Pre built coops

[Threewyandottes]

Thank you all for the help.
I am probably going to go for the white coop with some stakes added in to hold it in place although i will consider some of the other options!

 

[X_and_Z]

Everything pre-made in that price range is going to be flimsy. There is a poster here that has good luck with them but had to:

• Paint/stain all the wood
• Reinforce the wire panels
• Replace the hardware

And probably some other stuff I am forgetting. Hopefully she will pipe up with info directly since I couldn't remember a good search word to find one of her posts.

I previously had a much larger, more expensive, pre-made and can attest to the poor quality of the pre-mades even though it was one of the better made ones I found at the local feed stores. I kept it tarp covered to keep the rain off since that cheap wood will swell without additional sealing and built a pressure treated base for it to keep it off the ground (also because of the risk of swelling). I used this as a temporary coop while my locally made custom coop was being built.

It was still in good enough shape after 7 months (always covered, in a dry mild climate - my locally made coop ended up taking much longer to receive than I was originally told) that I was able to give it to a local tween that was just getting started in chickens and desperately needed a coop. He and his father were going to re-roof/paint/stain/reinforce the whole thing so were thrilled to have it.

I will say, if you have any larger predators these coops will be inadequate - a determined medium sized dog could destroy this type of coop easily.

 

[Mckennas poultry]

Everything pre-made in that price range is going to be flimsy. There is a poster here that has good luck with them but had to:

• Paint/stain all the wood
• Reinforce the wire panels
• Replace the hardware

And probably some other stuff I am forgetting. Hopefully she will pipe up with info directly since I couldn't remember a good search word to find one of her posts.

I previously had a much larger, more expensive, pre-made and can attest to the poor quality of the pre-mades even though it was one of the better made ones I found at the local feed stores. I kept it tarp covered to keep the rain off since that cheap wood will swell without additional sealing and built a pressure treated base for it to keep it off the ground (also because of the risk of swelling). I used this as a temporary coop while my locally made custom coop was being built.

It was still in good enough shape after 7 months (always covered, in a dry mild climate - my locally made coop ended up taking much longer to receive than I was originally told) that I was able to give it to a local tween that was just getting started in chickens and desperately needed a coop. He and his father were going to re-roof/paint/stain/reinforce the whole thing so were thrilled to have it.

I will say, if you have any larger predators these coops will be inadequate - a determined medium sized dog could destroy this type of coop easily.

Ach sure I’ve bought pre made stuff in the past and it’s all been fine, just a wee splash of paint and it does the job. Just look out for what your getting !

 

[IamRainey]

Before I got my coop I did some research and I was looking at this. It's well designed and made from sturdy material. But the cost was sorta staggering. Soooooo, we got a carpenter to build ours (no one here with any building skills). In the end, it cost as much and I'm sorry that we don't have the slide out clean out tray.

Naturally, if you have someone who can do the construction yours will be much cheaper. But, if I had to do it again, I think I'd save the shopping for materials and buying plans and order one of the above.

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

If you get a prefab, I would put it up on landscaping blocks to keep it off of the ground. Wet ground will rot wood quicker. Also, if you get square landscaping blocks, you could make it more secure so that predators can't dig under it. You will probabaly still need to reinforce with more hw cloth too and reinforce what they installed with screws and washers as they use tiny staples to pin the hw cloth on.
How much does the coop weigh? I am not understanding why you would need to pin it to the ground unless you have hurricane type winds. My prefab was from Tsc and around $200. It is about 200 lbs. I don't think normal winds would do anything to it unless you are on an open prairie? Also, it stated 8-10 chickens. Which was a joke. Take the lowest number that the coop states it is rated for and divide in half. That is at most what you can put in. Even that is iffy depending on the company's determination of what their coop will hold.
Also, what you will want to do to increase the longevity is to get some thompson's water seal and coat it before adding chickens.
Good luck!

 

[X_and_Z]

...I am not understanding why you would need to pin it to the ground unless you have hurricane type winds....

To be fair, the OP is from Houston ~70 hurricanes since 1980 hit that general part of Texas (per wikipedia - I am not a hurricane buff) so it might need to be staked/tied down. Although pontoons might be more useful.

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

So, I was not familiar with this coop and just found it. It is going to be sufficient for 2 full size chickens maybe. But, once I did some calculations - It looks to be about 4' high. 3' wide. 6' is the length of the entire thing, that includes the "run" and the nest boxes. Nest boxes are generally a sq ft, so we can take off 1ft for the length. That leaves you with 5' - divide by 2 for the run and half for the coop. You might have a 2.5x3 coop. 6.5 sq ft. That is Enough for one full size chicken. The run is not even enough room for 1 chicken based on the recommended 10sq ft per chicken.
Your 3 chickens won't be very happy and you will be looking for a new coop sooner or later. Tsc generally has bigger coops for that price range. They might not be as cute, but your chickens will have more room.

 

[Mckennas poultry]

So, I was not familiar with this coop and just found it. It is going to be sufficient for 2 full size chickens maybe. But, once I did some calcukations - It looks to be about 4' high. 3' wide. 6' is the length of the entire thing, that includes the "run" and the nest boxes. Nest boxes are generally a sq ft, so we can take off 1ft for the length. That leaves you with 5' - divide by 2 for the run and half for the coop. You might have a 2.5x3 coop. 6.5 sq ft. That is Enough for one full size chicken. The run is not even enough room for 1 chicken based on the recommended 10sq ft per chicken.
Your 3 chickens won't be very happy and you will be looking for a new coop sooner or later. Tsc generally has bigger coops for that price range. They might not be as cute, but your chickens will have more room.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I am wondering if the OP has seen hoop coops.

They are roomier and less expensive and take very little wood working skill to make.

This is my hoop run on my emergency coop build.

A hoop coop is only different in that it has a sleeping and laying area inside it too.

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

To be fair, the OP is from Houston ~70 hurricanes since 1980 hit that general part of Texas (per wikipedia - I am not a hurricane buff) so it might need to be staked/tied down. Although pontoons might be more useful.

You're right, I don't always look at the area they are from. As well, they are looking at a 60 lb coop. So, yeah, I wouldn't trust it just sitting in even my yard without being staked.