A chicken coop with a covered run costs about $2,000 to $6,600 in materials to build from our plans, depending on the size, at shelf prices we read on Oct 8, 2026. The 4x8 coop for six hens, the size most people start from, comes to $2,754.24: $1,766.06 for the raised coop and $988.18 for its covered 8x8 run. Those figures are the plan’s own shopping list, every board, sheet, roll, panel, nail and box, priced at a named store, not a rule of thumb per square foot.
What every coop size costs
Each plan below is sized for the most standard hens that pass every flock check, with the run that goes with it. Coop alone is the same coop without a run, so the run column is what the run adds.
| Plan | Hens | Run | Coop alone | The run adds | Coop and run |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4x4 | 2 | 24 sq ft | $1,408.05 | $565.38 | $1,973.43 |
| 4x6 | 4 | 42 sq ft | $1,659.13 | $690.07 | $2,349.20 |
| 4x8 | 6 | 64 sq ft | $1,766.06 | $988.18 | $2,754.24 |
| 6x8 | 10 | 104 sq ft | $2,543.94 | $1,085.65 | $3,629.59 |
| 8x8 | 13 | 136 sq ft | $2,730.74 | $1,367.51 | $4,098.25 |
| 8x10 | 17 | 170 sq ft | $3,133.43 | $1,560.10 | $4,693.53 |
| 8x12 | 21 | 216 sq ft | $3,366.73 | $1,746.95 | $5,113.68 |
| 10x10 | 22 | 220 sq ft | $3,789.13 | $1,762.02 | $5,551.15 |
| 10x12 | 26 | 264 sq ft | $4,030.41 | $1,974.04 | $6,004.45 |
| 12x12 | 32 | 324 sq ft | $4,176.16 | $2,456.44 | $6,632.60 |
Two things stand out. The jump from 4x8 to 6x8 is the biggest step in the table, because 6 ft wide is where our plans become walk-in coops with 72 in walls and a person door. And the cost per hen falls fast: the 12x12 walk-in for 32 hens costs about three and a third times the 4x4 for two, for sixteen times the flock.
Where the money goes
The 4x8 plan, $2,754.24 in all, by group:
| Group | Cost | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Hardware and fasteners | $1,016.38 | 37% |
| Lumber | $707.89 | 26% |
| Mesh | $363.06 | 13% |
| Roofing | $342.96 | 12% |
| Sheets | $323.95 | 12% |
The hardware group is the surprise. It holds the run’s roof: five polycarbonate panels at $41.54 each, with their screws and foam closure strips. It also holds the nails and screws, the hurricane ties, a post cap on each of the six legs with its twelve connector screws, the hinges, the spring-catch latches, the caulk, the primer and two gallons of paint. The washer-head screws that hold the hardware cloth, one every 6 in of edge, come to about 730 screws on this plan, bought in boxes of 120.
The roofing is high for a small roof because you buy whole packs. A 4x8 coop roof needs two bundles of shingles, but it also takes a full bundle of starter strip, a full bundle of ridge cap and a roll of underlayment that covers about nine squares. The same packs would roof a coop twice the size.
What changes the total
All on the 4x8 plan for six hens, at the same prices:
| Change | Total | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| The plan as drawn: panel roof on the run, 1/2 in hardware cloth | $2,754.24 | |
| Run roof in hardware cloth instead of panels | $2,372.17 | $382.07 less |
| Run with an open top | $2,313.74 | $440.50 less |
| Lean-to roof instead of gable | $2,692.54 | $61.70 less |
| Metal roof panels instead of shingles | $2,821.36 | $67.12 more |
| 1/4 in hardware cloth instead of 1/2 in | $2,724.12 | $30.12 less |
The 1/4 in mesh coming out cheaper is not a typo: on the day we read them, a 2 ft x 100 ft roll cost $92.03 in 1/4 in and $162.43 in 1/2 in at the same store. And the run’s 10 ft panels cost $41.54 each while the 12 ft ones cost $39.98, so buying 12 ft panels and cutting them saves $7.80 on the five. Prices swing like that from store to store, so price the mesh and the panels where you buy them.
A hardware cloth or open run roof saves money but does nothing against snow, and an open top leaves the hens to hawks and owls. The designer turns those choices amber and tells you why.
How the prices were read
On Oct 8, 2026 we read the shelf price of one product per line: the first card of the right size and kind with stock at the store. The framing lumber, the sheet goods, the run’s roof panels and the latches come from Home Depot’s Hamilton Mill store; the hardware cloth, roofing, connectors and most of the hardware from Lowe’s Atlanta-Edgewood store; nails, hurricane ties and adhesive from a Home Depot read on Sep 30. The nails and screws for each connector are counted from the maker’s evaluation reports: eight or ten 10d nails for each joist hanger on the run roof, by size, twelve connector screws for each post cap under the coop. Every line in the chicken coop cost calculator names its product and model, and you can type your own prices over ours.
Every line of every plan above has a price. Sales tax, delivery and tools are not in any figure here.
Where to buy cheaper
- Menards 11% rebate
- Menards runs an 11% rebate at times, not every week, so check before you buy. It is a mail-in rebate: you mail the form with the receipt, and the money comes back as a Menards rebate credit check, which Menards says is valid on future in-store purchases only, not on menards.com. Menards says most rebates are processed within 6 to 8 weeks. So it is store credit for your next trip, not cash off this one.
- Lowe's Lowest Price Guarantee
- Lowe's says that if you find a current lower price on an identical in-stock item from another local retailer, it will match it once an associate checks the website, ad, printout or photo you show, delivery cost included. Useful when one store has the hardware cloth or the lumber for less and the other is closer.
- A lumber yard for the frame
- A local lumber yard is worth a quote for the framing lumber, the treated posts and the sheet goods, and it may deliver the whole frame at once. We did not price one, so we cannot say by how much it beats the home center. Ask for the same grades the list names.
- Buy the mesh by the roll that fits
- Hardware cloth is the biggest line after the lumber, and the price per foot changes a lot between roll lengths: on the day we read them, a 3 ft x 100 ft roll cost about the same as a 3 ft x 50 ft roll. If your coop needs more than half a long roll, price the long one.
Build it for less
Start with the size. The smallest coop that passes the flock checks is the cheapest one that works, and the chicken coop size calculator finds it for your flock. A coop one size up costs a few hundred dollars more in lumber and siding before it adds any comfort.
Keep the hardware cloth. Chicken wire takes the mesh on the 4x8 plan from $363.06 to $153.94, but it keeps hens in, not predators out, and a single raccoon visit costs more than the difference. Our predator proof coop guide goes through why.
Then buy the big lines carefully: lumber at a yard that delivers, mesh in the roll length that fits, and paint in the size the list asks for. The free plans show the full priced list for every size, and the coop designer prices any coop you draw as you draw it.
Questions people ask
$2,754.24 in materials for our 4x8 plan with its covered 8x8 run, at shelf prices we read on Oct 8, 2026: $1,766.06 for the coop and $988.18 for the run. Every line of the list is in that figure, down to the nails for each connector; sales tax and delivery are not.
For a small flock, buying is cheaper up front: Google Shopping listed Aivituvin kits for four to six hens at $259.99 to $389.99 on Oct 7, 2026, against $1,659.13 in materials for our 4x6 coop alone, a raised, framed coop meshed in hardware cloth. For a walk-in, building wins: an 8x12 built coop was listed at $4,045, and our 8x12 coop alone is $3,366.73 in materials.
We have not priced labor, so we can only point at what sellers list. On Oct 7, 2026, Google Shopping showed an 8x12 chicken coop from Esh's Utility Buildings at $4,045, and an 8x8 pre-cut kit you assemble yourself from Jamaica Cottage Shop at $4,176.74. Our plans come to $3,366.73 and $2,730.74 in materials for the same two sizes, coop only.
Build the smallest coop that passes the flock checks, and choose the run roof that fits your weather. On the 4x8 plan a hardware cloth roof on the run in place of the panel roof takes the total from $2,754.24 to $2,372.17, and an open top to $2,313.74. Leave the hardware cloth on the walls: it is what keeps predators out.