Prefab coop or homemade?

[danceswithronin]

Hi all! I have five day-old chicks ordered that are coming between June 5th-7th, and I really need to get rolling on preparing my coop site. I know they'll be indoors in the brooder for at least four-five weeks after that (already have all that equipment secured and ready to set up) but I'd like to get a headstart on the final housing in the meantime.

My question is, with the time constraints I'm under, should I buy a prefab coop (I'm looking at the Innovation Pet Deluxe Farm House Chicken Coop from TSC) or should I just buckle down and design/build one by hand? I feel like I could accomplish the project more quickly with a prefab, but for the cost of one ($300~) I could also build my own with some custom features I'd like that might be a bit more permanent/sturdy. I'm not particularly handy, but I'm good at following directions/tutorials, and have plenty of power tools at my disposal along with some strong help.

I'll be building my coop under a small stand of pear and apple trees we don't harvest or do anything with, so they'll have plenty of overripe pears and other goodies that drop into the run for them to forage in, and they'll have plenty of shade during the hottest parts of the Alabama summer. I'm also concerned about the heavy rainfall we get in the summer, so I'll be sure that part of the run is covered as well and has good drainage.

Right now I'm at the point where I have to level that part of the yard and move a lot of dirt over there - maybe throw in some pea gravel as well - so that the area where the coop is going is nice and flat. I don't want to have to shim the thing or rig it in any way (I live in a nice, established neighborhood and the coop also has to be aesthetically pleasing/match the house even if you can't see it from the street).

I also want to keep everything well below fence level (six foot privacy fence) and add sound dampening materials to the coop, as I do not want to start shit with the neighbors. Chickens are legal where I live but the relaxed ordinance for suburban/urban chickens is very new, I'd rather not cause any issues that will make the neighbors complain, so my coop is going to be as quiet and smell-free as humanly possible. One way I preempted this is to decide to keep Silkies, which are small and seem to be fairly quiet compared to other breeds. Plus they can't fly, so no worries about them hopping the backyard fence and making a run for freedom. I will be getting one mystery chick so no telling if it is a flighty breed or not, but I'll be wing clipping that one.

Any other considerations I should be thinking of? There will also be a large chicken run around the coop itself, fenced in with heavy wrought iron garden fencing and reinforced with hardware cloth all the way around the interior so nobody can slip through the fence (it's a tight fence anyway with bars about two inches apart, but I'm not sure how much chickens can squeeze through stuff).

I'd also like to build a chicken "moat" around my garden because it is so close to the chicken run, so that my chickens can range the perimenter and keep bugs out. I'd like to connect the chicken moat to the run but not sure how to do that with the wrought iron, so I might have to just stick the chickens in the moat whenever I want them to be in there and keep the two enclosures separate.

 

[Frazzemrat1]

I would build one. I don't think that prefab is going to be big enough for 5 full sized chickens. I might put 3 adult chickens in there, but not 5.

 

[danceswithronin]

I would build one. I don't think that prefab is going to be big enough for 5 full sized chickens. I might put 3 adult chickens in there, but not 5.

That's what I was thinking too. Plus you know, chicken math. I was only supposed to get three chickens initially and I'm already up to five. I can easily see myself having 6-8 before it's over with, especially since I'd like to get some rare breed fertilized eggs and let my broody silkies hatch them out. I'd planned to sell most of those chicks (mostly wanted to hatch them out for the enjoyment of my little nephews who are as animal-crazy as I am) but I'm sure there's one or two that will catch my eye.

The chickens I've picked so far will all be bantams though, so that's something to consider. I wouldn't mind added some mild-mannered full size chooks to the mix at some point, maybe Orps. I'm obsessed with rare color Orps like brown cuckoo and porcelain, but you can't find chicks like that very easily.

 

[Frazzemrat1]

chicken math is a thing!!! I started out with 6 last year, convinced myself half of them were cockerels, so got 6 more... Then found two that were darling, so I had to get them (right?!) so I gave away two others.... then one died this year, so my husband said I could get one more... BUT you can't get ONE chick!!!! So I have 3 chicks growing up, and hopefully will integrate well with my other 11.

 

[danceswithronin]

chicken math is a thing!!! I started out with 6 last year, convinced myself half of them were cockerels, so got 6 more... Then found two that were darling, so I had to get them (right?!) so I gave away two others.... then one died this year, so my husband said I could get one more... BUT you can't get ONE chick!!!! So I have 3 chicks growing up, and hopefully will integrate well with my other 11.

Yup, that's how I ended up with five. Initially I was going to order the bare minimum (three silkie chicks) but there was only four available until mid-August at the hatchery I chose, so I was like screw it, I'll just get all four and if one is a roo then I'm not down a chicken. I didn't want to leave one poor chick in a hatch all alone!

I was also concerned whether or not they'd all survive shipping. Then I saw that Meyer has a Meal Maker program where they send you a FREE chick along with your order, so I was like why not?

Basically I'd like to make my coop and run as big and good-looking as humanly possible so that I can quietly integrate new chooks as I become more and more obsessed with the hobby without pissing anybody off, lol.

 

[Frazzemrat1]

that's what I did... my second batch was an order of 5 from Meyer, that they added the 'meal maker' onto. She turned out to be a leghorn, who laid pretty consistently through the winter, even with a touch of frostbite. She's also the one who died.

 

[danceswithronin]

I have a different model coop from the same manufacturer. It is definitely only good for 2 full sized birds, probably 4 bantams. It is not terribly well-built and is unlikely to last more than three years. Definitely go home-built.

Thanks for the warning! I'll definitely go with building my own coop then. It was very tempting to get something prefabricated because there are some really cute ones at TSC and Costco/Sam's Club, but I've noticed looking at them that they lack a lot of the things I'd like in a good permanent coop and I'd really like something that can hold at least eight chickens comfortably without overcrowding issues, even if I only plan on initially keeping 3-5.

 

[townchicks]

It seems like homebuilt would be the way to go for you. Chicken math has already got you, and you haven't gotten yours yet! There are decent prefabs out there, I don't know about the TC ones but some can be really poorly built, and they all hold less than they say they will. I like mine that I got from My Pet Chicken, but it is a tight fit for my 3 girls, and I'm in the process of building a somewhat larger one right now.

 

[Cryss]

Good work using hardware cloth. It's not so much about keeping chickens in as it is keeping critters out. Raccoons and such can reach through a 2 inch gap and grab a chicken, pull its head through, and eat the head. Not a pleasant sight.
You're much better off making your own coop. If you don't think you can get it completed in the next few weeks (cuz they will drive you crazy indoors once they get a bit bigger) a prefab can get you through till next year IF you add some modifications. Then you'll need to get that handmade coop finished. Prefabs are poor quality and need drafts sealed and better roosts and are generally quoted to house 4 times more birds than they actually can. I know. I have that same coop. It got my 4 birds from November to now but I'm building a bigger coop.
Much bigger. You need to take into account Chicken Math. Yes, I understand you will have a happy little flock of 5. Like I said, I had 4. That's all I wanted. Then one became a cockerel. Traded him back for 2 more pullets (2 because that cockerel was worth more). So now I have 5. Nice. Month later a late blooming cockerel revealed himself. Loved this bird so I kept him. Breeder felt bad cuz he guarentees pullets. He gave me a free bird. Now I have 6. Never add a single bird to an established flock. They are ostracized and bullied with no one to socialize with. So I bought the freebie a buddy. I now have 7, and that's all in a matter of 6 months time. Now that I've experienced chickens I'm fascinated by them. They are no longer just a means for eggs and fertilizer. They are amusing, interesting, fun to have. I already have my eye on 3 more and may well go to 5. Believe in chicken math and build bigger than you imagine. My new coop will hold up to 20, the run will accommodate 28, although I intend to stop at 12. If I stay true to that plan my birds will think they are in nirvana.
Yeah, build. Build big, build strong.
Prefab only in a serious pinch, and only because you already have your chicks. Best case scenario would be have your coop ready before filling your brooder. I know that one from experience too. You're lucky you found BYC so early. I came in after I already bought my Innovation Pet Deluxe Farm House Chicken Coop and had my 4 in it.
Btw, WELCOME

 

[danceswithronin]

Good work using hardware cloth. It's not so much about keeping chickens in as it is keeping critters out. Raccoons and such can reach through a 2 inch gap and grab a chicken, pull its head through, and eat the head. Not a pleasant sight.

My mom is deathly afraid of this scenario - she grew up on a hobby farm briefly and her dad had a bunch of chickens whose feet were gnawed off through the chicken wire due to shabby run design (and the giant raccoon-wrist-sized holes in regular chicken wire). I'm a little less worried about predators because I have three outdoor dogs in the backyard (one Methuselah golden retriever and two old terriers) that absolutely love to kill possums and coons and chipmunks. I don't think predators can get into my yard and live without my dogs raising all kinds of hell and waking everybody up, but I also don't trust my dogs to not go after the chickens themselves because of this penchant for eating small running things. While the chicks are growing I was going to slowly introduce the dogs to them one at a time, in the controlled environment of the garage, on leash, to check their temperament and see how they act towards them. They are old dogs and listen very well, but I want to be really, really sure they are chicken-proof before the chickens ever leave an enclosed run around them. Otherwise the dogs will be relegated to the garage any time I want to give the chickens the whole backyard to range in.

As for the two-inch gap, my plan is that the chickens aren't going to be in the run unless they're being supervised since it's not covered on the top and we have a lot of hawks in my area. The coop will have a completely enclosed area for them to run around in all day, but the larger open chicken run will be for supervised free ranging purposes only. I'll let them out to play in their yard whenever I go out to socialize them or pick up the run.