Ready made coops

[suziedoozie]

Is there anyone who has bought a ready made chicken coop? If so, which one did you buy and would you recommend it to others? I see many of them on E-bay and have been considering getting one of these. I am definitely not a handy man or carpenter. Are there those that are better than others? Are they worth the money? Thank you for any input.

 

[mmaddie's mom]

Am interested to the answers you get to this also!

 

[whasittoya]

I just got one from ebay- it is arriving Tuesday. I will post pictures/details after I set it up.

 

[gryeyes]

I have purchased several of them, to use as either quarantine, infirmary, or grow-out coops. It's hard to find 'em large enough for more than two chickens, honestly.

They're worth it to ME, but for a main coop, no. Not unless you have four or less chickens. AND you have a larger run to place them into, or let your chickens range freely. The attached pens are too small for full time "run" purposes.

I have purchased the Cumfy Pet coops, and a couple others. Easy to put together, but the latches are usually something I replace with something more secure. I practically have a Chicken Compound with various coops.

My flock has so many places to sleep they occasionally go "coop hopping" and different chickens will sleep with new buddies; they certainly like to find different nest boxes in which to lay their eggs!

I think they're wonderful for the person who has absolutely no carpentry skills or tools, AND have to get housing for their chickens FAST. I have built two coops myself, a duck house and also transmorgrifed a plastic Little Tikes playhouse into a coop. Those projects took time, which I only had available on weekends, so when there was a crunch for chicken lodging, I snagged coop kits for the next batch o' chicks I raised.

Dunno if this information helps....

 

[kathyAtABetterWayFarm]

I AM handy, but after looking at the cost for all the materials, and factoring in the time and effort is was going to take, I bought a "ready made" coup and I've had many people comment on how its the cutest chicken coop they've ever seen! Its actually a child's playhouse that I got at a discount because it was the display model for quite some time. You could also look on craigslist or similar places for used child's playhouses. Once I got it all I had to do was cut a hole in the side for the chicken door, put in a few roosting dowels and put in nesting boxes on one side which was super simple to do... MUCH easier than trying to build an entire coop by myself! I don't have that kind of free time! ) The first pic shows the over all coop and that front fenced in part was the "run" they stayed in when they were very, very young, the second pic shows the side, which has the door I use to get in the coop, and the chicken door I put in that they got to use when they got a little older and now have free reign over the place. ) I'd love to hear what people think about it!

OK, WELL... I WAS going to post pictures, BUT because I am a new member, apparently I am not allowed to post images. What a bummer. What fun is it to be a part of a forum that you can't even fully participate in?

 

[gryeyes]

Patience. In a little while, you can post photos. BYC admin was having trouble with spammers joining, and posting links and whatnot. After a few posts, you will be able to post pictures.

 

[kathyAtABetterWayFarm]

looks like they will let me post now. Here is my "ready made" coop (see two posts up)

 

[suziedoozie]

That is so darling. I love it! So glad they let you post the pictures!

 

[DawnM]

We have so many people around here that make coops as a hobby and sell them on Craigslist. They are usually cheaper than the kits you have to put together yourself. We have always made our own using old doghouses or a simple A frame coop is pretty easy too. I have never done more than $100 for materials to build my own.

 

[off-grid hen]

Hm. I might have bumped a thread too old, but... Since it's been a while, how is it with the predators? I'm thinking of getting this one in 8x5, or something like it. We have a place that has these same coops about an hour's drive from where I live, and they'll deliver it fully assembled, then set it for you. They level the area and everything. We had this done with a playground set from the same company. DH is strongly considering the easy way out. Once the snow melts, he needs to be working on stuff for his busness that he's put off all winter and doesn't have time to build a coop.

http://www.horizonstructures.com/coop.asp