Talk me off the Ledge... $2000 for a chicken coop!

[ThatTeowonna]

I just received a quote for a 10x6 chicken coop... $2,023! I know lumber is sky high... no need to tell me that. But here is the crazy part... I'm thinking about paying it. But I honestly feel like a fool paying that much for a CHICKEN COOP! I was fine with $1500... and $1700. But $2k seemed a bit excessive. What do you think? Give me your story.

 

[DobieLover]

I just received a quote for a 10x6 chicken coop... $2,023! I know lumber is sky high... no need to tell me that. But here is the crazy part... I'm thinking about paying it. But I honestly feel like a fool paying that much for a CHICKEN COOP! I was fine with $1500... and $1700. But $2k seemed a bit excessive. What do you think? Give me your story.

I converted an old shed into my coop so most of the work was already done. I took a lot of material from my old run and recycled it for portions of the new run and used the 1/2" HC to cover window openings, etc. I still ended up spending about $2500 and this was in the spring/summer of 2019.
Some might say I went overboard with predator proofing but nothing has ever gotten at my flock within their pen and I sleep like a baby at night.
The way I look at it is the chickens are my main source of entertainment and stress relief. I don't go out much so I'm not spending money on that, why not on the birds? I've NEVER regretted it.

 

[clarkbre]

Take it or leave it but material costs are through the roof and labor isn't free.

Our 4x8 coop and 10x8 run will be about $2600 with me doing all the labor. Again, material isn't cheap.

 

[black_cat]

My 5x6 raised coop with external nesting boxes was hand built for around $1500...parents didn't want to build anything but I wouldn't go for the crappy prefabs.

 

[3KillerBs]

If you priced materials based on the pic provided, purchasing all of your materials at Lowes (about as cheap as you can get), the rough estimate to get you about 90% done is $1540.06. That is with today's current material prices and it would only get the project into the back of your truck. ...

VERY useful breakout there!

6" fence pickets are still cheapish, consider them instead as well and use them like siding.

That's what I'm going to use for the windward walls on my new coop.

I saw this on Facebook the other day:

 

[saysfaa]

We are paying $2800 (delivered) for a 10x14 rough sawn pine shell (ordered at March's lumber prices). It will be another $600 to finish the roof (tar paper, drip edge, shingles, nails, and ridge vent), $100 for paint, $40 for two windows, $100 for hardware cloth, $20 for feeders and waterers and an egg basket, $10 for the first bag of sweet pdz.

Foundation (sand and short pieces of treated 4x4), framing for interior screen wall, roosts, poop board, shelves for supplies, nests, dust bath containers, and bedding are no cost (found things or repurposed things.)

We expect to get about a third to a half of that back when we sell the house because it will convert to a nice shed.

No run, so no cost there. And no electricity or water to the shed. And it is small enough to not need the $50 building permit from the zoning office.

I think it is better than spending a quarter as much for something that won't work well and/or won't last, and that we would have to pay (in time,effort, and hassle if not in cash) to remove so we can sell the house because it detracts from the curb appeal of the house.

Our next best option was about $3800 (delivered) for metal or T-11 sided, metal roofed shed of similar size (mid-April prices.)

Or about $1500 in materials plus cutting and hauling a lot of trees from my woods and a LOT of time to build it ourselves.

 

[clarkbre]

It's been ten years, but I know I paid at least $2,000 for my 8x10 coop. And it was well worth it! Family members expressed shock, dismay, amazement, and ridicule when they heard about it and/or saw the nice tight building I got from the Mennonites. They asked me WHY I would do such a thing. And I told them, Because I don't plan on buying new chickens every couple of weeks because the raccoons "et" them!

Some of these relatives decided they wanted chickens too. And they put their chickens in beat-up, home-made, chicken-wire affairs about 2x3' set on rickety tables outside. In a matter of days their little wire cages got torn up and they had no more chickens. My chickens died, eventually, of old age. Nobody laughed at my chicken hotel any more.

Like I said, I got this building ten years ago. I only wish I had paid even more for a concrete slab to have set it on. And if I had the money, I would buy another one and get 20 more chickens!

This is the idea that people need to grasp and understand. Just because the price seems insane to one person doesn't mean that it is. It could very likely be considered an affordable value to another. It's easy for people to say "You spent what? I did it for $$$ cheaper!" The bottom line is that 99% of the time, the comparison is not an apples to apples.

I know people look at me like I've jumped off the deep end with what my coop/run, kids' playset and shed have cost that are sitting in my backyard. Yes, I spend good money on them. Yes, I built the structures custom to my needs and they function well. Yes, they will stand up to the test of time. No, none of the structures are eye sores or cobbled together. I refuse to save pennies and regret it later. The last thing I remind them of is whatever hobby or interest they have and pick apart the costs.

You can buy a $20 fishing pole at Walmart and catch fish....why do people spend hundreds on them?

Your car came with wheels and tires, why replace them with shinier ones?

Others buy their "must have" fancy coffee everyday on the way to work...I don't...it saves me $1,300 a year. I use that money for stuff I care or am interested in.

Bottom line, if raising chickens is your thing, it makes you happy and you aren't sponsored, you only need to justify the expense to yourself. No one else is writing the check so no one else can say anything.

 

[lesliedow]

I'm scoping a 8x12 Woods coop with a 8x16 run and materials alone are nearly $3000. OSB 4x8 plywood is almost $50 a sheet!

 

[3KillerBs]

I think it is better than spending a quarter as much for something that won't work well and/or won't last, and that we would have to pay (in time,effort, and hassle if not in cash) to remove so we can sell the house because it detracts from the curb appeal of the house.

This is a good point.

Today I was given this coop and a brooder/playpen structure along with the 4 chicks I was expecting because my friend wants to list her house and needed to get this useful but unattractive structure off her property.

I'm going to "redneck" it into a walk-in, outdoor brooder for the 35 chicks that are arriving before the new coop is going to be complete (it's been delayed by weather, health problems, and difficulty obtaining materials).

People who live in town need to pay attention to property values and aesthetics when building their coops whereas purely practical structures made from pallets and tarps are more acceptable in rural areas.

I know brick and rebar is cheap where I live but so labor intensive I didn't even consider it.

If I were 15 years younger I'd go for it. I'm not strong enough to lay block, but I'm sure I could handle brick -- at least well enough to make a chicken coop.

 

[3KillerBs]

I don't remember what we paid for the Little Monitor Coop in 2014 -- a LOT less than the same materials would cost today.

I don't know what we're paying for The Chicken Palace and I don't know if DH is actually keeping track. Probably twice or three times what we'd have paid for the same materials 18 months ago.

Not much we can do about it. At least an Open Air style coop costs less than an enclosed coop would cost.