No coop?

[MadamContrary]

Have you looked into hoop coops? Open air is fine for your climate, I'm in South Texas on the Gulf Coast and I wish I had started with an open air set up. Keep an eye out for heat treated shipping pallets and buy some hardware cloth in a bulk roll. You can keep costs down and still have a secure set up if you think outside of the box.

 

[nuthatched]

Look on craigslist for pallets, fence panels, shipping containers, dog houses, sheds, creativity is essential when lumber is sky high.

 

[3KillerBs]

Look on craigslist for pallets, fence panels, shipping containers, dog houses, sheds, creativity is essential when lumber is sky high.

A local blacksmith shop in our area puts STURDY pallets and crates out by the road frequently.

 

[springvalley123]

Lumber is very expensive lately! I'd price out every single item before I spent too much mental energy on anything with lumber, screws etc. Where I am, you can't get 12 ft studs, so just be sure. Plus, the roofing panels (plywood vs purlin supports...).

I would also explore a hoop coop. You'd need cattle panels, t-posts or other stakes, depending on how rocky your soil is, hardware cloth, and tarps and/nor shade cloth.

The birds will want (accept) something with a corner they can get into to feel secure for roosting, but you'll want to see which way the worst winds come from in the winter and be sure to protect from those winds.

Bear in mind, any pavers etc will likely eventually attract rodents and animals to eat the rodents (snakes possibly).

Another option is the walk-in poultry pen by Aleko--it's 13x10 ft but made of chicken wire. It's possible that by the time you covered the structure over with hardware cloth and predator proofed the doorway and added an apron for digging, you'd still come out ahead, and it is probably a lot less strenuous to put together than a hoop coop of cattle panels, not to mention having it delivered vs trying to haul 16 ft long cattle panels.

Third option, I did used to have a dog kennel with fencing for a top, and built a roost in it. The roost was a 4x4 structure with 1-2 sides paneled and a roof, on 2x4s and with 2x4s for the actual roost bars and structure. It had shade cloth on the leeward sides. It was completely open from the ground up to roost height, but it provided shelter and a feeling of security at night. Had I omitted the shade cloth, it would have been too open and not used. And it was in a secure structure with an apron etc.

Chickens don't like change, but it's possible that whatever you pick, you'll have to fine tune. Best of luck!

 

[Outta Here]

I have an indoor/outdoor coop, built on either side of our garage, with a guillotine door between them. The outdoor coop/run is 4'x18' and about 3' tall and has an 8' roost. My 15 free range chickens only spend nights and naps there--it would only be big enough for 7 chickens to live in full time.
It's covered to provide shade and rain protection, but they still get all the morning sunshine. We're in Arizona where sometimes it dips to freezing for an hour or so, but mostly I have to worry about keeping them cool. They could live in the outside coop year round, I believe. There would still be expense (though all my wood was salvage), but since it's short, you save on lumber and wire. You have to make the roof open on a hinge to access the pen.
Nothing bigger than 1/4" can get into this pen.

 

[Windrider]

@Veelee What an interesting setup! I like it!

My coop is basically the same as your roofed outdoor run, though taller so it can be cleaned easier. It backs to a solid wall and one of the small side walls is also solid; other walls are hardware cloth. I have no "interior" coop: nest boxes and roosts are in the "run."

 

[Outta Here]

@Veelee What an interesting setup! I like it!

My coop is basically the same as your roofed outdoor run, though taller so it can be cleaned easier. It backs to a solid wall and one of the small side walls is also solid; other walls are hardware cloth. I have no "interior" coop: nest boxes and roosts are in the "run."

Cool! Sounds nice...In retrospect, it would have been smarter to build it taller like yours. But I had promised my chicken-resistant husband to build it completely from salvage and all by myself. I also wanted it to complement, not overwhelm, the looks of the barn. We could never match the unique time-worn paint of the barn, so to minimize damaging the siding, I chose not to put a hinge on the roof. I have to unscrew and remove a panel for access.
I was pretty proud of myself for building it alone, but every time I don knee pads and crawl, raking it out, I think I could have had a bit grander plans! So I console myself that crawling on hands and knees will keep this great-grandma limber!

 

[Windrider]

I hear you. The patina on that barn is magnificent. You really couldn't have built it too much taller anyway due to that window location, but sheesh! Your poor knees!

 

[BaaKaaawk]

6x6x6 would be an easier build and more cost effective with less waste since you could buy 12' boards and cut them in half instead of cutting 5' pieces out of materials that are sold in multiples of 4'.

Lol, fair assessment- but I was keeping the drop for the doors. I guess it's unrealistic for a coop on the cheap to have framed doors though- so you win.

 

[kls]

There are cheap ways to build coops, and lumber has come down a ton in price.

A super cheap way to do it is frame a box with 2x4's ($5 each treated) and then wrap it with 1x6 treated fence posts ($2 each at Lowes). You can frame in a 5x5x5 box with doors and walls for under $150.

Thanks for this! We are going to start this weekend!