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Posted: 4/6/2024 6:50:10 PM EDT
[Last Edit: caduckgunner]
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/producers-pride-mini-defender-coop-mdc001
Don't have a lot of lumber or time. Just looking for a easy way to keep 4-6 chickens. Not expecting great quality, but at least serviceable. They are $300 already assembled at my local TSC. |
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Trash….will last 1 maybe 2 seasons if not kept under cover.
After that I just built my own out of 2 inch tubing and sheet metal….will last 20+ years |
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You need to have two layers of wire with at least 3-4 inches of spacing between the layers or you will wake up to headless chickens. So no, as-built I would not use that for chickens.
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Platinum status courtesy of Rudukai13, thanks brother! Buaidh No Bas!
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Originally Posted By heat762: Trash….will last 1 maybe 2 seasons if not kept under cover. After that I just built my own out of 2 inch tubing and sheet metal….will last 20+ years View Quote After looking at them onsite at my local tractor supply I'd have to agree. If you can't to metal you would be better going to Lowes or Home Depot and buying 3/4 inch pressure treated plywood give them the size and they will cut it for you. Use landscape timbers and pressure treated 2/4 for the frame with hardware cloth for the cage. |
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"An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life." - Robert A. Heinlein
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Not sure what you guys are talking about.
I’ve had one for two years and it’s been just fine. No real wear or damage. No reason it won’t last many more years. It was a bit small for our 6 chickens so what we did was build a wood extension maybe 4’x6’x6’ tall that has some poles to roost on. with chicken wire and took the end wall off the TSC coop. The chickens lay all their eggs in the TSC coop but they sleep outside on the roost even in 0* weather. (So we put a heat lamp out there for them) |
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I keep one as a grow house for new birds. It is NOT predator proof. I keep the babies in the garage in an old water tub and move them out during the day after they start to feather up. Works fine to keep the birds in, but not great at keeping other critters out. My main coop (free ranged during the day) is a DIY job made mostly from 1x4 reclaimed from pallets.
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Originally Posted By Dragynn: You need to have two layers of wire with at least 3-4 inches of spacing between the layers or you will wake up to headless chickens. So no, as-built I would not use that for chickens. View Quote Like above, I would drive T posts in each corner say 8 inches away and another in the middle so raccoons cant reach in and pull their heads off Attached File |
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Originally Posted By TacticalGarand44:
Bring it. Our side has a hundred billion bullets. Your side doesn't know which bathroom to piss in. |
No way in hell would I dump $300 on a coop. It also does not do a damn thing for predators. Esp snakes.
There is a reason the wife calls our coop Fort McChicken. |
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Originally Posted By caduckgunner: https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/producers-pride-mini-defender-coop-mdc001 Don't have a lot of lumber or time. Just looking for a easy way to keep 4-6 chickens. Not expecting great quality, but at least serviceable. They are $300 already assembled at my local TSC. View Quote I bought one of them online last week ($299) and got my money back when I went to pick it up. It simply sat too low to the ground for my liking. I think it would be OK - if - and I considered doing this - It was mounted on a large pallet or a few 4x4s to build up the base and raise the chicken roost house up to eye level. They have good reviews online and I believe they'd work for at least a couple seasons. For now, I bought one of the poultry cages for around $450 and trying to homebuild a roost box using pallets and some wood I have sitting around. |
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Born with a low tolerance for bullshit
KY, USA
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So there are some things to consider.
I've looked at these a LOT, and I was given one, only a year old, that had basically fallen apart. I took it for some doors and panels with screens that I can repurpose, and I burned the rest. Positive Points: ***You just go pick it up. ***It costs less than $500 BUT...you will need to spend more than the cost of the coop...see reasons below. Negative points: ***This will not keep predators out of your chickens. --You will need to reinforce it for that. That means buying extra chicken wire...at least one roll with small holes...and going all the way around the coop with it, wrapping it out onto the ground and staking it down so stuff can't just dig under. You will also need to actually STAKE THE WHOLE THING DOWN somehow. Assuming you have serious wind there, and assuming you have at least a FEW larger predators like dogs or yotes or raccoons with determination, they can just lift that thing up and go under. Coons can tear into the doors on the inside structure. I don't know much about your region, but the predators out there mean business, from all I have seen or heard. ***You have to bend over and/or crawl to get in there I cannot explain to you how much you will hate your life when you have to crawl in there to deal with...anything. A sick chicken. An egg laid outside the nest boxes. Refilling waterers. You have to go in your coop fairly frequently, and unless you are a dwarf, this is going to SUCK. HOWEVER, some people are more tolerant of this suckage than I am. I would have said that it's going to rot and fall apart in one season to the point that predators can just get into it easily, HOWEVER...I see that you are in the desert southwest, where things don't rot nearly as quickly. So your coop might hold up better. ***Even without rot, the wood is not real wood and the joints will fail sooner rather than later I know that seems harsh, but this thing is built out of composite wood, with some nailers at the corners. It's made super cheaply, and sold to you at about 500 percent markup, and while that's sometimes worth it, sometimes it's NOT. For me, it's not. So things to think about: 1-Is this a STARTER coop, and are you going to then build another within a year? 2-Are you willing to spend more money to reinforce this coop, and STILL have to build another at some point? 3-Are your chickens going to free range all day, then go into the coop at night? Cuz it will be bare ground in less than one month, once your chickens are adolescents, and if you are keeping them in there, you will be feeding and watering them and that's gonna be all on you. 4-Do you have bears where you are? Cuz if you have bears, even a little bear can tear down this coop. I'm sorry to sound mostly negative, but this is money thrown at a VERY short-term solution, and you are going to have to throw MOAR money at it immediately for it to be half way viable in most applications (the extra wire, stakes, etc). So if you are going to throw MOAR money at it , would you rather get a better coop, or build one? It sucks when it's not just money at issue, but when time is the thing you don't have. That's me right now, so if that's you, I get it. |
Nobody ever wakes me at 2 in the morning telling me that my grass is out on the highway.~~Radiopat
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe |
Born with a low tolerance for bullshit
KY, USA
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Originally Posted By John-in-austin: No way in hell would I dump $300 on a coop. It also does not do a damn thing for predators. Esp snakes. There is a reason the wife calls our coop Fort McChicken. View Quote Our old one was the Chicken Palace...all it lacked were the towers with turrets. But after 25 years, we got rot and a coon got in. There was mass destruction. Right now we are in an FOB...a dog kennel that's been reinforced. Kennel panels with tarps over them for shelter, chicken wire wrapped around the bottom. Suck factor is high. We need to refurb the Chicken Palace. |
Nobody ever wakes me at 2 in the morning telling me that my grass is out on the highway.~~Radiopat
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe |
Born with a low tolerance for bullshit
KY, USA
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Originally Posted By bansil: Like above, I would drive T posts in each corner say 8 inches away and another in the middle so raccoons cant reach in and pull their heads off https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/388306/coop_defense_png-3184265.JPG View Quote Outer wire needs to be closer than 8" or the coons will just climb over and in, then do the deed close up. Could maybe stake the wire out at 8" and then attach it to the actual coop up high...say 3 feet. Then the coons could climb it, but they would be up too high to grab the chickens. ETA: Coons hunt at night (at least, here they do) So I put the chicken wire right against the coop panels to keep the chickens from sticking their heads out, where dogs can get them. They should be in the wooden structure at night, so coons can't get them. However somebody has to crawl in there and shut the door, which is the #1 HATE POINT about these short coops, for me. For safety, I think chickens need to be shut up at night. You're sharp with designing/engineering things. Got a good way to shut the door at night, without crawling in there? @bansil |
Nobody ever wakes me at 2 in the morning telling me that my grass is out on the highway.~~Radiopat
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe |
Actually on our big coop, I'm thinking about using a linear actuator to open it remotely, say 8 or 9 am so they can free roam during day light, and I can close them up in evening.
Big coop has a walk-in door and a chicken shoot into to fenced in area with a quilitine type door. A 12v battery, small solar panel and Bluetooth remote solenoid should work, will check out some power window actuator also. For those? Does door swing or slide? Either way easiest would be to have door held shut with a spring, and maybe a simple UV safe rope or stranded electrical wir to pull it open and then secure it. Figuring out spring rate and longevity made be an experiment. A longer spring with lots of coils so when it's closed there is still tension but not slack, then when open it still has travel so spring isn't in constant stress |
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Originally Posted By TacticalGarand44:
Bring it. Our side has a hundred billion bullets. Your side doesn't know which bathroom to piss in. |
how much land do you have op?
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Charter Member, Knights of Wonder
Norcal LEO callsign: Hold Fast Team Randstad |
Born with a low tolerance for bullshit
KY, USA
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Originally Posted By bansil: Actually on our big coop, I'm thinking about using a linear actuator to open it remotely, say 8 or 9 am so they can free roam during day light, and I can close them up in evening. Big coop has a walk-in door and a chicken shoot into to fenced in area with a quilitine type door. A 12v battery, small solar panel and Bluetooth remote solenoid should work, will check out some power window actuator also. For those? Does door swing or slide? Either way easiest would be to have door held shut with a spring, and maybe a simple UV safe rope or stranded electrical wir to pull it open and then secure it. Figuring out spring rate and longevity made be an experiment. A longer spring with lots of coils so when it's closed there is still tension but not slack, then when open it still has travel so spring isn't in constant stress View Quote What about a two-step process...one that slides a latch up and out of the way, then another to shut the door and release the latch? Even if it's manually done, that seems doable with a pulley or two and some rope, from outside, without having to crawl in. |
Nobody ever wakes me at 2 in the morning telling me that my grass is out on the highway.~~Radiopat
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe |
They make coop door controlers
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Tennessee Squire
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Born with a low tolerance for bullshit
KY, USA
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Nobody ever wakes me at 2 in the morning telling me that my grass is out on the highway.~~Radiopat
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe |
I don't have one but this one looks to be a favorite at TSC. Timer and light sensor
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/manna-pro-automatic-chicken-door-1031118 |
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Tennessee Squire
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We have an auto door for each of our two coops.
Ill ask my wife about the brand, but they are a a US small business. Doors have been trouble free, other than one which tends to get bedding material packed in to the track due to a design deficiency with our coop. They have light sensors and run off a lantern battery, but a solar panel and battery is easy to add We haven't had trouble with the birds getting shut out at night |
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Lit Low Ready, LLC
litlowready.com |
I'd be ok with using one for a temporary solution while you build a proper coop. It may even be beneficial to do that for a season before you build your own, so you can see what features you like and what you don't, and how you'd do it differently when you do. Make it as predator proof as you can and roll the dice.
And if in the long run you decide you don't like raising chickens after all, you're only out a few hundred bucks. |
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Originally Posted By Harmonic_Distortion: how much land do you have op? View Quote |
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Born with a low tolerance for bullshit
KY, USA
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Originally Posted By TexCorriente: Here is our little coop I built. I might have $50 in it, including the hinges and latches. It has 1/4" hardware cloth. The roof is a sign panel I removed from a building. There is an egg box across the back side, and a door on the side for access to their run. Just showing how simple and cheap it can be to build a solid and secure coop. This is pretty small because I built it for 6 Bantams, but it is probably larger than a lot of the Tractor Supply type coops sold for 5+ full size birds.https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/276591/20230430_081837-3177831.jpg View Quote That's adorable! I don't understand how it works though. Are the garden beds in their runs? Do they not destroy your veggie beds? You said "a door on the side for access to their run" but is that pictured? I freaking love the shape. @TexCorriente |
Nobody ever wakes me at 2 in the morning telling me that my grass is out on the highway.~~Radiopat
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe |
If you're not handy, no time, tools etc. The following is probably what I would start with. Easier to move also. Ain't cheap with the run.
https://www.omlet.us/shop/chicken_keeping/portable-chicken-coop-eglu-go-up/ |
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Originally Posted By KillerDyller: If you're not handy, no time, tools etc. The following is probably what I would start with. Easier to move also. Ain't cheap with the run. https://www.omlet.us/shop/chicken_keeping/portable-chicken-coop-eglu-go-up/ https://www.omlet.us/images/cache/1560/878/90/X017_Eglu_Go_UP_2m_Run_Green-2d292.webp View Quote talk about being the Jones's in your subdivision...insane people...okay people like me wouldn't buy that....I'm sure they made a killing on rich suburb-----... Sorry forgot this was outdoors, that doesn't fit most people's needs on the site I don't think, Sorry kittie...you can smack me if out of line....but that's made for people who don't have a clue other than good Google hits and advertising, I just want save folks that money., and have healthy chickens Also killerdyller no disrespect towards you...just my .02 |
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Originally Posted By TacticalGarand44:
Bring it. Our side has a hundred billion bullets. Your side doesn't know which bathroom to piss in. |
Originally Posted By FrankW134: I had one similar that I had to stain/seal, put it on blocks otherwise it'll rot fast...if you buy two you can connect them end to end on the cage side. https://i.imgur.com/qFhjZxi.jpeg View Quote Good upgrades |
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Originally Posted By TacticalGarand44:
Bring it. Our side has a hundred billion bullets. Your side doesn't know which bathroom to piss in. |
Originally Posted By bansil: talk about being the Jones's in your subdivision...insane people...okay people like me wouldn't buy that....I'm sure they made a killing on rich suburb-----... Sorry forgot this was outdoors, that doesn't fit most people's needs on the site I don't think, Sorry kittie...you can smack me if out of line....but that's made for people who don't have a clue other than good Google hits and advertising, I just want save folks that money., and have healthy chickens Also killerdyller no disrespect towards you...just my .02 View Quote Not offended, don’t own one. Built mine. |
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Born with a low tolerance for bullshit
KY, USA
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Originally Posted By bansil: talk about being the Jones's in your subdivision...insane people...okay people like me wouldn't buy that....I'm sure they made a killing on rich suburb-----... Sorry forgot this was outdoors, that doesn't fit most people's needs on the site I don't think, Sorry kittie...you can smack me if out of line....but that's made for people who don't have a clue other than good Google hits and advertising, I just want save folks that money., and have healthy chickens Also killerdyller no disrespect towards you...just my .02 View Quote So...$700 with a 6' run. That's more expensive than a similar size at TSC HOWEVER it appears to be built way better, so maybe a little longer-term investment. Honestly what I've found is that with anything you build yourself (unless you have a shop full of old stuff sitting waiting for a purpose) will cost close to that if you have to go out and buy all the parts. Anything you BUY that is less expensive, you're gonna put that price again into hardening it, and for EITHER of these options, you're going to have a lot of time in it. AND you've gotta have some skills for any of that. I see folks who don't know how to put their car in neutral so it can be pushed off a road, so I'm constantly surprised at the general level of incompetence at basic tasks which exists in the general suburban and city populations. So I can see the appeal for somebody who wants a plug & play setup. I don't like the design of the henhouse, but the ability to blast it with the jet setting of a hose is nice. |
Nobody ever wakes me at 2 in the morning telling me that my grass is out on the highway.~~Radiopat
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe |
I have one that’s probably 3 years old. I did have to replace the hinges on the door as they rusted.it’s sitting on concrete pavers and so far no issues with predators. We have plenty of raccoons around and though they’ve dug around the perimeter a bit the birds are fine. The grid size seems far too small for a raccoon to reach through to grab a bird. I did add an additional perch in the open area
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This is the 1st one I built because I wasn't done with the bigger one. It was to get them out of the basement boxes and into moar space, biggest mistake?
The size of chicken brains, they would run around on the 4x4s which kept them close at arms reach...learned alot only lost 2 birds Attached File Back opened Attached File Full walk in door to service the birds Attached File Moving it last weekend to repair incase needed, have to work on old coop. Attached File It is 10+ years old OP! Make sure to postpictures of the chick's at new HOME! |
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Originally Posted By TacticalGarand44:
Bring it. Our side has a hundred billion bullets. Your side doesn't know which bathroom to piss in. |
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Originally Posted By TacticalGarand44:
Bring it. Our side has a hundred billion bullets. Your side doesn't know which bathroom to piss in. |
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Originally Posted By TacticalGarand44:
Bring it. Our side has a hundred billion bullets. Your side doesn't know which bathroom to piss in. |
Originally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs: So...$700 with a 6' run. That's more expensive than a similar size at TSC HOWEVER it appears to be built way better, so maybe a little longer-term investment. View Quote That was my thought as well. The TSC one is already $300, from what I've seen of them they are absolutely not sturdy and probably not long lasting, and they don't have much of a run. My single SIL thought she wanted chickens about a year ago, the Omlet was what she was going to settle on. Moveable, washable, basically maintenance free. Her schedule was not conducive to having birds so she ended up backing out of the whole deal. |
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I've been thinking about building one of those Quonset huts type of coop that a lot of people are building on youtube using cattle panel, it also looks like you can make them to be moveable like a chicken tractor. I'm thinking its going to cost a couple hundred dollars.
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Born with a low tolerance for bullshit
KY, USA
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Originally Posted By poisontree: I've been thinking about building one of those Quonset huts type of coop that a lot of people are building on youtube using cattle panel, it also looks like you can make them to be moveable like a chicken tractor. I'm thinking its going to cost a couple hundred dollars. View Quote I'm hopefully getting ready to do that as a greenhouse. We will see. Gotta install new HVAC and the roof/fascias need work as well, so budget and all... They're so inexpensive, though, for how useful they are. |
Nobody ever wakes me at 2 in the morning telling me that my grass is out on the highway.~~Radiopat
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe |
I have that one as a backup coop. I have raised several young birds in it and it has done OK. Never lost one to predators in it. I don't see how they could reach through the hardware cloth. That said, after three years the roof over the little run area is starting to leak. If I bought another I would put a metal roof on right off the bat. While it may technically "hold" six full-grown birds, they would be a bit cramped.
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Just got back from TSC and saw the $399 coop, it's like 3ft tall and assembled looks like it would fit in a Ford ranger bed....did I see a "miniature model" like Colman and they did with tents so you could see it setup in the store?
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Originally Posted By TacticalGarand44:
Bring it. Our side has a hundred billion bullets. Your side doesn't know which bathroom to piss in. |
Originally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs: So...$700 with a 6' run. That's more expensive than a similar size at TSC HOWEVER it appears to be built way better, so maybe a little longer-term investment. Honestly what I've found is that with anything you build yourself (unless you have a shop full of old stuff sitting waiting for a purpose) will cost close to that if you have to go out and buy all the parts. Anything you BUY that is less expensive, you're gonna put that price again into hardening it, and for EITHER of these options, you're going to have a lot of time in it. AND you've gotta have some skills for any of that. I see folks who don't know how to put their car in neutral so it can be pushed off a road, so I'm constantly surprised at the general level of incompetence at basic tasks which exists in the general suburban and city populations. So I can see the appeal for somebody who wants a plug & play setup. I don't like the design of the henhouse, but the ability to blast it with the jet setting of a hose is nice. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs: Originally Posted By bansil: talk about being the Jones's in your subdivision...insane people...okay people like me wouldn't buy that....I'm sure they made a killing on rich suburb-----... Sorry forgot this was outdoors, that doesn't fit most people's needs on the site I don't think, Sorry kittie...you can smack me if out of line....but that's made for people who don't have a clue other than good Google hits and advertising, I just want save folks that money., and have healthy chickens Also killerdyller no disrespect towards you...just my .02 So...$700 with a 6' run. That's more expensive than a similar size at TSC HOWEVER it appears to be built way better, so maybe a little longer-term investment. Honestly what I've found is that with anything you build yourself (unless you have a shop full of old stuff sitting waiting for a purpose) will cost close to that if you have to go out and buy all the parts. Anything you BUY that is less expensive, you're gonna put that price again into hardening it, and for EITHER of these options, you're going to have a lot of time in it. AND you've gotta have some skills for any of that. I see folks who don't know how to put their car in neutral so it can be pushed off a road, so I'm constantly surprised at the general level of incompetence at basic tasks which exists in the general suburban and city populations. So I can see the appeal for somebody who wants a plug & play setup. I don't like the design of the henhouse, but the ability to blast it with the jet setting of a hose is nice. I have some expensive quail cages that I could have built cheaper, but I'm still happy with. Not entirely sure I could have built them cheaper, and they are plastic that clipped together in an afternoon. If you want to make a business, or don't have the money, you need to watch costs more. But for me, I had more money than time, relative to what I spent with hatching times. ETA: I'll probably build my own chicken coop eventually, as I doubt I'll free range them, and will likely build to match the area I have. |
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Seeing the price of these coops might make you decide to build your own. Who would have thought a coop could cost $30,000
https://carolinacoops.com/ |
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Tennessee Squire
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