Prefab Chicken Coop Rip-Off?

[gtaus]

I bought a prefab coop like this second-hand from my neighbor for $50. I use it when I add chicks to my small flock until they are large enough to integrate. Other than that, pretty useless. It doesn't even have any perches (which I added).

Yes, lots of people find these prefab coops useful as an accessory pen, chicken jail, etc... If I could get a used prefab coop for $50, I would certainly buy it and use as a grow out pen for new chicks. But, as in my initial post, I would not pay $749 for the prefab coop junk being sold at our local Fleet store. They should be ashamed of themselves for that price.

 

[gtaus]

I told DH about that, so instead he found a very solid homemade well-built 4x5 wood coop on CL and surprised me for Christmas. I was very excited although disappointed I could only get 4-5 chicks lol.

At least you had a reasonable idea of how many chickens that coop would hold. I know many of these prefab coops try to sell you on 2X-3X as many chickens as it should house. You don't know what you don't know, but the companies selling these coops must know they are lying to their customers.

Our friend who’s a contractor was going to put up a garden fence and patio for us this summer. He came over to do an estimate, and offered to build us a bigger coop for the cost of materials only.

That's a pretty darn good friend!

Although some comments do come across as “judgy”, I think people are genuinely trying to prevent newbies from wasting money and making a big mistake.

Yeah, I'm an old guy and can be stuck in my ways. I try not to be "judgy", but maybe some of my comments come off like that. I'll try to do better, but even Dear Wife has given up trying to change me after 30+ years. Thanks for your feedback.

 

[susania]

A family member bought this prefab coop that said it was big enough for 6 chickens. No way! My hubby extended the run like this for them.

 

[froggyphore]

FWIW, many years ago when first got poultry, I was cleaning out the coop maybe twice a week. It was a lot of hard work, but I was much younger and it did not matter to me. This time around, I am much older, and learned about deep bedding and deep litter systems. Now I only clean out the coop twice a year! How easy is that? Additionally, I have a 3 gallon waterer and 5 gallon bucket PVC feeder. I only have to refill them once every 7-10 days. How easy is that? It truly takes me less than 5 minutes per day to take care of my chickens. That's less time than it took to take care of our dogs! As you can see, I'm all into whatever makes having a backyard flock easier for me.

I agree, one of my favorite things about chickens is how hands-off they are. With a large feeder + waterer and an autodoor to a secure run I can easily leave for a few days or more with no chickensitter needed.

 

[gtaus]

I have been a chicken owner for one year now. Building a chicken coop myself was not an option due to lack of ability and equipment.

Oh, I understand that. I have years of building experience, but Dear Wife with a small hammer is an accident waiting to happen in our house! If I don't get something done fast enough on her time, she will pick up a hammer and scare me into dropping everything I am doing and focus on her project instead.

More subtle than nagging, I guess.

I really love my cube.

I have never seen one of those. Glad to hear it works great for you.

Unfortunately grass is now a distance memory in the fenced in area.

Yes, nothing but memories for me too. Although I did put down a grazing frame in a portion of the chicken run last year, so, I hope some new grass will grow in it this spring....

 

[gtaus]

I posted on my flock thread about the weakest prefab i have being flipped around by the wind a few months ago

Sorry to hear that. But, thanks for the feedback and warning to others. Yes, the prefab being sold at our local fleet store would have to be tied down or it too would be sailing away on a windy day.

 

[gtaus]

I didn't find anything for under $900 that I thought would comfortably fit that amount.

That's a lot of money for something you feel would not work for you.

I've settled on converting an old plastic kid's playhouse and putting it under a stand alone run from wayfair or something. $300 max and it would actually be able to comfortably fit some adult chickens.

Glad you found a better alternative. Lately, I have been suggesting a metal garden shed to chicken coop might be an option for me if I had to build/buy today. As much as I love my coop build, it will only ever be good as a chicken coop. If I had converted a metal garden shed, for example, I could convert it back to garden shed if/when I no longer have chickens.

 

[springvalley123]

I can see some enthusiastic first time chicken owners buying a prefab coop like this and within months realize they made a costly mistake. I hope some first time chicken owners will see this thread and maybe save themselves from some real heartache on their decision to buy this type of make-believe coop.

My previous next door neighbors didn't necessarily have a prefab but had a tiny area with a completely concrete paved floor--no scratching, etc. They babied them, gave them meds, and wondered why "only" 14 chickens constantly pecked each other in about a 10 sq ft area! I bet these prefabs turn off a lot of people who could have been successful if they were started off with a decent coop and run. Thanks for posting this!

 

[gtaus]

View attachment 3107338A family member bought this prefab coop that said it was big enough for 6 chickens. No way! My hubby extended the run like this for them.

That is a nice setup for a small number of chickens. Looks like maybe 3-4 chickens max.

Your hubby did a great job on the extend run.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Sorry to hear that. But, thanks for the feedback and warning to others. Yes, the prefab being sold at our local fleet store would have to be tied down or it too would be sailing away on a windy day.

Thankfully the 3 heavier prefabs kept it from going too far, but the birds had to be counted and housed in broody pens until it could be repaired enough to be safe for them again. It wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been