Cost of building a small, 4 hen chicken coop

[Kaleva]

Been spending evenings watching chicken vids on YouTube and getting ideas for a chicken coop that could hold about 4 birds comfortably. 3-4 hens would be all my wife and I need.

There are also restrictions on having chickens in town limits. Some state that 4 hens, no roosters is the maximum and they need to be confined to a chicken coop and fenced in chicken run. My home town currently prohibits having chickens but I think I could get that changed if I do desired.

Generally, chickens need at a bare minimum 3 square feet per bird in a coop, more would be preferable, and about 10 square feet per bird in a chicken run. The 3 square foot minimum is assuming the birds will spend much of their lives outside and be using the coop to sleep and lay eggs . 4 or more square feet per bird is better if the birds will be spending days in the coop like during winter.

For an adequate egg supply, the rule of thumb seems to be about 3-4 hens for two people.

So I've been looking at plans for a 4x4 coop , 16 square feet, which would provide 5 square feet each for 3 hens. I expect the hens will be cooped up for stretches at a time during winter so I'd like fewer birds and have more space for them.

I found a design I liked and got a PDF for it by subscribing to a newsletter. I then priced the materials on the Lowe's site and it came to $324.94 which includes tax and a small military discount. That cost does not include primer, paint, window or shingles for the roof and roof of the attached nest. Nor does it include the cost for materials for a chicken run.

Not cheap but not too expensive either. I have shingles and ice and water shield left over from when the roof of the house was done a few years ago.

There are plans available for much cheaper coops, like making one out of pallets, assuming you get the pallets for free, but I would want something that could last for many years with proper care and upkeep.

[hlthe2b]

1. The expensive part comes in with "predator-proofing" & ensuring contact with wild birds (Avian flu)

is minimized. But the latter is just as important as the environmental (heat-shielding) and regulatory issues.

[3Hotdogs]

6. Focus on this.

Daughter has 11 . Used to be 13. One was killed by a hawk while out of the coop for "free range" time. There are also fox in the area. Probably in your area too, but you don't see them. The other died from "old age." 5 years old. They don't have long lives.

But ---

Raccoons are in your area. The caged area in her yard is now a "cube." There are claw marks on the sides of the coop where raccoons climb up to gain entrance. If they gain entrance, they kill everything in the coop.

[multigraincracker]

2. Do you have a local Habitat for Humanity ReStore store nearby?

First place I look for material for smaller projects.

[Kaleva]

8. The siding and pressure treated lumber drives up the cost

[womanofthehills]

13. If you want healthy chickens, don't build their house with toxic lumber

Pressure treated is not healthy. My coop is large as I have 10 girls plus a roo. It’s just painted plywood and has been fine for years. If you use plywood, paint and off gas the wood before getting chickens. You can also heat their house in the winter with a 100 watt black bulb and holder used for lizards

[Kaleva]

14. Supposedly, the new method of pressure treating wood makes it much less toxic

[Tetrachloride]

3. Some advantages

Chickens to eat grass and insects.

May keep down ticks if allowed to forage.

A moveable outdoor fenced area could be a “lawnmower.”

[Kaleva]

5. I have a 20'x4' compost row in the garden.

I'm thinking of making that the chicken run do the birds can help break down leaves and garden waste and where I can feed them suitable kitchen scraps.

[Quakerfriend]

4. Since you will likely have only 4

I would rec’d a mobile coup.
You can often find on Craigslist- sometimes for free-
when family no longer wishes to keep chickens.

[Kaleva]

11. A winter worthy coop may be too hard to move

[pwb]

7. Do they need a run

Area?

[Kaleva]

9. I'd like them to help break down the compost

and supplement their diet eith bugs and worms

[Kaleva]

10. A link to the video showing the design

I won't be including a clear out tray as I'll be using the deep mulch bedding method but I'd leave the opening to facilitate cleaning out the coop. The opening will have a easily removable cover. I'll build a different run. To make the coop more roomy, the feeder and waterer will be in two of the nesting boxes as I'll only need one nesting box for 3 hens.

&list=WL&index=49&t=5s

[Farmer-Rick]

12. I haven't built a chicken coop in decades

But I did recently build a large doghouse for my Anatolian Shepard. I bought the cheapest materials I could find at Lowe's. But....I put the absolute best paint, caulking, primer and sealers I could afford on it. It's still doing fine after about 11 years.