NEED ADVICE! Have chickens but no coop. Lookimg for affordable options

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

I used a kids cedar playhouse. Modified the windows, added nesting boxes and raised it of the ground. Here is a picture of it in progress. We added a heavy duty wire mesh for windows and run.

Cedar can be toxic to chickens.

 

[WallyG74]

So here’s my thoughts. You got way too many birds for starting out. Maybe you can share with a friend or neighbor. You will be overwhelmed. Keep the coop simple. Cute costs money.

 

[chickencoop57]

I don't know what to say but, your getting all those chicks and you haven't got a permanent place built for them, yet! I admit, I didn't either, at first but I did build an above ground pen, 4 1/2'x 3', to house them in, while I built my coop and run. Timing was perfect. I built a 4'x8' enclosed coop with a 8'x8' enclosed run. The coop has 4 nesting boxes extended outwards. And the roof has plyboard or OSB, then roofing paper and sheet metal. The run has hardware cloth around it with a skylite roof and yes it was expensive, over $1,000.00 dollars but I built it and it was worth it! But then, I only have 12 hens and one rooster.

 

[SnipeEasyC]

Do a rent to own building as big or small as ya want. Making a run is easy if you have time to fiddle fart around on a chicken forum stop being lazy and get to work.

 

[BabasCoop]

So basically a dog run adapted for chickens..... didn't think of that

We purchased a dog run and used the panels to enclose the ends of our run and one having a door worked great. We actually turned 2 of the panels on end and connected them because our width was 12 ft and the panels were only 6ft. So now we have a very solid enclosure.
We have cattle fencing on the other fence due to our coop being between our shop and pasture. So we double layered the cattle fencing with chicken wire on the top and solid 3 ft of plywood on the bottom to create a windbreak. ( we live at the merger of two valleys, it can get quite windy.)
But my husband so far has used mostly wood we had laying it around. We have purchased the chicken wire, hinges dog run and some 2x4s. But hasn’t been horribly expensive.

 

[Lizastarr]

This is our prefab from a rent to own place in town. Its 8x20 and costs us $116 per month.....we put our flock of 5 hens and 1 rooster in it and raised 3 chicks this spring that we hatched out and now have those 3 pullets in with their parents...so 1 rooster, 8 hens but we DO free range everyday.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

There are quite a few posts that are a bit negative, but we have all made errors in judgement from time to time and this guy came to us for advice. My first thoughts @Kingnyro is (1) where are you located? Climate plays a large part in coop and run designing and building. Also (2) just because you don't see predators now, doesn't mean they won't come looking for an easy meal and (3) does your town allow for that many chickens? Do you need a license? (4) are these all meat birds or layers? Once we have this information we can better advise you how to proceed. One word of caution if you will allow, the 3 feet per bird space allowance is for factory farming. Chickens kept in such as small space are generally not happy or healthy so you might want to recalculate the amount of space you can devote to these sweet birds and downsize if necessary. I'm not trying to be harsh, just genuinely realistic. Oh and my final question is: what are you planning on doing with all the poo? That many chickens are going to be producing a whole lot of poo. Best of luck with your chicken venture.

 

[BDF CEO]

My gf and I currently have 14 chicks. We are getting another 30 next week via delivery. We have probably 4 weeks before we have to move the chickens out. Due to the layout of my back yard I am wanting to have a 20x20x8 run/coop. We are utilizing our shed for this, but the materials to build a run is approximately the same as building one(including my time). I am here asking for tips to minimize my expense cause I am a frugal guy, and want to save my money for more chickens. I am also looking for affordable, pre-built options as well. Many thanks in advance.

Hi. A few questions. Are these meat birds or layers? How cold are your winters? A you keeping them cooped up or do you have access to grass/free range area?

It might not be what you are looking for but check out Justin Rhodes on youtube, he has lots of information and a free chickshaw plan that can be moved around this reducing manure buildup and reduces feed and bedding cost...

 

[Mamatomany123]

I used a kids cedar playhouse. Modified the windows, added nesting boxes and raised it of the ground. Here is a picture of it in progress. We added a heavy duty wire mesh for windows and run.

While that's absolutely adorable, you can not use cedar for chickens.

We also converted and old playhouse. Ours is plastic and we recently extended it.

 

[besorto]

Would recommend cancelling your 30 chick order and take time to get your first 14 fully established...