# Cheap coops



## chickenlover365 (Dec 25, 2016)

Does anyone know where I can find a coop for under 200$ that can fit two to three chickens?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

For three birds figure 12 square feet of clear floor space. That means you need to add in extra space for the food, waterer and a nest. 

Are you or someone in your household capable of doing simple construction? A coop that size would be easy to construct, you can use things like old pallets, wood leftover or seconds from a building supply store. It can be constructed with a simple slant roof. And keep in my mind the cleaning and water/feeder maintenance the human needs to do.

And I always recommend having an enclosed outdoor pen for the times the birds need to be protected from predators.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

The ones with the screened yard attached are nice, but I Personally let them free rage a bit daily.
With a $200 coop, it won't be that safe, or well built and may need a lot of support put on it for safety's sake.


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

I use a 10'x12' shed for mine.I put a solid wood floor up on cinder blocks to keep it out of the water and support the floor really well.The floor must be sturdy and dry.It usually wears out first and then the chickens hurt their feet and unwanted critters can get in.The main job of the coop is to protect the flock from wind and rain,predators and a secure place to roost at night and lay eggs.You could probably build a very nice little coop for less than the price of the flimsy pre-made ones.Be creative!!!


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## Ngt (Dec 31, 2016)

During the summer i found someone replacing their redwood fence. Between old 2x4s and fence boards, plus new trimmings and lattes leftovers, i had all my wood for free. All I had to buy where the latches, hinges, and screws, plus the wire. I lucked out and had some old roofing material that was in my shed from before we moved in, but i also see these supplies left over from jobs pop up for free on Craigslist.

If you don't think you can build one, or just don't want to, cheap chicken coops often pop up on Craigslist too.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

The thing to watch out for are those prefab coops that say they fit 4 birds when in reality they only fit 2. And from what has been reported by others they are not very well constructed.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Ngt said:


> During the summer i found someone replacing their redwood fence. Between old 2x4s and fence boards, plus new trimmings and lattes leftovers, i had all my wood for free. All I had to buy where the latches, hinges, and screws, plus the wire. I lucked out and had some old roofing material that was in my shed from before we moved in, but i also see these supplies left over from jobs pop up for free on Craigslist.
> 
> If you don't think you can build one, or just don't want to, cheap chicken coops often pop up on Craigslist too.


Ngt, talk about hitting a gold mine with your finds for the coop.


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## Ngt (Dec 31, 2016)

robin416 said:


> Ngt, talk about hitting a gold mine with your finds for the coop.


Yeah, it was a lucky find, but after talking to the guy who ran the fencing company, he said they often have to pay people to haul the scraps and old wood to the dump and were really happy that i was taking it away for them. I think it turned out ok for my first build. Definitely would do a few things differently on the next one.  this summer I'll be making a bigger run, and a second run that comes off of the bottom little door. I was actually running out of trimmings and slapped that run together. They need way more room to roam  oh, and there are stairs, that was the last picture i had on photobucket. 










I also agree with the comment about watching out for the "this coop is good for 4 chickens, when it's really only Good for 2" type of coops. I've seen a lot of those on CL and Amazon too.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

that coop is beautifully built!!!


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I see some serious craftsmanship in that little building. I'd hire that carpenter in a heartbeat.


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## Ngt (Dec 31, 2016)

Thanks! For building it as i went, with no plans, a drill, a table saw, and a big pile of fence scraps, it looks nice and has a few cool features. I'd never owned chickens before though, or cleaned up after them, haha, so it's not the most practical as far as cleaning goes. My co-worker that has chickens said it took her 3 tries before she had a coop that both looked nice and cleaned easily.

I think i have about $150 into it. $50 for wire and the rest was screws, latches, and hinges. Galvanized hinges and latches were like 6-10 each and that's where a lot of it went. Definitely cheaper than buying one this size and it was fun building it with my son.


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## Wyandotter (Dec 13, 2015)

I built my coop for under 200$. Some cheap ply wood and skrews.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

I wonder how many people realize how much the hardware's going to cost? I'm pretty good about recycling any hardware I have.


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## Wyandotter (Dec 13, 2015)

People I know want chickens but don't get them because of the cost of building a coop. I have a lot of old stuff, I use to build things with.


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## jamesBlackAustralorp (Feb 2, 2017)

Cheaper to make one and it's not that hard


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