New home for my birds

[Amyloumomof2]

I have 10 chickens who I need to buy/build a new home for. My husband isn't thrilled with spending tons of money so I need it to be a nice home for my girls (4 RIR, 2 black sex links, 2 Sicilian Buttercup, 2 Plymouth Barred Rock) without costing a small fortune. Any ideas are welcome. They need more space so I'm actively looking!!

 

[AngryRooster]

Generally, I like to use a 3x3 ft area for my chickens, but it also depends on how much space you have in your yard. However, I would probably add more space for the RIRs since in my experience, they seem to be a bit on the wild side. Just buy some concrete, you don't need much, and dig a few feet below the surface of the coop and layer it there to prevent predators from digging underneath. You can also buy some wood to make an outline of for your coop and use chicken wire as the walls. You can buy all of these for a decent price at a store such as home depot or ask friends and family for spare parts which will save quite a bit of money. A friend of mine bought and uses the coop demonstrated in the link below. Not sure if this answers your question, but I hope this helps!

http://chickensaloon.com/the-ranch-backyard-chicken-coop/

 

[Amyloumomof2]

I've got an unused slab of concrete in my backyard I was thinking of building onto. It's a good size and we live in a small town and our backyard is pretty large, so space isn't a huge issue. I'm more concerned with the space inside the coop during winter when it gets pretty cold in Nebraska.

 

[disneyguy]

I'd check out craigslist in your area to see if there is any free/reduced wood floating around. Perhaps also see if any grocery stores near you are done with pallets; the ones around me just throw them out back. Best of luck!

 

[Amyloumomof2]

I work at a True Value and can get pallets for free from there