After keeping our three hens in a small chicken tractor for their first year, it was time to commit to building a more permanent home. Like everyone else here, we browsed and browsed some more, until we found a model we thought we could replicate fairly easily and inexpensively. Citygirlinthecountry's Blue Coop was our inspiration. Using our vacation last week, we put this together with a combination of scrap lumber and purchased items, for less than $100 total.
Basically, we built a table and covered it with a scrap of formica ($4), framed up walls out of 2x2 lumber ($15), sided it using 2 sheets of preprimed siding from the damaged freight store ($30) and covered it with a corrugated 4x8 plastic panel ($8). Then I trimmed it out using lathe strips ($7) and caulked everywhere. Window screen layered with hardware cloth covers the vents. When the coop takes its permanent location beside the house, the chicken door will open into attached runs (which are under construction this week). It took just one day before the girls signaled their approval with fresh eggs in the nesting boxes.
We did not aim for perfection, but the end results are more than satisfying to all of us. Thanks for looking, and thanks to everyone else who has shared their ideas with us!
Basically, we built a table and covered it with a scrap of formica ($4), framed up walls out of 2x2 lumber ($15), sided it using 2 sheets of preprimed siding from the damaged freight store ($30) and covered it with a corrugated 4x8 plastic panel ($8). Then I trimmed it out using lathe strips ($7) and caulked everywhere. Window screen layered with hardware cloth covers the vents. When the coop takes its permanent location beside the house, the chicken door will open into attached runs (which are under construction this week). It took just one day before the girls signaled their approval with fresh eggs in the nesting boxes.
We did not aim for perfection, but the end results are more than satisfying to all of us. Thanks for looking, and thanks to everyone else who has shared their ideas with us!
