In The Beginning:
For years I've wanted chickens, but it wasn't until this past winter I found out I could actually own chickens in town. So this is my little thread about what I'm doing and what its costing. To begin with, I wanted to keep the costs of this venture as low as possible. I like the idea of getting better quality eggs, but I hope to get my return on investment sooner rather than later. With that in mind, my first stop was the local habitat reuse store where I found two desks that look just like a small house. Like they were meant to be. They are also very heavy, which means lots of thick wood in these bad boys. Best of all, total cost was $15.
The Build:
I also found chicken wire on clearance at Lowes for $18 for 150 ft. I plan on reinforcing the bottom around the outside, but I'm hoping it will be sufficient for the run. I'm not sure how far I'll make the run. For starters its going to be an L-Shape around the shed.
The stand is made from a no longer needed dog box (RIP Pancho), I'm not including the cost of that lumber in my total since it was bought and used years prior.
The box measures about 5' deep and 3' wide. Notice the half inch separation between the inside and outside. I think that is going to be good for insulation during the winter months.
I did have a little help with the construction...
I'm using the desktop as a door, and cut the nesting boxes into the door. I was originally going to cut a door in the side, but I really like the idea of the air pockets, so I'm going to keep that all intact and make as few cuts into it as possible.
the nest boxes are exactly 1x1x1. There was already a hole cut for computer wires and such, I may end up making another hole or just cut this one bigger and add screen. I'm making the rest of the coop fairly air tight and I'm a little worried I may not have enough ventilation.
The boxes were cut out of the drawer fronts, and the 4th drawer front is the lid.
Added shingles but had to cut back the corner to allow the door to move freely. Used caulking to try to keep it dry.
Was worried about waterproofing the nest box so with some creative thinking my buddy and I came up with a removable roof ontop of the next box.
Cut in the door and vent holes.
Tiles the inside the help with cleaning and water proofing the floor. These were 38 cents a piece so no big budget breaker.
Framed in a door and we've got ourselves a coop.
The girls are 6 weeks now and enjoying the fresh air.
Costs:
Desks- $15
Hinges-$10
Fence-$18
Shingles-$20
Lumber-$23 (for door and coop floor)
Tile, Screws, Caulk -$12
So for the run and all I'm looking around $100. I'm pretty happy with that.
