Let's be honest folks!!!

[harold5583]

Let's provide insight to those who are thinking of quickly building a coop. Answer these two questions...
1) How long would you say it took you to actually complete your coop, start to finish?
2) Were you able to stay within your planned budget?

My answers...
3 months
Absolutely not!!!

 

[snoggle]

1) Two weeks, but we paid a family friend to build it who is basically retired and was looking for something to do. He started it and finished it much faster than I had expected. We had unseasonably great weather which helped a lot.

2) Definitely not! It was about double what I had expected. But it ended up being a lot bigger and more elaborate too.

 

[harold5583]

If we build another coop some day in the distant future, I'm soooo gonna look for a retired guy looking for something to do. :0)

 

[jschway]

Im almost done. I thought I could get it done in a weekend... hahaha! A month later and im still working on it!

Im doing good on budget... Most of my wood came from pallets.

Im still working on it but here is where im at now. http://www.stuffmedo.blogspot.com/ Hope this is helpful to someone.

 

[srbeckys]

I so appreciate this post and am looking forward to more people weighing in. The coop is really what's keeping me from getting chickens as I just don't think I could really build something this complicated - and budget would be totally out of control because of the number of tools I'd have to buy to even consider it! I've looked at the pre-made and they're cute and marvelous but very expensive and the pre-cut kits don't look like they'd really be the kind of thing that could be insulated for Minnesota winters.

Maybe I should start looking for retired guys with tools....

 

[Othylocke]

I have been planning my chicken coop for two years. I can't count that as time since I had very little plans to build it so much as it was an intellectual "what-if". I got chickens March 14th. Since then, I have been planning on building a ten foot by 5 foot tractor. Today I decided to stop thinking of building and instead converting a shed into a coop. For me, I plan to have the chicks in the shed/coop by Wednesday. Hence my answer is so far two weeks. Planning to be 3 weeks total.

We initially wanted to spend less than 300 for everything. This of course didn't work out since the wheels alone would be something like 130 dollars. The lumber kept going up and up as I thought everything through on what I needed to have. Total cost of lumber before I said screw it? 140 dollars. Roofing was something close to 75 dollars. Siding was going to be something like 200 dollars. So after some thought, I decided to take a 300 dollar metal shed 10'x8'x6.5' and use it as the coop.


tl;dr?

1) 2 weeks so far of 3 weeks planned.

2) No way..

 

[blacktailsmom]

We didn't have an issue going overbudget, but it was exhaustively planned and executed. We used a sturdy wood fence for support on the backside and to block some of the sound from our neighbors on that side.

We did know of someone who put baby chicks into a playpen in the backyard, upset when the raccoons eat all but one of the chicks.

 

[galanie]

I so appreciate this post and am looking forward to more people weighing in. The coop is really what's keeping me from getting chickens as I just don't think I could really build something this complicated - and budget would be totally out of control because of the number of tools I'd have to buy to even consider it! I've looked at the pre-made and they're cute and marvelous but very expensive and the pre-cut kits don't look like they'd really be the kind of thing that could be insulated for Minnesota winters. 

Maybe I should start looking for retired guys with tools.... 

Once you get the tools and build the coop, you'll not only have a coop for the same or less than you'd have paid, but the expertise to build or repair more things for yourself. Build your own! Win/win. Even if it comes out less than perfect, experience is priceless.


To answer mine:

1. A week. But the main building was already built. (old shed)
2. More expensive. By the cost of a roll of wire.

There are definitely advantages to having "junk" around!

 

[Othylocke]

Junk? You mean already paid for materials on hand? Junk is the single best cost saving method I know of. I wish someone around here had "junk" wheelbarrows so I can salvage the wheels. Heck, the metal could be a nice little bird bath or duck pond if you drill the bottom and attach a valve to drain it as needed. I've tried several ways to get either salvaged building materials or construction companies leftovers with no help. You might have better luck and that will be a big money saver.

I so appreciate this post and am looking forward to more people weighing in. The coop is really what's keeping me from getting chickens as I just don't think I could really build something this complicated - and budget would be totally out of control because of the number of tools I'd have to buy to even consider it! I've looked at the pre-made and they're cute and marvelous but very expensive and the pre-cut kits don't look like they'd really be the kind of thing that could be insulated for Minnesota winters.

Maybe I should start looking for retired guys with tools....

Once you get the tools and build the coop, you'll not only have a coop for the same or less than you'd have paid, but the expertise to build or repair more things for yourself. Build your own! Win/win. Even if it comes out less than perfect, experience is priceless.

 

[ChestnutRidge]

We were really lucky. One of my husband's close friends is a framer and contractor by trade. He and my husband completed the coop in three days: bought materials on Friday night and brought them to the house, built the coop on Saturday, and shingled the roof on Sunday - all the time working between bouts of rain. He helped us in exchange for a leather motorcycle jacket.

The materials for our 8x8 coop cost near $900. The door and windows were ancient and we found them under the house. (We used the encapsulation method to deal with the lead paint - covered it with many thick layers of new paint.) This was about $200 more than I had budgeted - and this does not include nest boxes, feeders, etc.