I have never had so much fun totally ignoring my children. Â Yes I sent them out on their bikes or let them run amok for hours while I hunkered down in the garage to turn this:
into this:
I got to use circular, jig, table and miter saws, electric drill, screwdriver and sander, power stapler, clamps, levels, squares, saw horses, wrenches, hammers, not to mention all sorts of timber and hardware. Â I was like a kid in a candy store. Â In fact, it was so fun I spent most of my kid-free time working on the coop.
It was a lot more complicated than I initially though (isn’t that always the case?) but I like the design. Â I downloaded it for $20 from The Garden Coop. (No, I am not one of those people who can throw together a structure using intuition and scrap material) Â Then I spent about $270 on supplies and fancy-schmancy non-toxic paint. Â A little pricey? Â But consider that a pre-fab coop of this size runs a couple thousand dollars at least.
So, let’s say I save $10 a month on organic free-range eggs. Â That means the chickens will pay for themselves in about two and a half years…
oh wait… I forgot I have to feed them… damn.
I knew we shoulda gone with the only-very-slightly-toxic paint.
Wow, you’re like Rosie the Riveter, Cheris. Want to come install laminate floors with Zach? 😉
That’s totally sweet! Nice work.
Now, if you just sell some eggs to your friends occasionally (hint, hint) you can make them pay for themselves in only one year! 🙂
You totally rock!
Awesome. So impressed you built that yourself.
This. Looks. Awesome. I just bought this plan too and have scheduled out a big chuck of kid-free time next week to get ours ready for the ladies to move out of the brooder (and off our front porch).
Now I’m even more excited to get started. 🙂 Thanks for posting this.
-chris
If you don’t mind me asking, how do you clean up the litter inside of the coop? They don’t fall straight to the ground do they since the bottom is closed? Is there a removable tray?
There isn’t a removable tray. But it’s easy to clean. I covered the hen house floor with some old linoleum I found in the attic. Every week I clean out the layer of wood shavings by sweeping them out the door into the wheelbarrow. Then I put down a fresh layer. It doesn’t smell and it isn’t a big mess at all. Much nicer than cleaning out a cat box, that’s for sure.
Hi Cherie –
Would you tell me where you bought your Palram Suntuf clear polycarbonate roof panels?
Thanks,
Joe
McCoy’s