Lowest Cost Coop Design

[flgardengirl]

You can get free pallets on craigslist to make coops from. We made a 4w x 8L x 6 ft high one pretty cheap...the money we actually spent was mostly for nails, screws, hinges, hardware cloth, and you would need some sort of roofing etc.
It was well under 50 dollars to make. The pallets we found had plywood nailed over the top that we used for the floors and roof. I found some wood stain for a dollar a can too. I didn't make a nest box in that particular coop because it is for our roosters bachelor pad. It looks nice and rustic but not bad at all.
For nesting boxes that are cheap, you can buy those bright colored milk crates at walmart for 3 dollars and something. You can put cardboard in the bottoms and then wood shavings on top of the cardboard and that way it can be changed if they get messy.

Those Habitat for Humanity stores are a good place to find stuff for building coops cheap too. You can get windows and doors (that can be cut down and used for roofs, floors, walls, doors etc.) I found a 5 ft long window for 5 dollars and several doors for 5 dollars.
Here in Jacksonville where I am, you can go to Jax Plywood that has used doors, windows, stain, roll roofing etc. super cheap. you just have to pick through everything to find what you want. They also sell screws and nails by the pound which is cheaper.

 

[harleyhappy]

a few ideas:

pallets come in a variety of qualities. i have found that i have gotten awful pallets from craigslist, but very good high quality pallets from my local benjamin moore paint store. the owner of the store is happy to save pallets for me and even gives me a call when he has them and insists on loading the pallets into my hatchback for me. the big box stores around me don't give away pallets, but locally owned stores are very generous. i have also heard that stores that sell flooring, especially tiles have very good quality pallets. it is much easier to draw your plans and make construction when all your pallets match.

shipping crates are great! if you can find a large enough crate, all you need to do is a few modifications. car dealerships and mechanics sometimes get engines and transmissions in giant crates. also, independent hardware stores that sell lawnmowers are a great source of crates.

our local habitat for humanity has a restore, that is great for things like windows, hardware and latches, etc. however, most people don't know that in addition to the restore, they also have a pile of scrap lumber by their dumpster that anyone can take (i would recommend asking someone the first time, just to make sure that is the free scrap pile). I have gotten some good plywood cutoffs, 2x4s, and of course more pallets from the habitat scrap pile. fridays and tuesdays are the best days for the scraps.

if you have a neighbor or friend that is a contractor or carpenter, ask them to save cutoffs and scraps for you. most people like to help and are interested in weird projects, that might even offer you some construction advice.

dog houses! a large dog house can be modified to hold 3-4 hens easily. dog houses are often available cheaply on craigslist and a few people on BYC have just put out a wanted post on freecycle.

good luck, i spent too much on my first little tractor, so when i build a bigger coop i am going to try to do it much cheaper!

 

[coldinnh]

Home Depot and the like do matching donations and donations via a 503c non profit and they be willing to host a build your coop. I work in Human Services and know that any cost may be more than what is the budget for some on fixed incomes. Which is where the non profit can help.

Someone suggested Habitat for Humanity- which may be a good partner since the receipents must do sweat equity. Also being a non profit the supplies maybe donated.
How are you addressing the food that the chickens will require? And cost of actually getting the chicks. I know my DH paid a not small price for our 28 girls.
are you also looking at just egg layers or also broilers- then butchering becomes an issue.

good luck and kudos for the work.

just thought you maybe able to enlist area service orgs, boy scouts and the like for help with building

 

[HaikuHeritageFarm]

I can see using a couple of pallets covered with a tarp (or plastic mattress bag or old shower curtain, etc) as the basis of an almost free a-frame coop. I used pallets and things I recovered from the burn pile to build my free coop. I will try to get photos for you. I had a lot of scrap wood laying about, so figuring up something that would use ONLY pallets would be better.

Also, one of the reasons I am keeping my pallets intact instead of taking them apart for the wood is that I think I will either use blue board or stuff the sides with straw this winter to add some extra insulation. (I live in Alaska.) This may be good for Maine, too. You could use a couple of pallets in an a-frame, or use 5 pallets for a 4-walls and a roof type thing, if you needed more room.

I'm loving how modular pallets are, too. They make it exceptionally easy to add roosts and put together a sturdy structure with little or no know-how. The biggest problem I have had, in fact, is transporting them from wherever I find them to my house. Also be fore-warned that any coop you build with whole pallets will be QUITE heavy.

 

[chickp]

It was really helpful to us to figure out we could build a coop with a used Little Tikes house. They are relatively cheap or even free if you have one sitting around, and our friend had lumber we could use. I think our total cost was well under $200 and that was for hardware cloth all the way around.

 

[razmond]

Quote:
I have a little more updating to do with photos... but I kept a price log from the get go. Used 98% recycled/second-life materials....Grand total w/o chickens is about $45. The coop was built on a free 5x7 pallet. Well... I guess you could look and see the details for yourself if interested. https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=54839-expenses Hope this helps. I tried to keep the pages separated by info. Your thoughts are appreciated.

 

[The Chicken Lady]

What would be the budget?

You're saying no equipment...so are you meaning something that can be built easily without power tools?

What kind of predators would the coop need to protect against?

Is the coop for a cold or warm climate?

 

[harleyhappy]

Razmond, love your coop!

Mareview farm, what has been most helpful to you?

Also you say : "I am writing a proposal to help low income folks on food assistance to have the option to own a few chickens."
Could you please clarify for me: are you hoping to provide the low income folks information on how to build their own coops, or does your proposal hope to furnish the folks with coops that you or another group has already made inexpensively?

Some thoughts: I have done a bit of technical writing, and the most difficult jobs are writing to a very accessible level on how to build things. Also, what are the living situations of your target audience? Are you seeking information for coop+run setups or coop+ free range/ fenced yard setups? If the potential chicken owners are renters, you need to include information on approaching landlords. How well accepted are chickens in your area, what other concerns or restrictions are there (yard size, local laws, etc)?

Mareview, I'm really interested in your idea and would love some more information. Are you approaching this project for your town, city, state, nation, school, commune, neighborhood, church, what?

Thanks!

 

[harleyhappy]

here is some inspiration:

 

[Bleenie]

I have made MANY coops out of 100% recycled materials. i mean everything was recycled or given to me for free... I just picked up a truck load of free lumber today, all I did was stop and ask what they were doing with the old fencing & if i could please have it.

I reused screws, scrap lumber, was given free scrap linoleum and sometimes you can even find heat lights and such for free on Craigslist. Dog houses also that can be converted.

A lot of people love the idea of reusing/repurposing things these days and i think it's just wonderful. this idea is also very wonderful and i hope you can find some local people to donate!!!