My roommates and I journeyed to the Habitat ReStore and Home Depot today to collect supplies to build a coop for our new baby chicks. A the ReStore we found the following:
5 2x3s, each 16 ft long ($2 each)
1 2x2, 12 ft long ($1 each)
Shingles, 16 sets of 2 ($0.10 each)
Total spent: ~ $13
We headed to Home Depot for the rest of it, since the ReStore didn't quite have everything we needed. We got 2 sheets of plywood, 25 ft of chicken wire, hinges, hasps, locks, and door pulls, for a total of about $95 (ouch).
Tomorrow we're getting together with a friend who has a saw and some carpentry knowledge to help us build our coop. I based the design off of a very popular style, the A-frame chicken tractor. A chicken tractor is a coop that is attached to a run and is movable. This way the chickens are fully-enclosed so that they will be safe from predators, but we can move them around the yard periodically to spread the love (ie: fabulously nutrient-rich chicken poop).
Once we're finished building the coop/tractor I'll post photos, detailed instructions, and the plans that I made. If you're thinking about building a coop or tractor, my plans will be for a very simple design that will work in a variety of areas. Until then, check out the Backyard Chickens website, it is a wealth of information!
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