Starter Chicken Coop Ideas

Starter chicken coop ideas will give you budget friendly resources for getting started with chickens on your farm or homestead. I longed for a big, beautiful chicken coop like the ones on this site. But, for our family, it just made sense not to spend our entire farm budget for the year on the chicken coop. We researched and planned, changed plans, and finally decided on a couple different ways to get chicken coops set up on our farm.

Starter Chicken Coop Ideas on a Limited Budget

I have five budget chicken coop ideas for you. These will be budget-friendly options to house your chickens. Chicken coops will get weathered and worn, dirty and need repairs. Consider this with any coop you choose to buy. There will be expenses after the initial purchase, so factor that into your overall budget.

Marketplace Chicken Coops and Runs

To start, check Facebook Marketplace. There are often good quality chicken coops available at low cost. Some people find chicken keeping different than they expected. You can benefit when they just want the coops gone.

Research the type of coop, or ask to view it, before agreeing to buy. Be sure that it is sturdy enough, or that you can think of a way to repair it.

We bought our first chicken run from Marketplace. The chicken wire panels were a great starter run when we just wanted four chickens. Looking back, I wish I would have gotten an Amazon run right away. That’s next up on this chicken coop idea list.

Amazon Chicken Coop and Run

We bought our first two chicken coops off Amazon. My husband wanted a kit to assemble rather than buying a plan and building from scratch. We have since built coops from scratch, but it was helpful to see how a coop kit was structured.

They have been sturdy and held up well. We did add additional raised roosting bars to each coop to allow for more space for birds. I shared that idea over on Instagram.

The Amazon metal runs are great for any type of farm birds. We got two: one for our ducks and one for our turkeys. As I mentioned above, I wish I would have gotten one for our chickens rather than buying the panels to make a run for the chickens off of Marketplace. All in all, they all work well for us.

DIY Pallet Chicken or Turkey Coop

We eventually built a large coop for our turkeys using pallets. This was a fabulous way to save money and get a spacious coop for the large birds. If the Amazon kits fail us, we will build another pallet coop for the chickens.

We have used pallets to make compost bins, a goat shelter, duck house, garden trellises, and our turkey coop. They are versatile and often are free.

Easy to Build Chicken Tractor Kits

I do prefer chicken tractors to coops, if you are not going to let your chickens free range. The tractor allows the chickens to move to fresh grass each day, and keeps the birds contained safely. We made a DIY chicken tractor with pallet wood. It was put together with scrap lumber. As you can see it is basically a box on a frame.

For an easy to build chicken tractor kit, I recommend PetCosset. They have a range of chicken coop sizes. You can view my tour of our PetCosset chicken tractor coop in the video.

PetCosset is a company with very affordable chicken tractors. They are easy kits to assemble. I reviewed a Pet Cosset Chicken tractor to share how it worked for us.

We have since used this little chicken tractor to house ducks, chickens and even our large Silver Fox buck rabbit. It is very versatile and easy to move. It held up when the goats were in the same area too. 😊

You can only fit a couple of chickens in a tractor, of this size, so consider that depending on your chicken math goals.

Chicken Coop Idea if the Budget is Unlimited

If I had no limit to what I could spend on a chicken coop, I would have splurged on a large garden shed and converted it into a coop. If all I wanted were chickens and no other animals, this method is the sturdiest, prettiest and most convenient to clean.

Turning a shed into a chicken coop is easy to do with some wood, brackets and nesting boxes. You can walk into the full height shed to shovel out any bedding – and go longer in between cleanings. The larger space will be more accessible to rodents and predators because it sits on the ground. So you will have to take steps to mitigate that if they show up.

A backyard shed chicken coop can be painted or customized to make your chicken keeping area fun.

Don’t be misled by the pretty starter photos of big, beautiful coops. There will be chicken poop, dust and dirt everywhere in no time. Be aware that dirt is just a part of life with chickens. If spending a lot on a shed coop will make the dirt seem stressful, then go the budget coop route.

Budget Chicken Coops for Chicken Keeping

Based on how dirty farm life can be, I am glad that we purchased less expensive chicken coops and built free DIY coops. So much must be repaired or replaced on a regular basis in farming. It is easier to repair or replace something that costs little than something that cost a lot.

Go with your gut and your budget.  Both the pricey, cute coops and the budget-friendly chicken coops are great options for getting started with chickens on your farm or homestead.

Which chicken coop option have you used on your farm or backyard homestead? Do you prefer one to another?