This project was built with about 80% recycled materials we had laying around the shop and the farm. We only spent a couple hundred dollars on plywood, screws and a few other odds and ends. Some of the lumber was a gift, but it was also reclaimed.
Pressure treated frame
Nesting bays.
Egg collection doors.
Nontoxic paint and fence posts.
Vent windows.
Door/Ramp.
Trim to make it look cute.
Metal roof.
Animal barrier trench. The Wire goes into the ground.
Wire is set in just enough concrete to bind it all together and make it a nightmare for digging critters. Then backfilled.
Chicken playground. We have since added a couple more things for them to climb on.
Finished house.
Some chicks we got this spring when we finished the house.
We have since added a roost perch inside the house and slats on the inside of the door/ramp that work like rungs on a ladder. The top of the door is attached to a rope that runs out the back of the house so we can raise and lower the ramp/door from outside of the fence. We have lots of hawks, owls and occasionally even foxes, coyotes and even a rare appearance from a bobcat so true free ranging isn't really an option for us now. Maybe next year when we have hatching chicks and more than we know what to do with, but for now each bird is too precious to risk.
Pressure treated frame
Nesting bays.
Egg collection doors.
Nontoxic paint and fence posts.
Vent windows.
Door/Ramp.
Trim to make it look cute.
Metal roof.
Animal barrier trench. The Wire goes into the ground.
Wire is set in just enough concrete to bind it all together and make it a nightmare for digging critters. Then backfilled.
Chicken playground. We have since added a couple more things for them to climb on.
Finished house.
Some chicks we got this spring when we finished the house.
We have since added a roost perch inside the house and slats on the inside of the door/ramp that work like rungs on a ladder. The top of the door is attached to a rope that runs out the back of the house so we can raise and lower the ramp/door from outside of the fence. We have lots of hawks, owls and occasionally even foxes, coyotes and even a rare appearance from a bobcat so true free ranging isn't really an option for us now. Maybe next year when we have hatching chicks and more than we know what to do with, but for now each bird is too precious to risk.
