Newbies seeking any and all help!!

[ADKegger]

Coop and Run I am going to say close to $800. Looked at a lot of pre-built coops. Copied a lot of their ideas. Smaller coops
pre-built in our area were running around $850 - $900.

I used rough sawed lumber to keep some cost down. Sheet products like plywood and T-111 are expensive.

Good Luck!

 

[fiddlebanshee]

look at the small coop section under "coops" on the top menu for ideas. 4x8 coop is ideal many precut sheets are already that size. One hour -probably not. One seekend - possible if you know exactly what you want and how to do it.

 

[Biologrady]

We needed a shed desperately anyway, and chickens were a good excuse. The shed was a kit, about 1000 delivered, and included all lumber, nails screws and hardware. It's 7.5 feet by ten feet. About another 150 for 4x4's and pavers to make a level base to erect it on and shingles. For about thirty dollars in materials we partitioned about 1/3 of the inside as roost space, and the other 2/3 is storage for bird food, bikes, and yard equipment. Making a pop hole, roosts and ramp was a cinch, and we already had the dog run. These chickens are temporary, so we used the windows provided in kit, but for better ventilation you could put hardware cloth instead for some or all 3 windows, maybe put a length of board along the soffit so wind can't drive the rain in. Cleaning is easy since there's space to walk in and sweep.
We also own a 6x8 Amish built coop that we like as well... Very sturdy and could be relocated in our yard if need be...But cost was almost twice as much (delivered ) and I can't store food or anything else in there but the hens.
We are NOT handyman people. It took my husband and I about three weekends, not one as touted in the description. But it's very satisfying to go in it every day!

 

[guesswhokatysue]

I am going to have another look at the small coops section. It is definitely helpful, I am just trying to narrow down some preferences in flooring, what's easier to keep clean/best for the chickens, and some other finer details that I think boil down to personal preference.

 

[guesswhokatysue]

Ok, we have studies the medium and large coop section and we think we have a general plan. What's the best to use for roofing (it will be vented of course)? We saw some with shingles and others with the corrugated metal. My significant other is afraid with the metal choice we might bake the birds..he's a tad dramatic.. Haha

Also, is it best to elevate the house from the ground or build the run off of it? So many different styles I'm not sure if it boils down to personal preference or if there is more to it. That's really all we have left of our planning process!

 

[Karis Koop]

wow lots has gone on in this thread in a few days! I love the laminate floor idea, that just makes sense.

Coming from a carpentry background, I would definitely elevate the structure off the ground to keep moisture off of the building material. The way Biologrady has it sitting on concrete pavers is effective and probably easiest.

Tin roofs are easy to install and last forever. They actually reflect a lot of sunlight and help keep temps down inside. Shingles are an easy choice as well. I'm considering a "living roof" that is becoming more popular up here. I have to look into it deeper, but basically the roof is covered with a specific moss variety that holds moisture and provides insulation from both heat and cold. A few of the municipal buildings have been using this technique for years very successfully.

We take possession of our new house at the end of Sept. I'm not sure we'll have time to get into chickening before winter, ours might have to wait for spring

 

[farmgirl277]

HI, not sure what you're run is going to look like, but I like the elevation coup idea because you can fence around the coup bottom and the chickens can go underneath there for shade on hot days. But then again if you're trying to catch them and they run under there you may not be able to get them, but that could be easily solved with a pole to push them out. Good Luck!

 

[guesswhokatysue]

I think we were leaning towards elevating it, so I'm very happy to see that is the general consensus! I think our run will be 8' x 6' ish (not including the space underneath the coop or the coop itself), so it does make sense to elevate it! I can't wait to build it and see how it comes out.

@karis coop..do you have any idea on the price range of a living roof? That sounds like and interesting option to explore as well. I think we are in the same boat. I am going to look, but I bet we won't have the chickens until spring. On the bright side, doing it this way, we will be more than prepared for them!

 

[CinnamonQueen]

We bought a wooden playhouse for $25 from someone in the neighborhood. After doing the "spider in my shirt" dance, we figured out that it was in pretty good condition. We plan to build a fence to close off the side of our yard and let our 5 chickens free range back there all day and going in the house at night to sleep or lay an egg. We would have kept them in their current coop, but when I let them out to free range, they start digging in our flowerbeds and now that we mulched them it would be irresistible to them.

Good luck, there are a lot of good coop ideas out there!!

 

[guesswhokatysue]

CinnamonQueen--if we had the space to do that it'd be awesome! I have done the spider in my shirt dance a time or two...yuck! The problem is, there TOO many great coop ideas for us to settle on just one haha