New to Chickens, New to Coops

[nikki1]

Oh my! For 5k I could build a chickie palace. I say dont spend 5k on the coop. Save some for investing in good breeder stock. You need at least 4 sq ft for each bird inside the coop and 10 sg ft for each bird in the run. Since you are starting a farm andd have extra money. Go big so that you can increase your flock if you want to.

Holy Cow!! I'd LOVE to have 5k to spend! Go up to the "coops" tab, find something you like, and go for it on that budget!!

 

[Angelak]

I just cant figure out why people want to spend soooo much money in a coop/run/tractor.I would think if its safe,easy to move/clean n does the job n u can spend lots less then why not? Am I just being tooo frugile?

 

[nikki1]

I'm with you! My husband and I really enjoyed designing and building ourselves. Even now, a year later, I look at our creation and feel a sense of pride. Here are our savings:

--We didn't buy plans. I sketched all winter, and when I had a final plan my husband drew in framing.
--I scavenged. The former owners of the house left some 2x4's and 4x4's under the porch, and a friend had a mess of scrap lumber in her shed. She even had the old back door to her garage which had a cool window. I revised my plan to include that for sure.
--We went to the Habitat for Humanity Restore. I got all our knobs and vents there, and also PAINT. I got an unopened 5 gallon bucket of Sherwin Williams exterior paint for $20 bucks and a 1 gallon bucket of exterior paint for the trim for $3. (Went to Sherwin Williams...new, that bucket would have been $175!!!)
--Made the rungs of our roost ladder out of tree branches that came down on our property during an ice storm.
--Built the thing in the corner, so 2 sides of the run are made of our existing fence (reinforced with a hardware cloth skirt on the back side and to fill in the gaps to the roof).

Here's the result:




What do you think?

 

[Jeanna Marie]

I'm with you! My husband and I really enjoyed designing and building ourselves. Even now, a year later, I look at our creation and feel a sense of pride. Here are our savings: --We didn't buy plans. I sketched all winter, and when I had a final plan my husband drew in framing. --I scavenged. The former owners of the house left some 2x4's and 4x4's under the porch, and a friend had a mess of scrap lumber in her shed. She even had the old back door to her garage which had a cool window. I revised my plan to include that for sure. --We went to the Habitat for Humanity Restore. I got all our knobs and vents there, and also PAINT. I got an unopened 5 gallon bucket of Sherwin Williams exterior paint for $20 bucks and a 1 gallon bucket of exterior paint for the trim for $3. (Went to Sherwin Williams...new, that bucket would have been $175!!!) --Made the rungs of our roost ladder out of tree branches that came down on our property during an ice storm. --Built the thing in the corner, so 2 sides of the run are made of our existing fence (reinforced with a hardware cloth skirt on the back side and to fill in the gaps to the roof). Here's the result: What do you think?

Beautiful coop! Way to be thrifty too!

 

[Angelak]

That is very nice .what would u say total cost was spent on all supplies to build?
Be we have not spent over $150 per pen/coop/tractor.we now have 8 pen/coops n now n 7 portable movabke tractors all never spent over $150 each one and most not over $85 each

 

[nikki1]

That is very nice .what would u say total cost was spent on all supplies to build?
Be we have not spent over $150 per pen/coop/tractor.we now have 8 pen/coops n now n 7 portable movabke tractors all never spent over $150 each one and most not over $85 each

Wow! You're doing WAY better than me! We did well on lumber and paint, but the hardware cloth and roofing panels weren't cheap. I shopped around, but just couldn't figure out how to get them cheaper. And we just went with those plastic/fiberglass or vinyl or whatever they're made of corrugated panels...wood and roofing shingles would have been WAY more expensive.

If anyone knows of a way to get hardware cloth cheap, I'm sure lots of people would like to know!

 

[skippyscage]

I just finished building my coop, and the best offer I could find on hardware cloth was from ACE Hardware (shipped free to store)

 

[Angelak]

If any one has craigslist area near them,you will b amazed at the things u can get for pennies,that is how we have fenced our entire 3.1 acres n acquired everything for our chickens,peacocks,ducks,geese,guineas,sheep,goats,horse any thing else we need.lol worth checking to c if you have
an area near you.www.craigslist.org

 

[my little peeps]

We are first time chicken owners . My husband and I created a beautiful coop for our 5 chicks now 10 weeks old. I can't free range but do you think they have enough room? The run is 12 feet long.

 

[Chickenlady2013]

Yes plenty of room. I am not creative so I spent $1845 on a 8x8 coop with an 8x8 attached run. I have 10 chickens, was only suppose to have 4 but found 6 on craigslist that needed a home. No more for me.