We used as much recycled parts as we could -- stuff we had lying around or donated by our neighbor. We did purchase the wire, hinges and hooks for the next box door, light bulb, nest box bottoms, waterer and bougainvillea.
The structure is made from old horse corral panels (our neighbor welded a bottom bar that allows the panels to sit somewhat under ground.), the corrugated tin is from our old hay barn that blew down (actually it was blown up into our neighbor's tree during a monsoon storm.) The wood that makes the roof and nest box doors we scavenged from an old porch a friend tore down. And the nest boxes are from an old chicken farm that our neighbor scavenged when the farm went out of business and the new property owners tore down all the buildings.
The roosts are made from tree branches and stumps on our land. The saguaro ribs are from a saguaro that was struck by lighting on our property, and the cactus we transplanted from areas around our house.
Construction Part 1
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Look at old corral panels for years and years, wondering what to do with them. They only seem to take up space and when lying on the ground & they make a wonderful home for pack rats. A eureka moment happens when egg prices go up to ridiculous amounts. "Hmm, I know what I can use those old corral panels for -- chickens!"[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Construction Part 2 -- The most important part![/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Order chicks before you begin. The panic you feel as they outgrow the brooder will help motivate you to complete the project.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Contruction part 3[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Wire the corral panels with the intent that the coop will be portable. The corral panels are portable so of course the coop will be too! We used regular 1" chicken wire. "Look," I told my husband, "I saved money by getting the construction type chicken wire. It's the same gage!"[/FONT]