How to keep chickens cheap?

[Grits&Eggs]

so we have an old, unused play/swing-set in our backyard... yesterday i spent a lot of time sitting in it and thinking. i could probably convert it into a two level coop pretty easily. i just need to measure it. the bottom is bigger than the top, so most likely the top will contain most of the roosts nesting boxes for protection against snakes, and the bottom will be a sheltered coop type thing connecting to the run. honestly, i could leave the swings on for a fun chicken swing type thing, as well as the slide. I'll make a door with a padlock on it for the opening of the slide, so the girls can't hurt themselves but i can open it slide down the dirty bedding for ease of cleaning
it has a small rock wall that is pertinent to the integrity of the coop, but i figured since it only comes up to my chest i could put a solid wall over the opening of that and then cut 2 holes for nest boxes. i should probably take pictures to better explain what I'm talking about, but first and foremost i need to see if it even has enough space... haha

Agree! we converted our kids old swing set to a coop/run and added a "day pen" (netting and chain link around/over the compost heap) they have plenty of room and conversion was a breeze - add some plywood over the playhouse, put in screening for ventilation and chicken wire or hardware cloth over the triangle swing part - done, but we went crazy with drainage off the roof, a water barrel for an automated watering system, an old door for ladder, but you can use the slide, just add something they can grip onto!! have fun!

 

[aart]

Agree! we converted our kids old swing set to a coop/run and added a "day pen" (netting and chain link around/over the compost heap) they have plenty of room and conversion was a breeze - add some plywood over the playhouse, put in screening for ventilation and chicken wire or hardware cloth over the triangle swing part - done, but we went crazy with drainage off the roof, a water barrel for an automated watering system, an old door for ladder, but you can use the slide, just add something they can grip onto!! have fun!

Got pics?

 

[Grits&Eggs]

here is the original snaps - we have upgraded quite a bit though this year, the mat system is gone but you can see the original kids "swing set" area is now the run/enclosed with chicken wire....and the club house was enclosed with plywood, painted white and pannel roof. I threw in one of their compost fun area and day pen -- -- all connected by chunnels which were added as an after thought and give them the "free range" within a cage, lol

 

[sean_wonder]

here is the original snaps - we have upgraded quite a bit though this year, the mat system is gone but you can see the original kids "swing set" area is now the run/enclosed with chicken wire....and the club house was enclosed with plywood, painted white and pannel roof. I threw in one of their compost fun area and day pen -- -- all connected by chunnels which were added as an after thought and give them the "free range" within a cage, lol
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wow!!! I love this! It looks beautiful!

 

[aart]

here is the original snaps

Nice! Aframes can make decent runs...but not coops...IMO.

 

[Kat2141]

Plus I'll make sure they're trained to come when I call-- we live right next to a highway and though I highly doubt they can slip through since I can hardly fit four fingers through the fence posts horizontally, if such an incident happens I'd be able to call them back & give em some treats

you will be surprised at how small a space chicks can get through. Even a couple weeks old. They didn't have any problems going through my 2"x4" mesh wire fence. Chicken wire inside your fence can stop that. You can get it that is only a foot high to line the bottom of your regular fence with for very little money.

Also, a thought I had... I got my girls (red sex links) as chicks last year at tractor supply. Then I joined some poultry pages on FB... There I saw lots of ads for 10-15 week old pullets for as little as $4 each. IF I had seen that before I got my chicks, I would have gone that route instead. Only $1 more than my chicks were. You don't have to buy a minimum of 7, get what you want. They are also halfway to laying age by then (less time feeding without getting eggs). I had my chicks in my house for the first 1.5 months because of the cold (March in NY) so had that to deal with also. Then this year, 2 went broody so I bought a dozen of mixed fertile eggs from a local farmer for $2 and let them hatch them out, so I will have more girls laying next year.

 

[aart]

There I saw lots of ads for 10-15 week old pullets for as little as $4 each. IF I had seen that before I got my chicks, I would have gone that route instead. Only $1 more than my chicks were.

Buuuuut bring the risk of pests and disease.

 

[Kat2141]

Buuuuut bring the risk of pests and disease.

I was just saying it could be an option when she is first starting out and has none at home already, rather than starting with 2 or 3 day old chicks from tractor supply.

 

[Evelyn's Mom]

so we have an old, unused play/swing-set in our backyard... yesterday i spent a lot of time sitting in it and thinking. i could probably convert it into a two level coop pretty easily. i just need to measure it. the bottom is bigger than the top, so most likely the top will contain most of the roosts nesting boxes for protection against snakes, and the bottom will be a sheltered coop type thing connecting to the run.

honestly, i could leave the swings on for a fun chicken swing type thing, as well as the slide. I'll make a door with a padlock on it for the opening of the slide, so the girls can't hurt themselves but i can open it slide down the dirty bedding for ease of cleaning

it has a small rock wall that is pertinent to the integrity of the coop, but i figured since it only comes up to my chest i could put a solid wall over the opening of that and then cut 2 holes for nest boxes. i should probably take pictures to better explain what I'm talking about, but first and foremost i need to see if it even has enough space...

there's a tractor supply not too far from me. they sell live chicks at the store right? do they have an all-pullet bin? what's the minimum you must buy? as much as i love chickens, i feel like seven is far too many for a first time coop haha

A friend of mine used an old two level playhouse/swingset combo to build into a coop. I don't have any photos but if you google it I'll bet tons of images pop up!

 

[Evelyn's Mom]

Not the coop or the chicks/chick supplies, but definitely bedding & feed. Pelleted pine wood is a great, cheap bedding-- sometimes free, but I've found 40lbs of it for $5. I'll go thru about 42 lbs of feed per week with seven hens, more or less, and I've found a 50 pound bag of layer feed for $28-- I mow lawns and babysit which easily makes me $20+, so if I only need to buy a bag a little less than once a month I'll be able to do it. My family goes thru a dozen eggs a week, so if I sell 2-3 dozen a week I could make $30 per month minimum through that.

My family has a system for birthdays/holiday gifts, and sometimes they allow us to put the allotted money towards a goal of ours. If they allowed me to get chickens, I probably wouldn't have any holiday gifts for a while... but it would be sooo worth it

I have 7 hens and we go through a 40 lb bag about every two weeks. They eat less in the summer