My Christmas Gift Coop

[dixie&trixie]

I have zero carpentry skills. Its a bit intimidating to even think about taking on such a daunting task. And the price of lumber is high too. Hmmmm....I just dont know

 

[OldSchoolBackyard]

I enjoy having all sorts of projects to build, modify etc so building my own coop struck my fancy. But as many of other BYCers have discovered and stated on here, always build for more chickens then you currently have. I had it set in my mind that I only wanted "3-5 hens... NEVER any roosters" so I built a cute little coop with this in mind. Less than 9 months later, I have 17 hens and two roosters. I have spent the last month converting an old garden shed into a coop. My suggestion to you is that if you can't build it yourself and don't want want to buy new, look on Craigslist for old sheds or something similar. I'm in the process of helping my pastor convert his free 6'X10' shed into a good all season coop. Keep searching and learn to swing a hammer!

 

[crawfordmama]

I'm not trying to bust your bubble, but you could build a nice coop with found materials, free stuff, and some store bought materials. You've picked out a very nice coop, but $950 is a lot of money. Enlist a few friends to help you out and save some money in the process. If they're anything like my friends, they take currency in the form of pizza and beer!

 

[PhilErvin]

dixie&trixie :

I have zero carpentry skills. Its a bit intimidating to even think about taking on such a daunting task. And the price of lumber is high too. Hmmmm....I just dont know

OK, I see you have a boyfriend, BINGO!! There's your carpenter. If you talk real nice and stroke his ego maybe he'll be willing to tackle a coop. No man is gonna admit to his girlfriend that he can't build a simple chicken coop. This will be an opportunity for him to shine.
Ask him......good luck.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Home Depot and Lowes have shed installation packages, but you have to paint it and pay extra for roofing I think.

 

[dixie&trixie]

Quote:
OK, I see you have a boyfriend, BINGO!! There's your carpenter. If you talk real nice and stroke his ego maybe he'll be willing to tackle a coop. No man is gonna admit to his girlfriend that he can't build a simple chicken coop. This will be an opportunity for him to shine.
Ask him......good luck.

That made me laugh a little.
He said that about the first coop i wanted. I ended up having that one built

Hes not real savy with building things either. Its the blind leading the blind around here

 

[BWKatz]

dixie&trixie :

Quote:
OK, I see you have a boyfriend, BINGO!! There's your carpenter. If you talk real nice and stroke his ego maybe he'll be willing to tackle a coop. No man is gonna admit to his girlfriend that he can't build a simple chicken coop. This will be an opportunity for him to shine.
Ask him......good luck.

That made me laugh a little.
He said that about the first coop i wanted. I ended up having that one built

Hes not real savy with building things either. Its the blind leading the blind around here​

It's a good project to learn on. Get the Book from the BYC store for plans. Any mistakes made...well it's just a coop! The chickens don't care. I've always taught my son that u can try anything once. You'll be surprized at what u can do that u thought u couldn't. Good luck and have fun.

 

[gryeyes]

Hey, I was a couch potato for most of my adult life, but I build a coop when I was 56 years old, and then a second one this year (now 57). I have also commissioned a coop from a builder I would recommend, and have purchased coop kits, as well as transforming a plastic Little Tike's playhouse into a small coop. Of all those methods, I heartily recommend getting the Building Coops for Dummies book here in the BYC store - it's REALLY good. I didn't use it because it wasn't out when I was building mine..... wish it had been!

Depending on how many chickens you want to get, there is a coop that can support as few as 4 and as many as 30 in that book. And the plans are detailed and there are chapters 'splaining everything.

I've seen that particular CL post for over a year now, and while it's a good size and well-constructed, it's a lot of money plus what's he charging to transport it that far south???

 

[dixie&trixie]

Ok well now you guys are getting me excited to build my own coop! Jan 2011 I will be officially a stay at home mom with plenty of time on my hands so maybe I will build my own coop!!

I only have 4 birds now so it should be fairly easy, and Im going to buy the coops for dummies book.

Gryeyes-Im actually moving up to that area in the beginning of the year so the delivery cost was 50 bucks. Free if I build it in my own backyard tho!!