Prefab coop... can I get my hopes up?

[Papa John59]

Just my two cents worth...We started out with a small prefab and within a day, I had to enlarge the run and the cheapest way was a hoop run. The coop itself was large enough for our 3 hens. A new house was being built down the road from us and I noticed a wood pile, which was getting bigger daily. So I asked about the wood and they happily gave it to me! Now it was not the best wood but, I was able to get rid of the small hoop run (about 12 yards long). I built a nice run that is now 25' x 12' x 7'. That was last fall. Before our first snow, I added a roof. Three weeks ago, I acquired a shipping crate from the company I work for. The guys in the warehouse just took off the top and removed the three motors from it. I thought THERE is my new coop! And guess what...it is. I took down the 4 walls, loaded all 6 sides in a trailer and reassembled it at home. Put some hinges on one end to make a door, cut out a hole for the hens to enter/exit from and added a nesting box, a roost and slanted the top. The new coop now measures 7' x 4' x 4' and sits outside of the run.
What I guess what I am saying is, look around you and you will find material to use without spending a lot of money! So take a drive Saturday and see what you can find!

 

[BDutch]

I would not put 3 chickens in there. I would probably put 1. When people say they cant build something I always recommend a hoop coop. Super simple and on the cheaper side. And much better room than that little thing.

Never keep just 1 chicken. 2 is an absolute minimum because chickens need companion for their mental health.
If there is not enough space for 2 normal size chickens you can consider 2 bantam chickens or 3 Serama’s or Dutch.

 

[Rivendell Chick]

Linking the plans/video would be great! thank you so much!

Fair warning: April is an experienced builder, high energy and makes it look easy I changed a few things, like making it taller because hub and I are both very tall. I regret not making the back panel of the coop lighter weight. But the ventilation is great and clean out doors will be helpful (I added linoleum to the floor).
Now the run is easy, but it is designed to be attached to something at one end, so bear that in mind. Her cut lists are very efficient to make best use of materials and be cost efficient, and the design is solid for bad weather. She has a link on the video for access to buying the plans, I think I spent $25 for both projects.

Coop, part 1:

Coop, part 2:

Run:

 

[black_cat]

Fair warning: April is an experienced builder, high energy and makes it look easy I changed a few things, like making it taller because hub and I are both very tall. I regret not making the back panel of the coop lighter weight. But the ventilation is great and clean out doors will be helpful (I added linoleum to the floor).
Now the run is easy, but it is designed to be attached to something at one end, so bear that in mind. Her cut lists are very efficient to make best use of materials and be cost efficient, and the design is solid for bad weather. She has a link on the video for access to buying the plans, I think I spent $25 for both projects.

Coop, part 1:

Coop, part 2:

Run:

Thanks so much, this is great! Will totally use this plan if we end up building a coop. It's looking more and more like we'll have to rent the chooks at first, but after I PROVE CHICKEN AWESOMENESS we'll probably either buy one from the place or make one, and this one is first on my list for plans.

 

[Rivendell Chick]

Thanks so much, this is great! Will totally use this plan if we end up building a coop. It's looking more and more like we'll have to rent the chooks at first, but after I PROVE CHICKEN AWESOMENESS we'll probably either buy one from the place or make one, and this one is first on my list for plans.

There were some unclear things in the plan that we worked through, but overall is nicely done. Lots of experienced folks here that can weigh in down the road too

Nothing like a farm fresh egg, hopefully your family will be won over! I can't wait for my girls to start laying and all those beautiful green, chocolate and blue eggs on my counter good luck with this!

 

[singwithmylife]

We got a prefab one from the local feed store. Then we ordered an OverEZ coop. It is a MILLION times better than the first. Expensive but HIGH quality. Worth every penny. Mainly because we did the math and would have wound up spending just as much getting the prefab up to par. We’re now selling the prefab and buying a second OverEZ coop.

 

[srhalford]

I am late to this thread but want to say there are some high quality pre-fab coops available if you want and are able to spend some $$. We bought ours from Roost and Root out of TX and then built a run on the back. I looked at this coop for over a year and did a lot of research b/c I wanted to do it right the first time. It has been the best money we've ever spent. Anyways, I hope things work out for you. I have added pics of our coop and run.