Which came first, the chicken or the coop? Part One

Oh my my, the power of a child’s persuasion.

It took one episode of Craft Wars to launch a project of all projects. The contestants were to make a pet mansion using only pet supplies & items from the craft room. Tori Spelling, the host of the show, was carrying a white puff ball named “Coco” & I was intrigued. I immediately googled ‘Tori Spelling, Coco’ & there it was, a puff ball of cuteness dressed to the nines. I fell in love & immediately showed my daughter & her friends when she got home. That was it; one episode, Google & a kid with friends. What was "Coco"? It was a silkie chicken, cute as can be & the kid stated we needed one.  I sat there at the kitchen table pondering & decided to see what these things cost & how hard it was to obtain one.

Within 2 hours I was able to find them on craigslist, email an inquiry to the owner & get a response that I could pick them up tonight at 8pm. They lived in north Austin, 25 min away from us & my daughter begged me to get one, for $5, why not? So we took a drive; 3 kids, a cardboard box & I. We immediately fell in love. The kiddo’s friend wanted one too & swore that her parents wouldn’t mind.  They chose the ones they wanted & off we went to Walmart to get a small cage, some shavings & a water bowl.

We had no idea what was in store for us. For the next 2 months the silkies lived in a wooden box in our guest bedroom. I researched & learned what we needed to do to take care of these time consuming chicklets, respectfully named Mumble & Loke. Of course we ended up with both of them & little did we know that you cannot sex a chicken at a very young age.  Loke was learning to use 'HER' vocal cords & started to sound a lot like a pre-pubescent rooster.

 I searched high & low for coop ideas & finally combined a few that we liked to make it work for our space. However, while looking for items, I worked with our great finds & then the space we had. I had a little more flexibility with our space.

So off to the re-store & home depot, I went.

I didn't take step by step pictures but I will try to draw out what we did. Don't 2nd guess warped cull lumber as most of it can be straightened out by bracing it. (update, Home Depot now sells thier cull lumber by the price of the item -70%off. We purchased items when it used to be by color price point)

 

we built the coop first then attached the run.

Front view. The 3 upright 2x4's are longer then the back. Once the frame was up I added the press board & then painted it.

Nesting box - side view. The slats are important to ventilate the coop.  Easy to close during freezing  cold days & open them fully when hot. Scrap lumber is placed on the side to help them from swinging completely backwards.

Warped legs - Easy fix later. Excuse the mess, yard is still under construction.

 I went to Lowes (very limited on in stock selections) as I didn't have time to go to a flooring store. I used what I needed & sold the rest on craigslist. I have to say, it is very hard to fold linoleum.

A nesting box must be built.

Added wire to the inside of the frame to keep my babies safe. Washers & screws help secure it further than the staples.

Back side-framed. You don't have to double wall your coop, however since press board is not weather proof & Texas weather is crazy, I thought it could keep the kiddo's warm & safe as my yard backs up to a green belt. Racoons can be very nasty & I can just see them pulling open boards to get to a tasty meal. Before I add the exterior wall, I took the opportunity to screw a branch through the back side. I found a great tree limb in the woods. I made a few notches on the top so the chickens can have a better grip. Pictures coming soon

 

The grand master plan... hand drawn with no dimensions, just the materials used. Price for frame, walls, & nesting box.... 

ONLY 

$45.57 

of course this doesn't include taxes or hardware. You can buy all this stuff at habitat for humanity for WAY less then buying it at the big box store. You just need to know what you need as it is sold by the bag or pound.

Price for coop is not including the run, the wire below the coop, nor the panels on bottom. At this point it is still under construction.

Semi final finish.

Hopefully this will spark some ideas & add to your CAN DO for LESS list.

Stay tuned for the nesting box & the run.

 

~Mel

Some assembly required; assembler must have basic knowledge of tools, assumes all liability of any creativity produced by DIY blogs & that such injuries that may occur during the project. Blogger reserves the right to help you save money but in no means promises that you can get such said deals unless you take the time to walk away from the computer,  look & shop around other then the big box stores.