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

[U_Stormcrow]

and my last build was as prices started to rise. It cost me around $1,300 I believe, but is pretty bare bones. Of course, its also 10' x 16' (roughly).

8 sheets of hardieboard (which I would lay out differently) if I did it again, that about $300. 10 sheets ox 2'x8' 5v metal roofing, plus a ridge and screws, another $300. 8 4x4s (PT), they were around $20 a piece at the time, so $160. At least that much in 2x4x8s and 2x4x12s (though its very lightly framed). Then more screws, concrete, paint, nesting boxes, gutters to collect rainwater...

Yeah, I think $1,300 is a good estimate, and it remains barebones.

Could easily throw a few $Hundred$ more at it in doors and hardware cloth if I thought it needed. And one more hardieboard, to better shelter the sides - free ventilation is NOT a problem - though I'd rearrange coverage on the side (and will) when I add the outriggers for more sheltered storage (hay, and maybe some metal bins for feed storage, get it out of the barn).

 

[lesliedow]

Use Hardiboard instead. Harder on your tools, you don't want to be making a lot of cuts, and you will need to use screws, not nails - but will save you between $8 and $15 a sheet, depending on where you source it, and its FAR more durable than OSB, particularly with regard moisture (though both are $#!+ for ground contact (isn't everything?).

Of, and metal roof on purlins - faster, potentially lasts far longer, doesn't require decking, felt, tons of nails, and then squares of shingles - so cheaper, too. (and absorbs less heat - for good or ill - than a shingle roof, besides)

Thanks for the suggestions. Hardiboard is great stuff! I do a lot of tiling and love the stuff. I had planned on metal roof and was wondering if I needed to put this on top of OSB or could lay across the purlins. I was not going to use OSB for interior walls and the exterior will be T1-11.

 

[saysfaa]

Metal roof can go on purlins, it doesn't need a deck. That is how all the shed builders I see around here do it. Most put a moisture barrier under the metal, though, or it will rain inside at times even without animals in it. Evidently, it doesn't in all climates, though.

 

[Mellowmalt]

ok I love the last design btw so I have a question for the diyers. how do I best staple the chicken wire to wood real cheap without using a staple gun. Or do you all use a staple gun? That's one thing I still need to get right, at the moment I'm using wire looped around the wood which works.

 

[clarkbre]

ok I love the last design btw so I have a question for the diyers. how do I best staple the chicken wire to wood real cheap without using a staple gun. Or do you all use a staple gun? That's one thing I still need to get right, at the moment I'm using wire looped around the wood which works.

I use 3/4" Tek Sharp point #8 screws to hold all wire mesh material down. The head acts as a washer.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Screw + Washer is the best way to secure hardware cloth to something else.

Poultry staples is the second best way.

Actual staples won't do the trick.

and note that the good poultry staples (those aren't they) will have a "nick" in them, turned out, so the staple grabs a bit better. But that is a MUCH heavier duty product - I've been unable to source a similar design in a smaller size.

 

[papajoesfarm]

I just put a new corrugated steel roof on the poultry complex run this spring. Gilbralter utility gauge panels , used the Teks roofing screws, has a 3:12 pitch. No plywood needed, the purlins were built on the red numbers. Corrugated panels on a frame built to spec will have plenty of support in our environment in Central Florida. If we lived somewhere with heavy snowfall, the roof would have a differnet pitch, and I would be inclined to use a panel underneath No moisture barrier in my case, as the run is all hardware cloth and open air. It's a simple Lean-to design, with a wooden fascia in front to prevent woodland critters from taking up residence.

The hardware cloth is always fastened with exterior screws and Fender Washers. Extremely sturdy and secure, nothing short of an insane Grizzly Bear can tear it off. It is pricy, but you don't want to cut corners when it's for the security of your flocks.

Doing the construction work yourself and using good re-purposed dimensional lumber will keep your costs down. The limiters on this approach are knowing how to do the work, having the tools to do it, and having the time to spend working on your coop and run projects. And the time is always the big one.

 

[TropicalBabies]

ok I love the last design btw so I have a question for the diyers. how do I best staple the chicken wire to wood real cheap without using a staple gun. Or do you all use a staple gun? That's one thing I still need to get right, at the moment I'm using wire looped around the wood which works.

For just regular chicken wire -because I do not have raccoons or weasels or bears- I use a T50 stapler and 1/2" staples. I am a block from the beach and mine are still holding after almost 4 years. Over here in Hawaii, a stapler is about $20 max, staples another $4.50 or so.

****My mere chicken wire has held hunting dogs at bay till I could get out there butif I had more serious predators that could scale fences I def would use a hardware clothe or welded wire w/ screws and fenders. But again, I was on a tight budget and we don't have the chicken eaters many folks do.

 

[GalvestonWader]

I've got about $1,100 in mine. I bought the coop and small run for around $600. Then quickly realized the run was too small so I added an 8' x 8' additional run. All in all with the coop, wood for run addition, hardware cloth and paint I'm a little over $1k. Here's a few pics, but I'm still finishing up a few things.

 

[3KillerBs]

ok I love the last design btw so I have a question for the diyers. how do I best staple the chicken wire to wood real cheap without using a staple gun. Or do you all use a staple gun? That's one thing I still need to get right, at the moment I'm using wire looped around the wood which works.

Security doesn't come cheap.

I am doing a rush job on the brooder that needs to be set up and holding a good temperature by next Thursday evening (chicks expected Friday), and might not be able to wait for the new pneumatic fence stapler DH is going to order tonight so he's hunted up the box of hammerable fence staples for me.

Hand-operated stapleguns, even the best-designed and heaviest-duty, use relatively small staples and it takes very strong hands to hold them firmly enough to get good penetration. I didn't mind bad penetration stapling plastic mesh to the temporary pen that would be used inside the electric net, but I wouldn't trust those staples vs a determined 5yo much less a racoon.

The hardware cloth is always fastened with exterior screws and Fender Washers. Extremely sturdy and secure, nothing short of an insane Grizzly Bear can tear it off. It is pricy, but you don't want to cut corners when it's for the security of your flocks.

Indeed. IMO, the best fasteners are stronger than the material they're fastening.