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

[Heather Faron]

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.

Look for something already made by the Menanites or Amish at one of their hardware stores. We bought our chicken coop 1,700 and it’s so incredibly heavy with insulation and windows.

 

[PlentifulPrairie]

We built our coop with old wood from our deck. And bought 2x4's for the frame, corrugated metal sheeting for the roof, reused a cement slab that was previously for a crappy metal shed (from a previous owner). We spent about $600 last year. I'd look into a prebuilt shed, maybe one is on Craigslist. Best of luck, lumber is insane right now. .... honestly everything is probably about to get really insane, but that's my opinion.

 

[ZephyrCoveFarms]

I have over $3500 in my 8x20’ coop and run with 15 nest boxes. Probably about $2k in the coop itself. All deck screws, no nails, hardi siding and trim and a metal roof. I guess it depends how much you like chickens!

 

[Lemon-Drop]

As I said earlier, our coop was a little over 2000 (more like 3000 with the run) but when I researched about buying coops, I thought horizon structures and Carolina coops looked nice. (But they are so expensive!)

 

[Leov]

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.

What is the square footage here.
We started with an Amway coop on sale, coop/run for $150.00. I then decided the run was a joke as it was the bottom of the coop and only 2x5ft. So I built another 10’x12’ft run around that. Secured the bottom well to keep predators out amd since then added an additional plastic wire with netting run around that as well!!! The 10’x12’ exterior run we did ourselves at a tune of around 450-500 with the plastic roofing. It’s not to complicated. What your spending seems really excessive. You did not mention the sq footage either.

 

[swimmy44]

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.

If you can’t build it yourself just buy it if you can afford it. In a few months you will wish you spent more on a larger coop!

 

[Lemon-Drop]

If you can’t build it yourself just buy it if you can afford it. In a few months you will wish you spent more on a larger coop!

Yes, but don’t get a cheap pre-fab!

 

[caseykat98]

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.

 

[caseykat98]

i have a run down aviary that is 16 ft wide and 10 ft deep. i hired someone to renovate it so i could keep chickens and quails. He quoted me 2,400 but he used the very cheapest materials he could find. The most important thing is that he wire the walls with 1/4 inch hardware wire. He attached the wire to the plywood and then attached the plywood to the walls. He did some weird things which i him redo. I even bought some materials to make my structure rodent proof but in time we shall see. All in all, it cost me about $2, 700. i live in hawaii and items are a bit more expensive than on the mainland.

 

[Lovmychickns]

We bought an 8x10 shed from Lowe’s and built it ourselves for around $800. It was an amazing investment since I can house 20+ birds in there and it’s fully contained if needed.