New Coop

[Terry316]

I am new to this, but would like to have 4 hens for the eggs. Which is better buying a coop from a store like tractor supply or building my own. Due to the county restrictions I can one have a small amount.

 

[PioneerChicks]

Building your own coop is very rewarding, but hard work. I built all my coops myself. There can be pros and cons to both. If you build it right your own coop can be much better, but it's easy to make mistakes. Coops from the store are normally small with not much space but most often don't have any problems. If you make your own coop you will have more freedom to choose what you like and what suits you, while you don't have as many choices with coops from the store. It's really up to you.

Welcome to BYC and I hope you have a great day!

 

[Papmike]

Welcome to BYC terry316, If you have some skills and tools, building a coop can be a cheaper option. You can also adapt it to your environment and space constrictions. Is there limit on the number of birds you can have or size of the building?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Welcome to the forum, glad you joined.

In my opinion you are probably better off building your own. Go to the Articles tab at the top of this page and look under the Coops section, then look at small coops for inspiration. Many people buy and use those prefab coops but usually they have to modify them. They are usually not well designed for chickens. And they typically only hold 1/2 to 1/3 of what they advertise. Before you buy one put a link on here that shows it so we can critique it. Occasionally you get one that works but most don't that well. Knowing where you are so we know climate can help a lot in critiquing it.

There are a lot of suggestions on building coops on here. Since you are allowed so few many of those wont apply to you. If you look at the top of this Coop & Run section of the forum you can find some helpful threads. And never be afraid of asking a question if you are not sure.

Your problem is probably going to be more that you have too many options as there is no one way that is right for all of us. Good luck and again welcome.