Turnkey Chicken Coops?

[MarieB]

Hi everyone, I am new.

I kept chickens several years ago when I made every mistake in the book, intending to keep them in an old horse barn we had on our property ... lots of lessons learned, most that I didn't have my optimum set-up last time. (Chickens couldn't get out, but predators could get in ...

....)

My weird question is - there seem to be a lot of outfits out of the UK who build poultry housing at the drop of a hat. I can't seem to find the same in my region (New England).

I don't want to build my own poultry housing, I actually want someone else to come in and build it, because I want it done right. I just can't find ANY outfit who does this professionally. At the Topsfield Fair (this week) there are rabbit hutches and builders galore - but no poultry house builders.

I am near New Hampshire in Massachusetts - anyone know any outfit who ships pre-fab or I don't know what ... just surprising that you can get someone 24 hours of the day to install a sunroom, I have found ZERO resources who can come do a proper poultry shed.

Are all the DIY resources on the net indicative of the fact that we are left to fend for ourselves? I actually don't know, but figured you all would.

I miss raising chickens, I loved it DEARLY.

Marie

 

[texaschickmama]

Hi, I'm sure you have already saturated the web for anyone who would do a coop haven't you. You can get some amazing ideas from some of the pictures on here. We just finished our coop and it turned out great. You should check out the chicken tractors. Now, I think that will be the next project.

 

[speckledhen]

Your best bet is to have someone like Lowe's build a shed for you with any extra windows you think you need and do some interior stuff like nests and roosts yourself.

 

[justusnak]

I agree with Cynthia.....have Lowes, Home Depot...come build a shed on your site...then have extra windows....All you would have to do is add nest boxes, and roost..and a safe yard. I am sure you can get some fence company to build you a good strong fence...or do it yourself! Just remember, fence should be 12 inches in the ground...to prevent digging predators....and a good safe top...to prevent hawks!

 

[Cheryl]

My local high school has a house building program, they are presently building me my coop that my husband designed. Why don't you try one of tech schools in your area and see what they can do?

 

[poppycat]

It all depends on your budget I suppose. I would call some carpenters or remodelers. Someone might look at it as a good project to fill in between bigger jobs. Or as others suggested, you could go the Lowe's/Home Depot route.

 

[thechickenfarmer]

Hi Marie,
You are so right. When I wanted a coop 2 years ago I couldn't find anything in Connecticut. There are a few small barn building companies in my area that would build a small shed for about $10,000 or, the crappy tiny things at the feed store with no floor! Like you, all the ones I found that I liked were in the UK. This is the one I fell in love with:

http://www.newbarntimberproducts.co.uk/granary range.htm

I've even tried to convince my brother (who's a builder) that there's a market for chicken coops. He thinks I'm flat out crazy!

I ended up getting chickens hoping my husband would build me a coop (in his spare time) well, you know how the story goes....the chickens got big much faster than I thought and I bought a shed from Home Depot.

It's not the coop of my dreams but it's right near my garden so I can covert it to a garden shed when I'm able to build a bigger better coop in a pasture next to my house.

Good Luck

Jen

I ordered nice nesting boxes for the inside and installed them my self! I even built a roost.

 

[silkiechicken]

EEk! Thoes coops are 3x3, 4x4, and 4x6... and say can old up to 8,15, 30 birds!!! Woah. Ok. Hope they mistyped ft instead of m.

 

[Poison Ivy]

We have a family construction business and if I need anything built I ask the framer/roofer contractor to build it for me. They usually do handyman stuff on the side. The guy is coming tomorrow to build me a new coop for my ameraucana's. So I would look into that option too or buy one from home depot or lowes they have some really nice ones.

 

[PurpleChicken]

A few things about Home Depot and Lowes sheds.

1-They don't build on site. They deliver a prefab shed to a site.

2-They are garbage. The studs are 24" apart, the siding is
1/2" or thinner particle board, the bases are week, etc...

3-They are not cheap. There are a lot of small building/shed
companies down here that offer Amish made, higher quality
sheds, at the same or better price

4-Custom??? The only customization is window qty and size, door qty
and size, and maybe flower boxes.

I built my 12 x 24' barn for under $3000 in materials. Home Depot's
version with similiar specs is $7800. I'm not going to begin to list the
differences.

Questions:
How soon are you getting your birds?
How much do you want to spend?
How big do you want it?
How many birds do you want to get?
Do you have flat ground to put it on?

I have a friend in the business who can probably arrange to have one
delivered to your site. I was going to get one from him but decided to
build it myself. Yes it was a huge project but I've enjoyed every minute of
it.