My "Free" Eggs are costing me a FORTUNE! - ITS DONE!! pg 15 pics

[mcf3kids]

I "tried" to do a free coop with my American Express points and got Home Depot $$ with them. $1000 worth to be exact - the sad part is after reading about chicken math I convinced hubby that we should increase our planned 4 x 6 coop with enclosed 12 x 6 run to an 8x8 coop with an 8 x 16 run. Needless to say I increased materials as well and we have now shelled out $700 of our real $$ and will still need about $200 more in paint and sand. I feel your pain but I also decided that I want to do this once and be able to have enough room to have my dual purpose birds until fall and let my lucky laying ladies hang around a long while (or until their laying slows whichever comes first

) Hope you enjoy your coop when it is done! I keep saying to my hubby "I hope I like chickens when they get here!!"

 

[QualityPolish]

We spent $350 on our coop, because it was a "good deal" and "the wood to build it would cost more!" With $24's in chickens from a breeder and $30 in food along with other supplies we're up to about $450 right now.
Now just hoping we'll get enough from their chicks and eggs to pay for some of the stuff. Atleast their feed.

 

[Daphne16]

I keep trying to tell dh that we should use recycled wood, but he refuses because it is too hard to work with. He did scrounge and find some hinges and is willing to use the paneling ripped from our basement as the interior walls though hehe. He thinks we can build an insulated coop and run for about $150 for a 4x6 coop (raised 2 feet about ground) with bottom enclosed and a 10 by 6 aframe run, plus apron on 2 sides the other 2 are against a rock wall and against a patio.
He is dillusional.
I am picking up some 2x4s and assorted leftover wood from craigslist tomorrow though. I also built a roost today for a total of $2.02 from culled wood and leftover primer and paint.

My 6 chickies will be here in less than 2 weeks and we need a roost in the dogcage brooder.

 

[Patricia Jane]

Quote:
Id love to see pics. Sounds nice.

 

[gdog]

i built my coop from mostly scraps laying around . i thought $180. was bad.

 

[WVchick71]

We only had to buy nails and the tin for the roof. Our pastor has a sawmill and he said we could have all the first cuts we wanted. So hubby brought them home straightened them up and built a 8Lx10Wx6H coop.

 

[Raen]

Here's our recycled material coop:

It's build almost entirely out of an old privacy fence we got on craigslist for $20. The only brand new stuff we bought were the roofing for the main coop, hardware cloth, and door hardware. Total cost was about $200, and the coop is 6x8 ish.

It is a bit more trouble working with recycled materials, but not that bad. Worth it, in my opinion, and it makes you think outside the box!

 

[sammin71]

I know the feeling i just built my coop its 8x12 and i have 900 tied up and haven't got the roofing gonna finish it this weekend by the time all said and done it will be around 1300.I sorta cringe when i think about it but hopefully the ladies are happy.lol

 

[EasterEggersRULE]

I was hoping to spend $100 on two indoor cages for a pair of sermas . Well i walked out to see how they where coming along and looked at how much it cost. $100 EACH was what it came to

now i am just mad

i can only buy hatching eggs. Belive me you will ALWAYS go over your estimate when 1. Buying Chicks (you can't just buy one chicki will be lonley)
2. Choosing Breeds (aw that one is cute ! Ooo that one lays blue eggs) and 3. Building cages or coops . Unless you buy a pre fab coop. But what fun is that ?

 

[audioguy]

Wow, I had no idea people were spending that much on coops. I found plans on the Purina website (from advise from this board) and I have a neighbor that just demolished his deck so he has a lot of lumber ready to be tossed.
I will be sure to take whatever I need to complete our coop. It will be really heavy using decking boards, but FREE is FREE!