Pawhut Coop Kit

[JennD08]

Pawhut is what we bought as well. The wood is soft and thin. We decided to keep and assemble it anyhow and hoped it would last 1-2 years -- buying us a little time to figure out what we were doing and build one. Live a learn - it was a complete waste of any money. The coop barely lasted 3 months. Rain warped the boards of the entire coop in all of about 4 weeks which allowed rain inside the coop.

The suggestion to paint the entire coop inside and out was a good one - would have bought us more time. However, I was concerned about the paint and also fell prey to chicken fever AND chicken math - so I didn't have time to paint LOL DH agreed to 3-4 and I somehow have 12 hehehe

 

[Alyssa Bates]

Thank you all so much for the encouraging words, and all of the good advice. I'm so glad I reached out to this community and asked before I purchased anything I would later regret. I've decided not to cut corners, and to get some of my more handy friends together to help build my own coop and run from scratch. I feel a bit nervous about making my own setup having never built anything like this before, but this way I can make something larger and ensure the materials used are high quality, so it will most likely last longer too! I am using the time I have to research coop plans and study up so I make sure what we build covers all the bases (coop & run size, ventilation, insulation, safety, etc). Thanks again everyone!

 

[kitkat5505]

I'm glad you decided to build. We have a prefab coop very much like the first one you posted, and we have one little rabbit in it. I wouldn't want more than 1 full size chicken in there. Plus it would not hold up well with chickens. They are much heavier and rougher than our little rabbit and the coop is pretty flimsy. Our coop we built is so much bigger, nicer, and sturdier than anything prefab we could have bought for the same price.

The bunny coop

The chicken coop

 

[NorthTexasWink]

Please trust us here, YOU CAN DO THIS! It's going to be something you look at with pride later. You'll have the satisfaction of knowing you made it, can easily repair or modify it, and know what went into it. You'll sleep better at night too, knowing your birds are safe and comfortable. Good on you!

 

[Alyssa Bates]

I'm glad you decided to build. We have a prefab coop very much like the first one you posted, and we have one little rabbit in it. I wouldn't want more than 1 full size chicken in there. Plus it would not hold up well with chickens. They are much heavier and rougher than our little rabbit and the coop is pretty flimsy. Our coop we built is so much bigger, nicer, and sturdier than anything prefab we could have bought for the same price.

The bunny coop View attachment 1079810

The chicken coop
View attachment 1079811

Wow! Your chicken coop looks fantastic and is almost exactly the sort of design I had in mind. May I ask... did you use some sort of blueprint/plan to get started? And, would you mind posting a photo of the interior so I can use that as a reference for how the perches and nesting boxes should be placed?

 

[kitkat5505]

Wow! Your chicken coop looks fantastic and is almost exactly the sort of design I had in mind. May I ask... did you use some sort of blueprint/plan to get started? And, would you mind posting a photo of the interior so I can use that as a reference for how the perches and nesting boxes should be placed?

I looked at a lot of plans on Pinterest and on here. The Witchita coop plan was what I mostly went off, modified it to what I wanted and drew up my own blueprint. I originally had the roof angled to the back but because of how close it is to the neighbors we didn't want water runoff going that way, which actually worked out well because I put the roosts at the taller end so they had more headroom there. Here's some more pics.

 

[Alyssa Bates]

I looked at a lot of plans on Pinterest and on here. The Witchita coop plan was what I mostly went off, modified it to what I wanted and drew up my own blueprint. I originally had the roof angled to the back but because of how close it is to the neighbors we didn't want water runoff going that way, which actually worked out well because I put the roosts at the taller end so they had more headroom there. Here's some more pics.
View attachment 1079907 View attachment 1079906

Oh my goodness I could hug you right now! This is extremely helpful and a great step in the right direction for me. Thank you!

 

[kitkat5505]

Oh my goodness I could hug you right now! This is extremely helpful and a great step in the right direction for me. Thank you!

Here's the link to my full post about it if you want to see. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/my-finished-coop-the-white-house.1174482/

There are so many awesome coops on the coop pages, it helps to look through and find what you like and how other people have done things.

 

[pennyJo1960]

@Alyssa Bates looking at those coop might be such look at some shed packages on home depot lowe's even sears then adapt them to a coop one part you would not have to try on your own