Most affordable way to house 8 chicken

[tdmopar67]

Hey all,

Sorry if I am over posting. My wife ordered 8 chicks last night we will be picking up mid April. I have some time to go before I need to finish my coop. I am a carpenter by trade and designed a great coop (in my opinion) but unfortunately by the time it is done it's going to be a thousand dollars in material and a weekend of my time.

I see online there are tons of options for "kits" that you can order and assemble but not many have great reviews and almost all of them say that the manufacturer claims that you can fit a lot more than you really should.

I need to be able to house 8 Rhode Island Reds comfortably and safely in my back yard. I was also looking for a cost effective way of doing so. Does anyone have a positive experience ordering a kit online for this many chicken? I would love some input from the community on which way I should go with all of this.

 

[Bert96746]

I bought a cheap coop from TSC a while back and it said it could hold 8 birds... It barely held 4. Luckily I had an old wooden dog house laying around that I attached to the coop for an added 9sqft. If you know for sure you're going to be committed to raising chickens, I'd just build a nice coop so you don't have to keep adding on or starting over. It sucks that all the habitat for humanity restores are closed because that would save you a lot of money

 

[rosemarythyme]

Hoop coop should be a quick and fairly cheap option.

That said, if you're a carpenter and I was your wife, I'd expect a nicely finished, hand built coop that would be the envy of this forum.

 

[ColoradoPip]

The kits are not very good quality overall, though it is hit or miss. I have a pre-fab kit that has held 3 birds (claimed to hold like 6, lol) for over 6 years with minimal fixes. So they do work. Finding a large one is not easy though.

If you ask me, you have the skills, therefore build it.

I am going to guess that because you are a pro, you are trying to use pro materials, pro finishes, and all of the awesome pro stuff that, well, in the end looks extremely awesome but also costs a lot of money!! Don't get me wrong, I bet it would be unbelievable, but if cost is a concern then trim out everything you don't need and/or find free materials (find and break apart wood crates, pallets, etc.).

Can you share your plans? Maybe we can help trim them down.

Think of it like, you need a bare bones shed, add nest boxes and roosting bars. Then add a run to it. Done. It can be simple if you make it that way.

 

[blackdog043]

Cry once and build a proper coop, you won't be sorry!
I built an 8 x 12 and spent about $1,500 - $1,800 between the coop and covered run. Yep it was pricey, but I built it once and won't have to build another one. Also if you build a shed style coop, you still have a shed to use if you ever stop wanting chickens! Get your 1/2" hardware cloth from Amazon, it is usually cheaper than big box stores and you can get bigger rolls.

 

[aart]

Lots to consider in coop design....chances are you're not going to find anything as good as you could design(with some experience or lots of research and some advice) and build yourself.
But....

I am a carpenter by trade and designed a great coop (in my opinion)

Let's see your design?

Also......Welcome to BYC! @tdmopar67
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[Ponte]

I purchased my chicks around one year ago and found that most of my ideas on raising chickens were at least partially wrong. The most significant one was on coop design, learned that coop design must align with your weather. Would suggest that you spend a few minutes each day on this site and pick up ideas from the questions and answers.
There are multiple people here who have extensive knowledge and are willing to help you. One other thing, make the coop bigger than you want to.