Osmosis Mom Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 OK, so I am not the world's best planner, but I might be the world's best mom right now.... Got 12 chicks (female), from the local Agway. 4 Black silkies, 4 golden laced wyandottes and 4 araucanas. All set for the chick cycle of life, but what on earth do I do enxt in terms of the coop without paying an arm and a leg (literally speaking here)?!! We have a very nice shed with a small section (1/4 of the shed) that I had considered converting somehow, but the catch is that dh does not want the shed to get wrecked so no tearing out windows. I had thought of putting in plywood on the floor below the bedding to protect it, but what about the walls and ventilation if the windows can't be removed (they have plexiglass). Also, there is a regular shed-door, could I have a screen door with chicken wire there as well on the inside? OK, tons of silly questions ofr the handy-guy, but we are not handy.... Other option would be to be completely creative and build something low-cost (as in under $200). Dh has plenty of tools, but needs something that can't be cursed at too much since I doubt he'd be that patient building a coop...!!! Yeah, that about sums it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 Some of these are famcy, some not. It might give you some ideas. You want air circulation now that summer is comming (someday). You need to keep them from critters (so a solid floor and solid sides at night). http://www.google.com/search?rlz=1T4ADSA_enUS417US417&q=simple+chicken+coops&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1659&bih=798 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenn- Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 http://www.backyardchickens.com/coopdesigns.html Here is a link to a lot of different designs. You will need a pretty good sized coop for that many chickens. I don't know if you are going to be able to get away with spending less than 200 unless you have some wood already laying around (that's just from what I read on their boards at least.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osmosis Mom Posted April 23, 2011 Author Share Posted April 23, 2011 Yes, I have been googling and getting a heartattack over what I am seeing on BYC!! We do have some wood and stuff around here so I think I could do it, but I'd love to more recycle some structure or be creative (which I am not appearing to be, hehe!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osmosis Mom Posted April 23, 2011 Author Share Posted April 23, 2011 Some of these are famcy, some not. It might give you some ideas. You want air circulation now that summer is comming (someday). You need to keep them from critters (so a solid floor and solid sides at night). http://www.google.com/search?rlz=1T4ADSA_enUS417US417&q=simple+chicken+coops&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1659&bih=798 Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truscifi Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 Are there any stores near you that give away pallets? The salvage grocery here does, and it is a good source of free wood. Unfortunately, the most expensive part of our coop was the hardware cloth - we have a lot of predators around here so we wanted something sturdier than regular chicken wire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osmosis Mom Posted April 23, 2011 Author Share Posted April 23, 2011 I could probably get my hands on free pallets, but I have heard breaking them apart is pretty hard work? Perhaps my teen ds could do it? I'll talk to the people at my local Agway and see what they recommend for wire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kebo Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 You could check on Craigslist! I saw some nice ones a few weeks ago when I was looking on behalf of my neighbor. She ended up having her husband build one, but I saw a lovely one for $300 and many less fancy that cost less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anneofalamo Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 oh you poor thing... I am not a chicken farmer, but a city girl that came into 4 chickens. We for a year used this strange thing, my hubby and boys threw together, it was ugly, but it worked! We have moved up to a some really nice ones, but they were given to us, and we had to take apart and rebuild. I would not use a nice shed, as, chicken poop ALOT! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celticmom Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 One idea might be to have multiple smaller coops. This is what I have three birds in: http://www.motherearthnews.com/Do-It-Yourself/2007-04-01/Portable-Chicken-Mini-coop-Plan.aspx You could use the top and bottom of two dog houses to make a total of four coops and either make multiple pens or put all the coops in one large pen. Also you could put all four coops in a fairly small pen if you plan to let the birds free range during the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truscifi Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 The pallets can be a bear to dismantle, but it might be worth it. Also you can use one as the bottom platform of a secure roost for them to sleep in, and build sides and a roof out of the others. That way they are protected from predators at night, and you just need to attach a screened run for them. You can either make it light weight or put it on wheels as a chicken tractor so you can move it around your yard to get the benefits of free ranging without the risks of having the chickens running loose. You can google chicken tractor and find tons of pics and plans online. Also, ours is cobbled together out of scrap wood and parts from ds's old swingset - really the only thing we bought was the screen and the wheels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osmosis Mom Posted April 23, 2011 Author Share Posted April 23, 2011 That's more like it, ladies, some sympathy!!!:lol: I am checking Craigslist, but it's apparently huge business right now!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truscifi Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 (edited) That's more like it, ladies, some sympathy!!!:lol: I am checking Craigslist, but it's apparently huge business right now!!! It is! I saw one on Craigslist similar to what dh built, but prettier (it was painted and had a little window box for flowers...yes, really) for $1350. We built ours for about $200. Oh, and dh put a light socket spliced to an extension cord to keep the chicks warm with a heat bulb until the are fully fledged. And we'll put in a regular bulb in the winter to extend the "day" for the chickens, which will hopefully keep up egg production, which tends to lag in the shorter days of winter. (Can you tell I've been spending a lot of time on BYC?) Edited April 23, 2011 by Truscifi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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