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

[ThatTeowonna]

I forgot to ask how high of a pitch you have for pen roof.

It is a slanted roof. 8 ft to 6 fr

 

[Carson213]

Wow! I must be super cheap. I paid less than that for my car! I guess if your chicken coop is in your yard and you are trying to have it match the look of the house it makes more sense. Yes lumber and labor are expensive and $2,000 is probably a fair price.

But honestly chickens don't care nor do they need much of a coop if any. We have lots of chickens and just about every type of coop you could dream up. Even with all of these coops a good portion of our flock chooses to sleep in the tree. Most of the coops have been free or almost free, and we have built them from material we have scrounged up. The hens roam the pasture during the day and return to their coop at night, so these coops do not have a run.

'Big Coop' 11'X12' This is our winter coop when we reign the chickens in a bit. Someone else built this coop and likely spent a lot of time and money on it. But they were moving and wanted it gone. The two of us spent the better part of a day cutting it into pieces and hauling it home and the next day putting it back together.

'Tall Coop' 4'X6' Looks like a giant bird house. It is suspended on one large post that runs through the middle of it. It sets about 4.5' off the ground our chickens fly in and out of the access door. This design was my husband's idea so predators could not get in. It is too tall for a coyote to reach, and there is no way a racoon or weasle could climb the center post and reach the access door. It does not require wire, or any other predator proofing and has worked great! I stand on a stump to reach the egg box. This coop is super awesome for 6-8 hens.

'Dream House' 4'X5' it was originally a kids play house from Costco. Our neighbors were hauling it to the dump. We did a quick "remodel", patched the roof with a few cedar shakes and set it on a pallet board that we got for free. It turned out super cute, I painted it and added some flower boxes and curtains to the front windows.

The 'Chicksy Wagon' and the 'Egg mobile'. These are our summer coops for when we rotate through the pasture. Two 4'x8' mobile coops. We did purchase two small frame from a little utility trailers for around $100.00 each. Got one of the coops for free on the side of the road, and altered it to fit on the trailer. We painted it and dressed it up and installed a roll away nest box. The second mobile coop was built our of scavenged material.

The 'Duck House'. 3'X3'. Originally a dog house, free on the side of the road. This coop is a little plain, but functional. It is on low to the ground for our non flying ducks.

i love how all the coops have names! that’s cool

 

[Carson213]

It is a slanted roof. 8 ft to 6 fr

my roof is 14°...that’s just what i read online...we can get snow so it needed a certain pitch for weight i assume...

i also use the roof to collect rain water to supply the chickens water basin

 

[BigBlueHen53]

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!

 

[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.

 

[Carson213]

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.

“expensive” most the time relates to importance more than budget. the average person spends $2-3k per year on cell phones, data, tv, subscriptions, clothes, new cars, etc...people spend money on what they value...just like how they spend time.

 

[Carson213]

Teowanna, it is a high cost. Have you considered checking out craigslist? Here in maine there's always someone selling or giving one away. Also check out sheds on there. Same kind if deal.
We we're lucky enough to score two train type cars from an amusement park. Made of steel. We added the wood we needed and voila chicken coops. So many ideas. Check out pinterest too, there's lots of great ideas. I particularly love the trampoline one. Under the trampoline is the run. So creative.
Best of luck on your hunt.

how many chickens do you have or want to get?

 

[ThatTeowonna]

how many chickens do you have or want to get?

I have 12. I have 7 more coming so 19 total eventually.

 

[ThatTeowonna]

Wow! I must be super cheap. I paid less than that for my car! I guess if your chicken coop is in your yard and you are trying to have it match the look of the house it makes more sense. Yes lumber and labor are expensive and $2,000 is probably a fair price.

But honestly chickens don't care nor do they need much of a coop if any. We have lots of chickens and just about every type of coop you could dream up. Even with all of these coops a good portion of our flock chooses to sleep in the tree. Most of the coops have been free or almost free, and we have built them from material we have scrounged up. The hens roam the pasture during the day and return to their coop at night, so these coops do not have a run.

'Big Coop' 11'X12' This is our winter coop when we reign the chickens in a bit. Someone else built this coop and likely spent a lot of time and money on it. But they were moving and wanted it gone. The two of us spent the better part of a day cutting it into pieces and hauling it home and the next day putting it back together.

'Tall Coop' 4'X6' Looks like a giant bird house. It is suspended on one large post that runs through the middle of it. It sets about 4.5' off the ground our chickens fly in and out of the access door. This design was my husband's idea so predators could not get in. It is too tall for a coyote to reach, and there is no way a racoon or weasle could climb the center post and reach the access door. It does not require wire, or any other predator proofing and has worked great! I stand on a stump to reach the egg box. This coop is super awesome for 6-8 hens.

'Dream House' 4'X5' it was originally a kids play house from Costco. Our neighbors were hauling it to the dump. We did a quick "remodel", patched the roof with a few cedar shakes and set it on a pallet board that we got for free. It turned out super cute, I painted it and added some flower boxes and curtains to the front windows.

The 'Chicksy Wagon' and the 'Egg mobile'. These are our summer coops for when we rotate through the pasture. Two 4'x8' mobile coops. We did purchase two small frame from a little utility trailers for around $100.00 each. Got one of the coops for free on the side of the road, and altered it to fit on the trailer. We painted it and dressed it up and installed a roll away nest box. The second mobile coop was built our of scavenged material.

The 'Duck House'. 3'X3'. Originally a dog house, free on the side of the road. This coop is a little plain, but functional. It is on low to the ground for our non flying ducks.

I would love to see the coops.

 

[ThatTeowonna]

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.

We don’t have that community of people where I live.