On-line chicken plans

[buglit]

Has anyone used some of the chicken coop plans available on-line? I was particularly looking at the DIY one advertized on the forum website

http://chickendiyguides.com/index.php

Have have no carpentry skills, but learn quickly. I would be doing it by myself. Thoughts? Recommendations? Thank you so much - Michelle

 

[ducks4you]

Save your $96.28
(You can quote me on this when you join the thread, What did your coop cost?)

BYC encourages coop builders to compete by creating well-documented Webpages that are less complicated and easier to follow than ANY how-to plans I had investigated, prior to finding BYC.com

Spend time checking them out. Look through the Coop Design links--top of this page.

Think "Simple" when you build.

BE precise. Buy and use a level.

Measure ( and level ) twice, cut once.

BE CAREFUL, so you don't have power-tool accidents. If you're not sure, buy a couple of pairs of good, leather gloves and hammer and nail by hand. (I would STILL use an electric drill and electric screwdriver.)

Most hardware stores will cut your wood for you--it's safer.

Take LOTS AND LOTS of pictures. That's what makes this a hobby, instead of work.

Have fun and post the results so that we all can ooo and aahhhh!!

 

[chuckzoo]

Why buy that when there are so many coops on this site, with plans, for free?

 

[chuckzoo]

Michelle
I have no capentry skills either, but that did not stop me. There are other women on this site who have made their own coops.

I believe you can do anything you set your mind to. My coop/run was constructed in 3 parts, the first coop my husband and I did a lot of the work together, but it took a while since we only worked on it on weekends. The run I did mostly by myself and the second part of my coop which is my nesting area I did by myself as I did not want to wait and he was getting rather cooped-out at that stage.

There are very encouraging people on this site, ducks4you is one, who will help you if you get stuck. He also provided some very good advice - get the guy at the hardware store to cut your wood for you - go early in the morning on a week day if you can so they are not too busy.
You will need someone to hold things for you. If you don't have anyone you can use clamps. Guys at the hardware store are also a good resource - use them, that's what they are there for.

Map out what you want to do on paper and make a list of the # and lengths of wood you will need to have cut.

Good luck - you can do it!

Jenny

You can check out my BYC page for more details of my coop.

 

[Chicky Mama]

Save your $$$ and goto the Library or look online, there's lots of info. for free. Why would they be selling something that's supposedly worth $197 for a limited time of 1 day at $39,I say scam.My Brother built mine from scratch and it turned out pretty good ,nothing fancy but it works,and he's a painter.There's plenty of people here that can help and some awesome yet basic coops.

Have a coop building BBQ.

 

[mikecnorthwest]

The online plans I've seen are not worth it. They promise a lot but deliver little.

The big exception are plans from the Garden Coop. I saw their coops in person during the Portland coop tour this Saturday and also saw sample pages of the plans. You can go to their website and see the same thing. I can tell you from my in-person viewing of the coops that you will like it if you build it. You can also see a couple of pics I took of them in the thread about the coop tour in this forum.

Here's their link:

http://www.thegardencoop.com/

 

[buglit]

Thank you so much to everyone for you input. I CAN DO IT !!! Michelle

 

[Schroeder]

Michelle:
Here's the one I used as a pattern. http://www.buildeazy.com/chicken_coop_1.html

 

[Big Chicken Little]

Wow $100 for CD plans ...save your money and get help here. Check the coop design pages and read many of the threads ... you will be building in no time !!

 

[ducks4you]

I'll tell you straight: The online plans are TOO complicated for most of us "non-builders" on this site to follow.

Check out Gopher Boy's coop:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=7562-Coop_building

(My apologies to all of the other really well done webpages and blogs attached to site--it's just that THIS one is the latest I am drooling over.)

AFTER you've oohed at the beginning, then laughed at the jokes, you'll see the great plans that Gopher Boy loaded at the end.

The online pay-for plans sites should take a hint!