material for building a small, mobile coop

[Just Fluff]

Hello,

I would like to build a small, mobile coop for my ducklings and chicks, but my husband took one look at the price of chicken wire and said "No Way!"

I would like to build something about 2 feet high with a cover, roughly 4 x 4 or maybe a bit bigger for little chicks. I would like a door on top to be able to put them in and take them out, and possibly a three sided run-in area so they can get in out of the wind, rain or sun if they want.

The building it part is simple, but I don't know what to use for the material to keep them confined.

Any suggestions? Something that leaves me with most of my arms and legs would be best.

Thanks!

 

[JanetSmithery]

If price is an issue, maybe you could round up some old pallets for free? I think they're at least 2 feet x 2 feet. You could space the boards close enough together to keep predators at bay, but you'd also lose some chicken visibility.

 

[sashurlow]

Where are you located? If you live in warmer climates, it can be done cheaper than colder climates. Chicken wire is cheap, so your husband has a very small budget.
Take a look at the A-frames, there is probably less material used in them and that would make it cheaper.

 

[CityChook]

I would certainly recommend doing research on this forum - there are so many creative ideas and experience here and BYCers are happy to help. You can always check out the search function (see the blue bar above).

There are lots of coop photos on this forum (also check the coop design page) where folks have built their coops for nearly (if not completely) free. It wasn't possible for me, but it all depends on how much time you have available to you to source materials and your climate.

If there is any construction going on in your neck of the woods, check with the foreman to see if you can have scrap lumber. The quantities that they toss is quite unbelievable. But definitely ask first.

You can find the coop design pages (see Tractors) by clicking the link that spans the top of this page. Maybe it will help get your creative juices flowing.

 

[ChixPix]

Also, try looking for used or reclaimed materials. Freecycle or craigslist might be your friend.
Did you look for small rolls of wire? maybe you saw a giant roll price? Here, I can get a small roll (enough for a tractor) for under $15-20

 

[Prospector]

We got a roll of 1/4" mesh, 75 ft long and it ran us $75. A buck a foot is pricey. And thats just the bottom 3 feet of the run, and to cover windows in the coop. 50 feet of chain link fence at a demolition yard will run us another $50, plus the posts to put it up on.

My spots to cheap out include:
- Freecycle and craigslist. I use them a lot. 2 places to look on craigslist: Free stuff, and materials. Sometimes stuff will be in other places too so it can take a little hunting.
- Habitat for humanity re-store. Got our windows there for $5.
- Cull bins at home depot/lowes. Since you are just building a chicken coop, it diesn't matter if the wood is little warped or marked up.
- Demolition yards. We have a good one nearby, but its hours aren't very good. Its fun to pick through piles of stuff and find treasures. Most of the stuff there is used, some is not.
- Neighbours doing renos. Loads of 2X4's and other goodies. (Most of our coop framing was done with lumber we pulled out of the house for our ongoing bathroom/front entry reno - I can't pee, but I have a nice coop on the go)
- Yard sales. You never know what you will find.
- Creative thinking. You never know how or where you will find a solution to a problem but often branching road can lead to the same destination.

Even with all these things though, our coop has cost us more than I budgeted. Nails and fasteners add up fast. Hinges and critter-proof locks and closures are one of the biggest surprise expenses I've hit. We only bought plywood for th eroof and 1 wall, and we have had to buy roofing and nails but apart from that almost everything has been recycled. Somehow we still managed to run an honest tab of $400 or so on this thing, including screws and nails etc. and we aren't done yet.

The roll of hardware cloth was almost a quarter of our budget...

 

[aalbury]

TSC has a 27' long by 24" high roll of chicken wire for $9.99. If you are anywhere near me (GA) I have a big roll (probably at least 20 feet long of old 2"x4" 4' high wire you can have - it wouldn't keep little chicks in - but it would keep them in eventually.

 

[JenO]

Would bird netting work? I used it on the top of my coop to keep predators out, but it seems you could use it to keep your chickens in. However, if you have any four legged predators at ALL to deal with I can't imagine it would even slow them down much.

 

[Just Fluff]

Hubby said that the roll was 4' by 50' and cost about $65. We're out in the western slope of CO. I priced some smaller rolls last year, so I don't recall exactly what they were, but they were pretty pricey too. For now, I've got the little ducklings in the dogs' exercise pen in an enclosed stall to keep them out of the wind. Those little ducklings make a royal mess in their tote that I have them in! My pullets I can move out to another small coop once the roosters are in the freezer. I'll take a look at all the great suggestions here and see if I can build something for the next batch.

Oh, my hubby looked on Craigslist for chicken wire and found one listing, but never heard back from him, so they must have been sold already.

We do have coyotes, but they don't usually seem to come up to the house much with the dogs around, although we have lost several geese and our previous ducks to coyotes when we first moved here.

 

[laughaha]

It costs us about $150 to build an extremely solid 4' x 8' pen that is everything but bear proof and I think it would take a little while for a bear to get into them. You don't want chicken wire- about the only thing that will protect them from is housecats and really small dogs.