These Tiny Pre-Fab Coups.

[kynewbchickie]

Old Hickory Buildings offers rent-to-own storage buildings and barns in various sizes, finishes, roofing choices, etc. - that's who we went through to buy the building we're converting into the girls' coop. For the materials to build a coop of lesser quality at the same size, we were looking at around $2000. We bought the building and the extra materials needed for conversion for less than that, and they delivered and leveled it for free. I wouldn't recommend something like that for a few birds - but we have a starter flock of 30 and I'm certain chicken math will kick in at some point, so the added room will be a huge benefit for us personally. The boys have their own run and I'll be building their housing from the leftover materials from the girls' nesting boxes.

 

[Roxannemc]

I read everyone saying "build bigger" but am sad to say that 2 chickens is all I'm allowed without a permit. With permit only up to 6. I guess I should have a little bit of extra room in case I decide a permit is worth it.

HAHA you will want the permit .
Somehow chicken keeping is really addictive and everyone seems to want more once they have a couple...why everyone here says build bigger..some of us have gone from a couple to 30 or even 100 in a years time.CRazy but it happens..They are just so diverse colors and breeds

 

[jkhenry]

HAHA you will want the permit .
Somehow chicken keeping is really addictive and everyone seems to want more  once they have a couple...why everyone  here says build bigger..some of us have gone from a couple to 30 or even  100  in a years time.CRazy  but it happens..They are just so diverse colors and  breeds   

i built a 24x16 coop and run to put the 8 chicks and 2 ducklings and my chicks are barely 11 weeks old i went and bought 6 more chicks lol hope my addiction calms down

 

[kynewbchickie]

i built a 24x16 coop and run to put the 8 chicks and 2 ducklings and my chicks are barely 11 weeks old i went and bought 6 more chicks lol hope my addiction calms down

That is one BIG coop!

 

[BrittBergh]

This is the other we are considering. I actually like it a little more than the others, because the poop pan looks rather deep, and it has the ventilation window. But we would have to have it shipped.




http://www.hayneedle.com/sale/trixiechickencoopwithoutdoorrun.cfm

Save your money on this one honestly... this coop is super small the wood is thin and weak. Its the same maker of the small coop we have and it wont last...I thought it would but it wont.

 

[BrittBergh]

HAHA you will want the permit .
Somehow chicken keeping is really addictive and everyone seems to want more once they have a couple...why everyone here says build bigger..some of us have gone from a couple to 30 or even 100 in a years time.CRazy but it happens..They are just so diverse colors and breeds

Yes do get the permit!!! We only wanted 3 to begin with, then got 4, and then added 16 more lol!

 

[cstronks]

Chickens are addicting...once you get a few, you instantly want more. As for prefab coops, I looked through them all. They often exaggerate the number of chickens you can fit. If you are keeping Bantams, it actually isn't a bad idea to look into prefabs. However, larger more common species will require more space, thus negating prefabs as an option. I am a college student who decided to build my own coop over winter break. My friends and I had a blast constructing the coop and learning our way around construction and power tools. It also let us be creative. I looked through almost every coop available in the coop section and finally found one I wanted to replicate. The experience of building a coop with my friends was something that was well worth it.

Another thing about building you own coop is that you can save a decent amount of money doing it yourself. The way I see it is that there is more bang for your buck when you build it. My coop cost about 1/3 more than a prefab would have, but it nearly doubles it in square footage and easily surpasses it in looks! Hopefully this little tirade against prefabs and for DIY helps!

 

[CrosStitching]

I'm in the process of building a little coop in our urban BY for our 4 pullets. So far, I've been able to save TONS by using wood pallets collected from Lowes and various little companies w/in 2mi of my house. We had some leftover 2x4's from our recent fence building project so that helped with the frame, but everything else so far is from scraps of pallet wood and random pieces of closet shelving from a remodel. It takes more time and a bit of legwork to track down free stuff, but, it's really simple to use and very sturdy. A skill saw makes taking apart the pallets a cinch and keeps the wood from cracking. My coop is about 3'x3' plus a 2'x1' nest box.

 

[kynewbchickie]

We finished our coop today!