Where to buy a coop?

[thereseiam]

Hi all,

I'm new to chickens, and don't have any yet--still in the planning stages. I'm looking for something to make into a coop, and am starting my search by looking at storage sheds, with the minimum shed being 10X12.

Where did you get your coop? Any suggestions as to where to look? How many chickens would a 10X12 shed work for? I intend to have an outdoor area much, much larger than the shed, of course.

I haven't decided for sure, but am leaning toward Buff Orphingtons and Silkies as I want to start out with some really mellow chickens since I'm a newbie.

Thanks for any advice, I definitely appreciate it!

Therese

 

[BirdBrain]

Welcome Therese!!

Your first stop should be to the coops page here https://www.backyardchickens.com/coopdesigns.html

You will get a lot of inspiration from here. Spacewise, you are basically looking at 4 square feet per bird, so a 10x12 building (120sqFt) could hold up to 30 birds.

You can probably build a coop less expensively that buying a ready made one. You could look on Craig's list or ask on your local Freecycle list. You can even convert a kids wooden swingset into a coop.

As always, we want pics when you get your project going.

 

[lurky]

Welcome to BYC...... Buff Orpingtons and silkies are great choices

 

[thereseiam]

Thanks so much for your welcome and thoughts on my coop. I am definitely learning a lot as I read through the information here, and getting lots of ideas.

I think I'm going to see if I can get that 10X12 shed, and that way I'd only have to build the run myself.

That plan could change, of course, but for the moment, I think that's where I'm at.

Therese

 

[Anny]

Here is a link to a thread that talks about pre-fab coops you can buy.