If you’re looking to start a new hobby in the new year and have considered raising chickens, Dave Zahn of Imperial can help you get started.
Zahn, 41, operates A+ Builds, a pet home-building company that specializes in chicken coops.
He said he began the business in 2014 and has taken more orders for chicken coops since March when the COVID-19 pandemic began.
“It was hit and miss before,” Zahn said. “Since March, it has been steady. I do about two or three coops a week. Before that, I did maybe five or six coops a month.”
Zahn said he believes more people are interested in raising chickens because they are stuck at home during the pandemic.
“After they try it, most people stick with it,” he said.
Zahn also said many people discover the first coop they get often is not sufficient for long-term chicken ownership.
“A lot of people will start with box-store coops, which they put together themselves. My customers tell me those last for about a year or so, and then they upgrade to one of our coops. I tell people the coops will outlast your chickens.”
Zahn also recently expanded his business.
In September, he acquired The Easy Chicken, a north St. Louis County business that sold a limited variety of chicken coops and offered chickens either for purchase or rental.
Along with acquiring The Easy Chicken name, Zahn said he has expanded some of his business’s offerings, like a six-month rental package that includes a coop, two chickens and a feeding and watering system.
Zahn, who owns 12 chickens of his own, said he gets the chickens from other businesses.
He also offers consulting packages for people considering acquiring chickens
Getting started
Zahn started his own business in 2008, providing general construction services.
He call that business A+ Works and he still operates it today, although it has been taking a backseat to the chicken coops.
“I’ve been trying to focus on keeping up with orders for chicken coops,” Zahn said.
His wife, Tracy Zahn, 40, handles marketing for the business.
Dave Zahn said he first built a coop after acquiring chickens through Craig’s List about 10 years ago.
He said he didn’t like that coop, so he sold it to someone else who wanted it. He sold the second coop he built, too, and after that, A+ Builds was formed.
“I’ve always had a soft heart for animals,” Zahn said. “I’ve had cats, dogs and rabbits. I never had chickens until I got that first set and built the first coop. I have been thinking about getting ducks.”
Zahn said the coops he builds can cost between $240 and $1,750.
Coops can be built to clients’ specifications, he said.
“The sky is the limit,” Zahn said. “If someone wanted a coop or other animal home for $100,000, I could do it. We did a coop in Ladue for about $9,500. They had solar-powered doors, custom paint and all kinds of fun stuff.”
More than chickens
While Zahn’s business is currently focused on coop building, he has built plenty of homes for other kinds of animals.
He said one that stands out was a guinea pig house that had three levels with two ramps and removable plexiglass panels on the front.
Zahn said a recent order for a cat house was unusual.
“It had two extra levels built inside it for the cats,” Zahn said. “It had an escape door, two windows and a deck platform on the front with a ramp.”
Most clients need to pick up their coop or other pet home at his house, although he does offer limited delivery depending on his workload and the distance to the client’s home.
Those interested in a coop or pet home, or the other services Zahn offers may find information online at aplusbuilds.com or theeasychicken.com.