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So it is finally time for a chicken coop! This part of your backyard chicken journey is exciting. You might be getting ready to get your first chicken coop or maybe even debating on upgrading the current one. Since the chicken coop is the biggest and most visible part of keeping backyard chickens, it is important to get it right from the very beginning.
Generally speaking, building a chicken coop is always going to be less money than if you were to buy one. You may be able to find a chicken coop that is cheaper to buy, especially if you are looking at the small side, but usually the money you save upfront is lost later because of lower quality.
So the question on the table: is it cheaper to buy or build a chicken coop? We will do a side by side comparisons of small chicken coops, medium chicken coops, and large chicken coops. Give some actual numbers so we can compare apples to apples (or brown eggs to brown eggs, is that a thing…?).
Build Versus Buy
Down below these comparisons we will talk about some things to consider as you are deciding on buying or building your future chicken coop. But first, let’s talk dollars and cents. Well, not cents, just dollars, I am not going to get that specific. Let’s break this down into small, medium, and large chicken coops.
Small
Source: Ana White
Build
This is a great little chicken coop that is pretty straight forward to build. The plans have a materials list to use when shopping, a cut list, and detailed pictures to use when assembling the chicken coop. Ana’s site is AWESOME for plans on building all sorts of stuff.
The coop is complete with roosting bar, nesting box with outside access door, a chicken run, and even a planter box.
Using the shopping list on Ana’s site, I estimated it would cost between $350 and $450 to build this chicken coop. I used Redwood lumber for the exterior pieces in the $450 amount. If you decided to use a cheaper material, like pine, and treated it, you could save about $100. Which is a nice chunk of change.
Example: a pine 2 x 4 that is 8′ long costs $3.73. A Redwood 2 x 4 that is 8′ long costs $10.98. Redwood is an exterior rated lumber while pine is not. But if you treat the pine lumber with a stain and seal, it could easily be used. Just make sure you keep the wood sealed and not let the elements warp it.
Source: Tractor Supply
Buy
At your local Tractor Supply, you can find this chicken coop. It is the Cumberland Cottage Chicken Coop. These two chicken coops are obviously different sizes. I picked this one though because the chicken coop size itself is comparable in size, but this chicken coop just has a bigger chicken run. It is obviously lacking the planter shelf as well, which does help with the aesthetics. But it does have nesting boxes and the pull out cleaning tray.
The price to buy this chicken coop at Tractor Supply, as of right now, is $299.00.
Tractor Supply is a very reputable company with many locations throughout the country. This chicken coop does have a 4 star rating with 2586 reviews, as of right now. I have never seen this chicken coop in person but it looks like it would be good quality. It also looks like you could fairly easily repair or replace any parts that happened to break.
Opinion
I am a little mixed on this one. Buying a chicken coop kit is a little bit cheaper, but if you have the tools and feel comfortable following basic building plans, I would say BUILD. This one is a better quality chicken coop for only a few dollars more.
Medium
Build
Alright, a girl I went to school with posted some pictures on Facebook of the chicken coop that her and her family were building. It was perfect timing. She was kind enough to send some pictures and some details about their chicken coop. They did an AWESOME JOB!!
The chicken coop is 5 x 6, which is a decent footprint. I categorized it as medium since it is not full walk in height. They installed an automatic chicken coop door, attached a nice chicken run and it can hold probably 10-12 chickens.
She said it took about four full days to build. But that was with Dad building with kids which is a great learning opportunity for them but definitely slows construction time down. She figures two adults could be done in a weekend. You can buy the plans for this chicken coop from Etsy.
She told me that it cost them approximately $1100 to build this chicken coop.
Buy
This is a very comparable chicken coop that is available to purchase as a kit. This is available from GreenGardenChicken.com. It is a chicken coop built by Amish-trained craftsmen. The dimensions are 74” L x 60” W x 72 – 1/2” H. They say:
“All panels and trim are painted and assembled, all hardware is installed, doors & windows are installed, nesting boxes are assembled and metal is installed on the roof panel. This amazing coop assembles in less than 30 minutes with only a screw gun. We have easy to read instructions and a video to assist you with assembly.”
These look to me to be built really well. They are framed with 2 x 4’s and also have 4 x 4’s for the base. They put a radiant barrier sheathing on the roof to help keep the heat from the sun out of the chicken coop. The exterior siding will weather storms well. Plus you have two windows and two vents to help keep the chicken coop ventilated.
The cost on the Amish Chicken Coop, with the lift gate delivery service (it says total weight is 880 lbs.), as of today, is $1534, plus a shipping cost of $0! You gotta love free shipping!
Opinion
Yet again, I am going to have to go with BUILD for medium sized chicken coops. Building you own medium sized chicken coop really lets you get the look and the feel you want. You can paint it to match your home, possibly add a feature that will make it look like you home. Plus it is considerably less money.
The pre-built chicken coop from GreenGardenChicken.com is a viable option if you just do not quite have the confidence or the time to take on a chicken coop construction project but you still want a well built chicken coop.
Large
Build
This is a very nice chicken coop. This project is a 6′ x 6′ chicken coop with a 6′ x 12′ chicken run all built under one roof. It says it is a maximum height of just over 10′. It has plenty of venting, pull out trays for litter, and an external chicken nesting box access. Also the chicken run has a full size door for the humans to use.
Using the materials list they provide and then estimating on things like hinges, fasteners, paint, etc. I estimate it would cost about $2400 to build. That is not including the foundation or insulating the chicken coop. You can buy the plans from Home and Garden Plans.
This is a pretty decent size project, as you imagine. Building this chicken coop is very possible but will take some time and you will definitely need some assistance.
Buy
Here is a fairly comparable chicken coop with a built in run. It is the IHS Quaker 7 x 20 Combo Coop, available from Rita Marie’s. The dimensions are not exactly the same but it is comparable. This has a 7′ x 6′ chicken coop with a 7′ x 14′ chicken run all under the same roof. This chicken coop and chicken run combo is 8.5′ tall.
It is framed with 2 x 4’s and has pressure treated lumber for the base. It also has the radiant barrier sheathing in the roof to help keep it cool. You can add an automatic chicken coop door, solar, heated roost, metal roof, cupola, etc. They have a lot of options.
The cost for a standard built IHS Quaker 7 x 20 Combo Coop is $3750. The shipping cost is $3250 (this is a big, heavy building). I would also recommend the “Set in Place” option for yard placement instead of Curbside Delivery. That is only $200. All of that together is a total of $7200.
Opinion
To me, this is a no brainer. It is a BUILD for me. If money is the deciding factor, building is the only way to go.
I do consider the chicken coop/run combo from Rita Marie’s to be a good quality chicken coop. Instead of going and looking at storage sheds at the big box stores to convert into a chicken coop, I would definitely consider the IHS Quaker 7 x 20 Combo Coop from Rita Marie’s.
Free $.99
As I was thinking about writing whether it was cheaper to build a chicken coop or to buy one, I decided to check Craigslist and I cruised the Free section. I actually came across three things in a matter of 10-15 minutes that you could make work as a chicken coop. Obviously, your mileage may vary but if you are trying to save a few bucks and you are not too picky on how it looks, you could very well end up with something.
It is becoming more and more popular to upcycle materials. Putting it out to your social media contacts could land you something pretty sweet.
Entertainment Center
All right, this one takes a little creativity but you could make it work. What I am imagining is putting a wooden dowel or rod going from side to side where the TV would sit. You could even use a 2 x 4. This would be the roosting bar. Then you could remove a few of the pull out shelves on the right so there is some head room. Put some straw or pine shavings on the shelf and they would make pretty good nesting boxes. They even pull out for when you are trying to collect the eggs.
Since there is no door on this set up, I would only use this as a chicken coop if you were attaching a fairly secure chicken run to it. Otherwise you are taking a pretty decent risk of losing a chicken or two. Also, I do not see this holding up very long being out in the weather.
Random Triangle Thing
So I am not sure exactly what this one is supposed to be but it would actually be pretty decent little chicken coop. It obviously would not hold a feeder or waterer and you would need separate nesting boxes but it would work. Cut a whole out of the wood tall enough for the chickens to use as a door and viola. I would then use a couple hinges and reattach the wood cutout so you have a door you can close. Maybe put a 2 x 4 on the ground for them to use as a roosting bar and you have a chicken coop.
Mini Storage Shed
This freebie is just asking to be converted into a chicken coop. I do not know the dimensions but it looks like it is about four feet tall or so. It would be really easy to nail or screw a roosting bar from side to side along the back wall. If you wanted a feeder and waterer in there, it looks like there is room along one wall and you might even be able to tuck one nesting box in the corner on the other wall as well.
These free $.99 options obviously are not the greatest options out there but they are available. I have said it before in other posts but chickens do not care if their chicken coop is shabby chic or not. They only need something to keep them safe while they sleep at night and a place to escape poor weather.
It would not be fair, when comparing buying a chicken coop versus building a chicken coop, to only compare them on the price alone. There are other considerations to keep in mind. So let’s talk about those.
Things To Consider
Time
Building a chicken coop can take a considerable amount of time. Especially if you consider the designing, planning, sketching, etc. My wife is the visionary in our relationship. She can picture whatever she is designing in her head and put it to paper. Whereas, I have to sketch it out and study it quite a bit before I can see it in my mind. She will just draw it and I am the one looking for the blueprints.
After you have the design done then the construction begins. How much consecutive time do you have available? What is the weather forecast? If you only have an hour or two at a time, it can take quite awhile to get through a chicken coop construction project. Throw a rain storm or wind storm in the mix and you are extended even longer.
On the buy side, if you buy a chicken coop online, they usually do not come assembled. The nice delivery guy in the brown truck (my preferred delivery truck color), will deliver a nice heavy box at your door and the rest is up to you. So either way, you will have an investment of time.
Carpentry Skills
How much experience do you have with construction? Have you ever framed a wall? Or nailed on shingles? It is definitely ok if are completely new to construction but some experience is definitely useful and helps with the time consideration above.
I am a graduate (or maybe still a current student) of YouTube University. I finished the basement in our last house with the help of the “professors” at YouTube University as well as an electrician and plumber to help along the way. If I could learn to do the electrical, plumbing, framing, flooring, etc. up to building codes, you can learn how to build a chicken coop.
Special Requirements
This one can be a big consideration. If you have scoured the interwebs, looked at every pin, etc. and have not found that one thing you have to have, you probably will have to build your own chicken coop. For us, we want to build with one side being the chicken coop and the other side being a storage shed. Probably do a small storage room in between. I have yet to see that available online.
Maybe you want a walk in height chicken coop. Or with a certain style of door. Another popular thing I have seen is styling the chicken coop to match your home. These are more signs that it is time to do a custom built chicken coop.
Quality Control
This one is especially true if you are ordering a chicken coop online. Do you trust the retailer you are purchasing it from? Do they use quality materials or will it be falling apart in a year or two? There are many quality manufactures out there who use quality materials, you just need to know when making your decision.
On the build side, we can ask the same questions. Are you planning on using quality materials? Will you be building it in such a way that it will not be falling apart in a year or two (see Carpentry Skills above)? A custom built chicken coop can be built just as shoddy as a poorly designed manufactured one.
The most important thing is getting something set up, no matter what you decide, so you can FINALLY get starting with your happy backyard flock. You can always upgrade the chicken coop later as you go along.
I hope you found this post valuable. Make sure you share this on your social media. Tell people if you are going to build or buy your chicken coop. Remember, sharing is caring and helps us keep going here at BackyardChickensHQ.com.