Looking for some good strong coops that will hold up in winter.

[Chickeles]

There seems to be many coops available but it appears that the wood is extremely thin. I really do not want to pay thousands of dollars for a coop but one would think SOMEONE would make a good upstanding coop. Any ideas? besides building my own, which I am thinking seriously of doing.

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

Get a shed from home depot or lowes and convert that. Pay for installation if you do not want to do it. Pre-fabs are pretty universally poor quality....

Good luck

Gary

 

[blackdog043]

What Gary said, plus add the cost in for conversions, windows for light and ventilation, Plain ventilation along the top walls, roost bars, ect.... You could also find a handyman and see what they would want to build your coop. You might be around the same price but they could build the style you want or build your own. If you have time, I would build my own. That's what I did, I built an 8 x 12 lean to shed.

 

[imnukensc]

If you don't want to build one yourself, search "chicken coops" on Craigslist. You might be surprised at what you can have built for the same amount of money you'd spend on one of those cruddy prefab jobs.

 

[RUNuts]

Build it yourself. I impressed the neighbor with my skill. And upset the wife since it took 4x as long as I thought. Moral of the story, plan for weather delays & I'm too tired to move delays.

Also, unless you work better under pressure, finish the coop before getting chicks. And remember to smile. This is fun

 

[flyin-lowe]

I ended up building my own (with a friend) because it was WAY cheaper. If that is not an option the next cheapest alternative would be to buy a garden shed and convert it. The prices are regional but you can get a pretty good sized shed in my area for $800-$900. They are a lot better quality then the box store chicken coops. There are some shed shops side of the road around here but they want $1500-$2000 for a chicken coop, many of which still need to have ventilation added. If you want it custom built you might check with a local carpenter. Mine is 6'x8'. The floor and everything below was treated and everything above the floor is not treated. Total I had exactly $300.00 in the lumber. The roof metal and 4 windows were used material donated to me. 2x4's are cheap.

 

[jeria]

Keep in mind your weather, some areas those big box store sheds don't stand up well to the storms and winds.

 

[ikako.bagrata]

I absolutely recommend that you buy a manufacturer's chicken coop as most of them come with a warranty of minimum a year. though building one on your own may seem interesting and fascinating, i would rather sleep calm knowing that no predator or weather condition will harm my hen. I found this chicken coop reviews particularly helpful when searching for a best match for me.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I absolutely recommend that you buy a manufacturer's chicken coop as most of them come with a warranty of minimum a year. though building one on your own may seem interesting and fascinating, i would rather sleep calm knowing that no predator or weather condition will harm my hen. I found this chicken coop reviews particularly helpful when searching for a best match for me.

Except none of the prefabricated coops currently marketed provide either assurance, especially in comparison to a well built structure made with materiel far superior to those used in the prefab jobs.... not too mention the grossly overestimated capacity

 

[Chickassan]

Mine is built from pallets mostly and I'd wager it's stronger than my home. Including plywood, screws, etc I've probably got 200 in it.I did look at those prefab coops and they are really sad, mostly particle board and the one at Tsc they had assembled was swaying in a light breeze.If you want a strong coop you got to build it.