Good move!
I ditto the thought of getting a shed and retrofitting it for chickens, which doesn't require much construction skill at all. It would be healthier for your chickens, give you a place to store their feed and interact with them out of the weather and will ultimately give you and your chickens a better experience. The run is a very simple build and inexpensive as well.
As for limited construction skills....I'm just a fat old lady with no construction training at all and I built a 12x10 hoop coop for around $300 and built the initial build of an 8x10 hoop coop in 10 day's time...and that wasn't full days...then added an additional hoop later on. A hoop coop is about the most simple build you can do and is easily added onto later if and when you want to expand, as I did. A few cattle panels, some 2x4s and some scrap lumber and you are off to the races.
Those little dollhouse coops are more for show rather than actual real chicken living. Make a great place for a broody mama to hatch and watch over chicks for the first week or so, but after that they aren't good for much else.
I ditto the thought of getting a shed and retrofitting it for chickens, which doesn't require much construction skill at all. It would be healthier for your chickens, give you a place to store their feed and interact with them out of the weather and will ultimately give you and your chickens a better experience. The run is a very simple build and inexpensive as well.
As for limited construction skills....I'm just a fat old lady with no construction training at all and I built a 12x10 hoop coop for around $300 and built the initial build of an 8x10 hoop coop in 10 day's time...and that wasn't full days...then added an additional hoop later on. A hoop coop is about the most simple build you can do and is easily added onto later if and when you want to expand, as I did. A few cattle panels, some 2x4s and some scrap lumber and you are off to the races.
Those little dollhouse coops are more for show rather than actual real chicken living. Make a great place for a broody mama to hatch and watch over chicks for the first week or so, but after that they aren't good for much else.
