Chicken Coops

deadman1972

Hi i have been thinking of rearing a few chooks for a while now but every time i go looking for a coop and run they are really expensive. I only want like six max but will start out with 4. I am looking for a suitable run and coop all in one for between 4 to 6 chooks:D Must be movable by one person.;)

mf240

deadman1972 wrote: »

Hi i have been thinking of rearing a few chooks for a while now but every time i go looking for a coop and run they are really expensive. I only want like six max but will start out with 4. I am looking for a suitable run and coop all in one for between 4 to 6 chooks:D Must be movable by one person.;)

If you can pick up those site fencing panels and make a square with 4 of them and then put a small house in one corner of it maybe an ibc tank with one side cut out and some straw in it theyd be grand

deadman1972

Great idea but when i looked into those panels they were looking for like 50 each for them and i need about six.:( They would be a great start but not at those prices. I am thinking more along the lines of something pre built ion timber and mesh?;)

whelan1

look on donedeal

deadman1972

Brahma that netting would be no good to me but thanks anyway, too many foxes where i live. I need a timber frame with mesh, does not have to be that big, if i have to go down to 2 chooks for time being thats ok but i won't pay over the top for anything. Just don't have energy or time at the moment to build it myself but i want tio get it this side of Christmas so i can start getting eggs:D

Markcheese

I've 4 chooks and wanted something very moveable ...( Every day) I got a wooden yoke on donedeal ... Put it on skids (plastic gutter) and a rope handle on the front , hang the feeder and drinker on the side mesh ... It's small but as long as they get fresh grass daily they don't make ****e of the ground ....if your anyway handy you could knock it up yrself fairly handy ....

mf240

Jvc had a little chicken coop at the ploughing maybe someone will put up a link to their website

Manoffeeling

Tried jvc, but too many wires!

http://www.jfc.ie/PentHouseCoop.html

1chippy

built one for the old man. ended up costing him e170 materials and a day for me and an apprentice, now its not a standard one but it has a few wee extras. really its just as cheap to buy a premade one, should be looking around the 200 mark for a 4 chook version.

deadman1972

Chippy where would i get one like that?:D

redzerologhlen

1chippy wrote: »

built one for the old man. ended up costing him e170 materials and a day for me and an apprentice, now its not a standard one but it has a few wee extras. really its just as cheap to buy a premade one, should be looking around the 200 mark for a 4 chook version.

I made one for my leaving cert project when I was in school, had some spec on it, slatted floor, 4 nest boxes and a dog flap style door, cost me about 200 euro on materials I would say and took me the year to build. All done with joints aswell, no screws!! Got an A and all for it. I think I still have pics of it somewhere.

deadman1972

Ok but people four chooks are not that big, why does it cost so much to build one for 4 chooks? redzerologhlen those specs would be handy if you could locate them thanks.

whelan1

deadman1972 wrote: »

Ok but people four chooks are not that big, why does it cost so much to build one for 4 chooks? redzerologhlen those specs would be handy if you could locate them thanks.

you could probably make one cheaply but you need to have it fox and mink proof, you need good heavy wire/mesh in it, also these things take a while to build and labour isnt cheap.... look also at rabbit pens/hutches, these are not as dear and you could stick a perch in it yourself

deadman1972

Thanks whelan but as someone said earlier it is nearly easier just to buy one pre made, i just did not hink they were that expensive tbh. For say 4 chooks what kinda dimensions wopuld i need for the run part?

El Kabong!

I recommend you just build your own. Build a wooden frame and line it with galvanished wire mesh (not 'chicken wire') You can get it in most agri places.

Don't buy a small 2 foot high run. Those things are far too small to keep them in. They need some space.

I made a run that I can walk into, so I can clean, collect eggs etc without hassle.

I have 4 and I gave them about 20foot x 5 foot, but during the winter I let them roam around the veggie patch as they do a good job cleaning it of weeds and slugs.

deadman1972

Kabong thing is that sounds expensive,did you build the house as well as the run, that mesh is dear its like 40 quid for a 8x4 sheet.That sounds like an awfully big run for four chooks?

El Kabong!

You can get big massive 1m wide rolls of the mesh which makes it good value.

Yes, I built it big, and nice, but I can convert it into a greenhouse if I move the hens from it.

I do have a coop inside it which I bought, but I also built another bigger one (very simple) since then.

Here is a pic:





It think it is completely unreasonable to have just 4-6 sqft per bird, even in a run. They can't even flap their wings and run around in them.

My approach was to put bark on the ground, and I covered it with polycarbonate. This keeps it dry and I have never had to clean it out. If you have a small coop+run they will make mud very quickly and you will just have to keep moving it around and it will smell too.

deadman1972

See kabong i have a rented house so i can't put down a big ass contraption like that even though it looks the bizz. I have to be able to move it around by myself on the back lawn. See i only want to start with bout four chooks but it HAS to be man movable by a single person. How much did it cost you to build that because it looks damn expensive?

mf240

deadman1972 wrote: »

See kabong i have a rented house so i can't put down a big ass contraption like that even though it looks the bizz. I have to be able to move it around by myself on the back lawn. See i only want to start with bout four chooks but it HAS to be man movable by a single person. How much did it cost you to build that because it looks damn expensive?

Deadman if you are around or if theirs any body around during the day.

You could keep them in a small kennel at night and then let them out around the garden during the day.

deadman1972

How the hell do i get them to go in to bed at night?:eek: Actually i just remembered i built a hen house and its still out the back,must see if i can get some pics uploaded:eek:

El Kabong!

deadman1972 wrote: »

See kabong i have a rented house so i can't put down a big ass contraption like that even though it looks the bizz. I have to be able to move it around by myself on the back lawn. See i only want to start with bout four chooks but it HAS to be man movable by a single person. How much did it cost you to build that because it looks damn expensive?

Hi, well it cost me about 800, but I built a block wall to retain the garden, and put in small foundations too... but I can take the mesh off the side and put up polycarbonate in order to make a nice greenhouse.

I get your point though.... just be aware that they will turn your grass into mud, and smelly mud at that....

mf240

deadman1972 wrote: »

How the hell do i get them to go in to bed at night?:eek: Actually i just remembered i built a hen house and its still out the back,must see if i can get some pics uploaded:eek:

feed them in the house in the evening theyll come in for it.

deadman1972

Kabong these are some pics of house i built, as you can see it needs some tidying up but what if i put a run around this? Is it really necessary to have it big enough so that i can walk into it? BTW what area are you in?

El Kabong!

That looks nice. You have to be careful with red mite, or whatever it is called. They love felt. I can't 100% be sure if you used felt in that.
Some even go so far as to completely silicone all the internal joints/corner so it can't get in, or hide.

Do you have roosting bars in there? Get some 1inch square or 1 inch round slats and raise them off the ground by 1-2 inches. They like to perch on them.


No you don't need to have it at a walk-in-height, but I just decided to do that as it makes it easier to work in there.

Your setup is perfectly fine. They will roost in there, and come out during the day. During the day you need to think of
a) how to protect them from foxes etc
b) how to stop them running away, although they tend to stay close to home
c) how to stop them destroying an area and pooing everywhere and making it smelly

I just decided to make one big enclosed structure that solved all three.


When I started I bought a coop and run and I felt like I was torturing them. They literally had a run 5 foot long and 2-3 foot wide, and 2 foot high. It wasn't right.

If you have never seen foxes in your area then I would attempt to just make a roll-up run out of bamboo canes or similar, and some of that garden mesh... and just open out an area around the coop. Should be easy to move then.

They can of course fly small distances and could easily get out over a 5-6 foot fence! (mine did!!!) so the only solution to this is to put a roof on, or clip their wings.


I am in North Co. Dublin.

deadman1972

Kabong the one on the left is mine lol Have her four years, not at all agressive. However i am aware that if for nothing more than curiousity she will chase them at first so for first couple of weeks they would be totally closed in a run. Lookled at that hut again and tbh it seems a little heavy to be moving around the place,not really practical. If i put it and the run permanent on concrete how would i work that for the chooks?

deadman1972

TBH i have been looking around here in Co.Waterford and the bloody prices are ridculous for the pre made ones,260 quid for a dingy little yoke i would not put a hamster in tbh.:eek:

El Kabong!

Well, they do like to scratch around in the soil, it's all the want to do all day long, and they can't do that on concrete, so it might not be ideal. Not sure really.

Yes all the coops I see were expensive so I figured I would just build my own custom one!

You can get cheap coops on ebay but they are imported from China and don't last long when outside all year.

Easiest option is to do something like you did, but build it out of thin marine ply, perhaps put silicone on all the exposed edges to stop it from splitting with the wet... and put 'skids or ski's on the bottom to make it easy to drag around?