I want to build a coop, but I've never built anything. Need advice!

[3KillerBs]

I'm looking at picking up this coop from Lafayette, LA right now:

https://www.facebook.com/marketplac...e=marketplace_search&referral_story_type=post

It's pretty much exactly what I need.

Looks likely.

Since you are worried about predators you might consider surrounding your coop with electric poultry netting. https://www.premier1supplies.com/c/poultry-supplies/electric-netting-kits

 

[Sally PB]

The extent to which I own power tools ends at a power drill, staple gun, and hacksaw. I'm trying to find a pre-fab coop, but everything is so flimsy/expensive/wooden that it's hard to find one worth purchasing.

For future building experience, talk to friends, neighbors, or family. Someone you know knows how to do what you want to learn to do. Offer your help just for the experience. Any experience is another deposit in your knowledge bank.

 

[Happy hen lover]

For future building experience, talk to friends, neighbors, or family. Someone you know knows how to do what you want to learn to do. Offer your help just for the experience. Any experience is another deposit in your knowledge bank.

I agree with 21hens get something almost made . Remember chickens do cold a lot better than they do heat so ventilation is important. I was going to suggest craig's list for playhouse or shed to.build on to but it looks great for starters. Just predator proof it.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Honestly, you're probably right. The extent to which I own power tools ends at a power drill, staple gun, and hacksaw. I'm trying to find a pre-fab coop, but everything is so flimsy/expensive/wooden that it's hard to find one worth purchasing.

You very smart you asked look into a prefab building for that big box store and a skill saw or circular saw

 

[LizzzyJo]

If you want to go the no-wood route, I've heard of people converting used kids' playhouses. The plastic kind with the doors and all? Walk in and pretty nice. Plus, reduce, reuse, recycle

 

[CKfarm22]

Hey y'all,

As the title suggests, I need a new coop. I have my 2 15 week Mille Fleur d'Uccles in a dog crate in a pretty wide HC run, but it's just not working out. It's predator proof, but we had to put a tarp over the back to give some shade and now the ground in that area is wet, dead, and sad. It's also very inconvenient to reach into; the run is about 3 feet off the ground, and while I'm only 5'4", it's a struggle to refill the feeder, open/close the coop, etc. My other 3 standard hens (2 Red Stars and a RIR) have an Omlet Eglu mk 2 with a 12 foot run and free range all day anyway. I splurged on their coop, not planning to add any more birds to my flock, but chicken math struck, and now I am not able to do that again for these two. I would attempt to integrate them with the big girls and house everyone in the Eglu, but it seems full enough as it is with the hens, and every time I introduce the two groups outside of a hardware cloth barrier the big girls attack the little ones.

Anyway, I'd like to try my hand at building these babies a coop from scratch. I've looked at prefab coops, but they're either too expensive or too flimsy. I'd love to do a design of curved PVC with HC over it- think reinforced cattle panel hoop coop, but scaled down to use HC and PVC. I was looking at this set of designs, which would be great, but all of them have no actual enclosed coop part with nesting boxes like I would need for these chicks. We do have quite a lot of nighttime predators (raccoons, possums, coyotes) where I live, so they definitely need to be enclosed in something. I'd like to have the nesting box accessible from the outside, if possible. It's very hard, if not impossible for me to have a wood-based coop because my climate is so warm and damp. Wood coops start rotting in about a year, which is not ideal, seeing as how these chicks are very young and I plan to keep them for their full lives.

If I was to get very ambitious and have lots of free time and unlimited helpers (which I don't), I'd build a walk-in PVC run with a smaller coop inside. If there's any simple, easy way to do this, I'm all ears.

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: Treat me like an idiot that has never set foot in a Home Depot. (That's a lie. I buy plants there.) But seriously, if you start going on about joists and whatnot I will be over here like

Please be kind, I regret not having any experience, but you gotta start somewhere.

TIA!

I also had no experience with building a chicken coop, this was my first time ever trying. Although my coop needs some work it did turn out exactly how i wanted. With the price of lumber right now it might be difficult. But i sketched how i wanted it and the dimensions. Right now my coop is around 4’x6’ with the height of about 5’. We ended up using 2x4s, plywood and some 1x1s for roof support, with pallet wood protecting the outside of the coop. We did a slanted roof so rain water would slide off. We wanted a space underneath the coop so the chickens had a place to get away from sun, or rain when they are in their run. We made the coop door big enough so it was easier to clean the coop out too. If you wanted and still need help, i could possibly draw you something up. I will attach photos of what our coop and run looks like and hopefully this gives you an idea!

 

[topochico225]

Heading to Lafayette today to pick up the coop!!

 

[topochico225]

Got it It's hanging out by about a foot from the truck bed, but it's ratchet strapped. Very sturdy, beautiful, and perfect!

Will post pics once I'm home

 

[topochico225]

Here it is!

It's got these flimsy latches on it that I'm going to replace with more predator proof ones. There's also ample ventilation that's under the slanted board on the coop part. The lid of the coop is quite heavy, though. I'm going to paint the two wood panels on the roof of the coop at either end for decorative reasons and to seal them. DB is mowing tomorrow, so he had me put it on one of the more sparse parts of the yard so he doesn't have to move it. Can you see the patch where the Eglu used to be? And yes, I did pick up their waterer after they spilled it

 

[CKfarm22]

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Here it is!

It's got these flimsy latches on it that I'm going to replace with more predator proof ones. There's also ample ventilation that's under the slanted board on the coop part. The lid of the coop is quite heavy, though. I'm going to paint the two wood panels on the roof of the coop at either end for decorative reasons and to seal them. DB is mowing tomorrow, so he had me put it on one of the more sparse parts of the yard so he doesn't have to move it. Can you see the patch where the Eglu used to be? And yes, I did pick up their waterer after they spilled it

That’s quite small?