deal to disassemble some of your local bank's foreclosure listings and offer them free eggs FOR LIFE.

 

[The Chicken Lady]

It depends on the kind of lumber you're using, though, and where you live. Treated wood is more expensive. Materials that are shipped in from somewhere else are also going to be more expensive. That Hampton coop you posted has 30-year housing shingles on it. The coop is going to rot out from beneath the roof before the roof goes bad. That's a bit of overkill for a coop that small, IMHO. It's not *wrong* to have that on a coop, it's just not necessary for everyone.

If you have a Habitat for Humanity resale store near you, you might be able to find materials. Sometimes, lumber stores have a discount area for pieces that are not exactly perfect. You might ask at your local store for something like that.

 

[UrbanRecycler]

Ha ha I have been lurking on here for a long time now. I was really surprised to see my coop being discussed, (first one, the pink one). To answer why I priced it that way was, that was how much my car insurance cost me.

 

[sharol]

That's where we ended up. I finally bought a Hen Hoop from Murray's Hen Hoops in Missouri. It was within driving range, it is moderately portable (with our 4 wheeler pulling it), it is very secure (the coop part), and the run part is quite well built. Yes, it was expensive, but when I asked a local builder what it would cost to build a similar one with lighter (read less secure in wind) materials, he said it would be more than the finished Hoop.

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[Sonoran Silkies]

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Chances are that your $500 extimate does not include labor. If you billed $10 per manhour (approximate minimum wage), what would the cost be? Realize that carpenters make considerably more than minimum wage.

 

[burquechick]

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Hahaha!! Too cool!

 

[aprophet]

Quote:

THAT IS INCREDIBLE!!!

So what does a regular person (without a contractor's license) building a coop DO besides CL and Freecycle and wood pallets to score reasonably priced lumber in this market?

I know, make a deal to disassemble some of your local bank's foreclosure listings and offer them free eggs FOR LIFE.

I have found free materials a coupla times now on CL but I have also watched folks tear out there living room or garage and I stopped and told them I would haul off the old stuff I have a friend who burns wood in his shop there was some waste but I have built 3 different coops for my nice and a coupla friends lowes or home depot or menards has good books on building sheds it really is not hard

 

[downstownlady]

So far using new materials and recycled/scrap/other project leftovers we have spent $250.00. But, in sweat equity...mainly my hubby's, I'd estimate it to be well over $1000.00. The finished (and, we're not quite there yet, but getting closer) size will be 16' x 18' fully enclosed coop with a 4' x 6' partially closed hen house w/4 xtra large nest boxes and 3 roosting bars. I estimate this is going to cost us a small fortune and worth it to me. So I guess what I have been trying to say in a round about way is: I used to think the coops/hen houses were expensive until we started to build it. But our chickens have taught us to forage, forage, forage!!! LOL

 

[Tomhusker]

Our 4x4 coop and 8x4 attached run cost us about $300 using a combination of new lumber and Habitat for Humanity Restore purchases. Figure in the 40 hours of labor or so and you get up to some decent money. We're putting a couple of hundred more into an expansion over the next couple of weeks.

 

[crj]

looks nice, but wheres the windows?

No windows as of yet. Still looking around. They don't seem to miss them. They hear me coming every morning at 7 a.m. Yes, there are air vents.​