This is our $29 coop. Construction started about 3 weeks ago after my lovely wife finally agreed to raising chickens. Our fine neighbors were just as interested in the project so there's been no shortage of involvement and help in acquiring the chicks and building a coop, run and brooder box.
The coop is 6' x 9' with 7' high walls. I managed to come across quite a collection of recycled, spare, remnant and donated materials. The windows were given to me by a family member who had them left over from a house he built. They're Andersen vinyl clad and nicer than the ones in my house. Brand new still in the box. The doors, nest box and trim came from an oak tree that had been cut down several years ago to make space for a new building to be constructed at work. The wood was in a pile, exposed to the elements and slowly being returned to the Earth in the form of rot so I decided that some of it would be preserved. The metal roof was donated by a friend who had some leftover material from a pole building. All framing lumber came from a co-worker who salvaged it from the demo phase of a work project. We ripped pressure treated 2x8s into 2x4s to build the walls and roof. The floor was made from 2x8 pt. The siding came from fence pickets that I removed from our yard a few years ago, shortly after buying the property.
As I said, I have $29 in the coop itself. The run cost about $150 between new 2x4 pressure treated lumber, poultry netting and deck screws. I'm very grateful for all the donated materials and help with construction.
I still need to cover the top of the run to guard against airborne predation but I have plenty of time to take care of that and complete the punchlist.
Hopefully our dozen two-week-old chicks will find it acceptable and hospitable in a few weeks when they move in.
The coop is 6' x 9' with 7' high walls. I managed to come across quite a collection of recycled, spare, remnant and donated materials. The windows were given to me by a family member who had them left over from a house he built. They're Andersen vinyl clad and nicer than the ones in my house. Brand new still in the box. The doors, nest box and trim came from an oak tree that had been cut down several years ago to make space for a new building to be constructed at work. The wood was in a pile, exposed to the elements and slowly being returned to the Earth in the form of rot so I decided that some of it would be preserved. The metal roof was donated by a friend who had some leftover material from a pole building. All framing lumber came from a co-worker who salvaged it from the demo phase of a work project. We ripped pressure treated 2x8s into 2x4s to build the walls and roof. The floor was made from 2x8 pt. The siding came from fence pickets that I removed from our yard a few years ago, shortly after buying the property.
As I said, I have $29 in the coop itself. The run cost about $150 between new 2x4 pressure treated lumber, poultry netting and deck screws. I'm very grateful for all the donated materials and help with construction.
I still need to cover the top of the run to guard against airborne predation but I have plenty of time to take care of that and complete the punchlist.
Hopefully our dozen two-week-old chicks will find it acceptable and hospitable in a few weeks when they move in.
