fuzzi's Chicken Journal

[FunClucks]

An idea. Have you considered a hoop coop? Typically made with cattle panels - there's a lot of builds on here. I made mine with a greenhouse frame. I tried to do a pallet coop, but hammering anything and I don't get on, and I had trouble ripping it apart.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/have-the-chickens-now-i-need-a-coop-please-help.1519455/

The open air fully covered coop/run I'm working on now is made from 10'x6' chain link panels (I got them for half price and they will be covered 100% with hardware cloth and have another 3 ft apron). The only thing I'm not sure of yet is how to do the roof.

 

[fuzzi]

An idea. Have you considered a hoop coop? Typically made with cattle panels - there's a lot of builds on here. I made mine with a greenhouse frame. I tried to do a pallet coop, but hammering anything and I don't get on, and I had trouble ripping it apart.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/have-the-chickens-now-i-need-a-coop-please-help.1519455/

The open air fully covered coop/run I'm working on now is made from 10'x6' chain link panels (I got them for half price and they will be covered 100% with hardware cloth and have another 3 ft apron). The only thing I'm not sure of yet is how to do the roof.

I have seen these done elsewhere, and I like the design, like what you have done...it looks good!

However, I am trying to create my coop and run using as much free materials as possible. Right now I am the only breadwinner and I have to be very frugal.

I read much of your thread, and noticed we have hot, humid climate in common, as well as a high water table, and hungry four-footed neighbors!

 

[FunClucks]

I have seen these done elsewhere, and I like the design, like what you have done...it looks good!

However, I am trying to create my coop and run using as much free materials as possible. Right now I am the only breadwinner and I have to be very frugal.

I read much of your thread, and noticed we have hot, humid climate in common, as well as a high water table, and hungry four-footed neighbors!

Yea, limited funds can be hard. I didn't want to spend all that money, believe me. But it's just how it ended up. I had no idea how expensive those $3.00 chickens would turn out to be!!! I looked so hard for an affordable pre-fab coop, and just couldn't find what I needed at a price any better than what it ended up costing to build it (and when I built it I got double the space and the right configuration for me).

I wanted a Ft. Knox coop/run because I have young kids for whom all 16 of my chickens are pets. [We're working on the meat bird idea, but it's a new concept] In the meantime, we CAN NOT have any predator losses. Also, I don't wake up early on the regular, and keeping a set schedule, especially at night, is hard for me. I'm often away random hours, and the kids take priority over the chickens. So having a setup where a human would be responsible for shutting them away at night or letting them out in the morning doesn't make sense in my world. Even the automatic coop doors have downsides (you have to check the run for predators in the morning before they open, for one). My feeders last ten days before refill, and my waterers last the better part of a month, although we check them a few times a week.

The pallets were free, the cinderblocks were free, half the lumber was free. The greenhouse frame was around $250-300 on Amazon, tarp was ~$100. It was really the hardware cloth and lumber and hardware that were pricey I think.

Anyway, I thought my thread might give you a few ideas. I used housewrap to cover all the pokey wires and protect my tarp, but empty feedbags would've worked just as well. I just didn't have enough of them at the time.

Good luck with your pallet coop!!!

 

[gtaus]

My old chicken coop/run was a "dump all the veggie scraps/grass clippings/leaves" place, we had wonderful compost and huuuuuge nightcrawlers (earth worms).

That's my idea of a perfect chicken run! Love that compost full of life - bugs and juicy worms for the chickens to eat. Makes the best compost for the gardens.

We have a shed in terrible disrepair at the back of the property, but the floor is rotten, unsafe to step on, and the overhang is coming down across the doorway, so we can't even get inside. It's not safe to use, it would be more work to fix up than making a new coop. I was thinking of sawing the two posts holding up the overhang. Once it's down I might be able to use the overhang (appears to be tin) as part of either a coop or run roof.

Yeah, I would not suggest using anything you feel was unsafe. I have seen some people buy a new shed and then convert it into a chicken coop. Probably need more windows, ventilation, and a pop door for the chickens. Anyway, I like the idea of having a shed again if I stop having chickens. As much as I like my chicken coop, if I ever stop having chickens I will have little to no use for the coop I built.

If you have an unsafe shed, probably best to tear it down and reclaim whatever lumber is still good and use it in a different project.

 

[gtaus]

I found a place with used pallets for free! The owner said a lot of them are broken, and I told him what I was planning to use them for. He said "I think these will be perfect for you!"

He promised to text me if the person who said they were coming to pick up the pallets doesn't show. Either way I'm first in line for the next bunch of pallets, probably in a week or so.

I only started collecting pallets and doing pallet wood projects last summer. At first, I only had one place to check, but I gradually found more supplies around town. Now, I have as many as 5 locations to check. Obviously, some are better than others.

 

[fuzzi]

Yea, limited funds can be hard. I didn't want to spend all that money, believe me. But it's just how it ended up. I had no idea how expensive those $3.00 chickens would turn out to be!!! I looked so hard for an affordable pre-fab coop, and just couldn't find what I needed at a price any better than what it ended up costing to build it (and when I built it I got double the space and the right configuration for me).

I wanted a Ft. Knox coop/run because I have young kids for whom all 16 of my chickens are pets. [We're working on the meat bird idea, but it's a new concept] In the meantime, we CAN NOT have any predator losses. Also, I don't wake up early on the regular, and keeping a set schedule, especially at night, is hard for me. I'm often away random hours, and the kids take priority over the chickens. So having a setup where a human would be responsible for shutting them away at night or letting them out in the morning doesn't make sense in my world. Even the automatic coop doors have downsides (you have to check the run for predators in the morning before they open, for one). My feeders last ten days before refill, and my waterers last the better part of a month, although we check them a few times a week.

The pallets were free, the cinderblocks were free, half the lumber was free. The greenhouse frame was around $250-300 on Amazon, tarp was ~$100. It was really the hardware cloth and lumber and hardware that were pricey I think.

Anyway, I thought my thread might give you a few ideas. I used housewrap to cover all the pokey wires and protect my tarp, but empty feedbags would've worked just as well. I just didn't have enough of them at the time.

Good luck with your pallet coop!!!

The last time we had chickens my children were about 8, 9. They loved the chickens, cried when 3 out of the original 4 were killed by predators, and I determined to make the next coop/run safe. Despite my efforts I recall a rat got into the yard and killed a chick, chicken wire didn't stop him. Hardware cloth is the way to go.

I have four partial rolls of hardware cloth I picked up at yard sales over the last few years which will help. Also, I have a credit with Amazon, can buy more but how much to buy is my question to myself.

I put some more thoughts on paper after lunch today.

 

[gtaus]

However, I am trying to create my coop and run using as much free materials as possible. Right now I am the only breadwinner and I have to be very frugal.

Hope you get those free pallets to work with. That should really cut down on the costs.

Also, depending on your predators, I got by with using relatively inexpensive 2X4 wire fencing for my "predator resistant" chicken run. It would cost a fortune to make a "predator proof" run with hardware cloth. And I protect my girls from hawks and eagles with inexpensive bird netting stretched across the top of my run fencing.

I don't let my chickens free range. They would not last long where I live. But I collect all my grass clippings, leaves, and anything else organic and put it into the run. I essentially bring the free range to them. But they are safe and in 3+ years I have not lost a chicken to predation. At night I lock them in a Fort Knox coop.

Since you are dealing with limited supplies of materials and/or a limited budget, you might want to look at coop designs that are more modular in build and add on later when you have the material or financial resources. It's easy to add on to the chicken run. I don't have any modular chicken coop designs in mind, but they must exist somewhere.

Best of luck.

 

[fuzzi]

That's my idea of a perfect chicken run! Love that compost full of life - bugs and juicy worms for the chickens to eat. Makes the best compost for the gardens.



Yeah, I would not suggest using anything you feel was unsafe. I have seen some people buy a new shed and then convert it into a chicken coop. Probably need more windows, ventilation, and a pop door for the chickens. Anyway, I like the idea of having a shed again if I stop having chickens. As much as I like my chicken coop, if I ever stop having chickens I will have little to no use for the coop I built.

If you have an unsafe shed, probably best to tear it down and reclaim whatever lumber is still good and use it in a different project.

The dh and I knocked down a small shed about four years ago. The current one in bad shape was built more substantially, will be harder to dismantle. I would like to salvage what I can.

Thirty years ago I worked in a restaurant and brought home buckets of spoiled produce and discarded salads. The chickens would chuckle over scraps of cheese and hard boiled eggs.

 

[gtaus]

Despite my efforts I recall a rat got into the yard and killed a chick, chicken wire didn't stop him. Hardware cloth is the way to go.

I have four partial rolls of hardware cloth I picked up at yard sales over the last few years which will help.

Yeah, I don't have a rat problem to worry about. Maybe you could use the hardware cloth you have to make a smaller secure run for now, and later add on to the run as you get more budget or find more hardware cloth at yard sales, etc... Or, perhaps, have a small, secure chicken run with hardware cloth for the chickens when you are not home, but have a gate or something to open up into a larger run with less expensive fencing while you are at home watching the birds.

 

[fuzzi]

Hope you get those free pallets to work with. That should really cut down on the costs.

Also, depending on your predators, I got by with using relatively inexpensive 2X4 wire fencing for my "predator resistant" chicken run. It would cost a fortune to make a "predator proof" run with hardware cloth. And I protect my girls from hawks and eagles with inexpensive bird netting stretched across the top of my run fencing.

I don't let my chickens free range. They would not last long where I live. But I collect all my grass clippings, leaves, and anything else organic and put it into the run. I essentially bring the free range to them. But they are safe and in 3+ years I have not lost a chicken to predation. At night I lock them in a Fort Knox coop.

Since you are dealing with limited supplies of materials and/or a limited budget, you might want to look at coop designs that are more modular in build and add on later when you have the material or financial resources. It's easy to add on to the chicken run. I don't have any modular chicken coop designs in mind, but they must exist somewhere.

Best of luck.

Thanks!

I was contemplating doing bird netting over the top, hardware cloth from the ground perimeter (flat to prevent tunneling), up to about 3' to start, more as I can manage. The chickens will be locked in the coop overnight.

I have never lost a chicken in the coop.