Hi there!!
I agonized for months over how to build my chicken coop.
From where to put everything, to size, location, height, the options with windows and doors and feeders. Took me a long time to settle on the design, but I finished!
On paper at least!
So far, aside from the design plans, I’ve begun to build the base for the chicken coop. I’m using as much scrap wood as possible, but I still had to pick up some things, like these 8 foot 2x6’s. Wanna guess how much they cost along with a pound of screws?
Thanks to inflation (and bullshit) the total for this was $50CAD. That’s for just three 2x6’s and some screws. Insane huh?! Imagine the cost of building a house right now in Canada?!
And as much as I’d love to just go buy a big piece of plywood to go on top of this, I’d be looking at at least $70-80 for one sheet.
So I’m wanting free or cheap alternatives for sure!
There’s some scraps from the old chicken coop we tore down upon moving here. Much of it was rotten, but I’ve salvaged some of the 2x4s already to use for the base.
I have some old deck boards, but there’s not enough and they’re not in great shape.
Another option available to me is some MDF boards of varying sizes, the problem with these is that they can draw in moisture easier and swell if they get wet, so they may be better used as the walls, rather than the flooring.
My base is out where I plan to build my coop now, I’ll be working on getting my rocks in place, and making sure the corners where my posts will go are nice and level.
Right now you can see it’s not even close yet!
I plan to have my coop up off the ground, for several reasons, so getting this nice and level now will help me later. I still have to do that, and square it up (make sure it’s all straight and even) and I will brace it (screw on some wood pieces diagonally to keep it from shifting) before adding in anything on top, so I’m still mulling over my options.
I do want this coop to last, but I also need to build it as cheap and quickly as possible.
#DorothyAndSophia are doing great! They’re still not ready for this big coop and won’t be for a while yet, so I’ve got some time thankfully.
Dorothy is starting to get her big girl feathers! How freakin’ cute!
They’re growing up so fast, sometimes it’s crazy how much bigger they are seemingly overnight!
Well, little Sophia not so much, but she is keeping up with Dorothy, and hopefully she will catch up as they get to be fully grown. Though I suspect she will always be on the small side.
As you can see she’s not too worried about being smaller! This girl has the sassy attitude needed to keep going!
Don’t worry, they don’t peck or attack, it’s all gentle play thankfully! 💕
Worst comes to worst, when summer comes I could probably just pop them in with the ducks, their house is great and their outdoor run is huge.
Plus the ducks have been laying and sitting on eggs for a while, and so far four baby ducks have hatched!
Tiny baby ducks and chickens may peep-peep the same but their needs are a bit different. These ducks will be able to hit the water with momma in no time, whereas if my chickens get wet at all, they could die. So putting them together is definitely not an option right now.
But later perhaps...
Anyway, happy to share the homestead drama with you, hopefully I’ll figure out what I’m gonna do soon 😉
Thanks so much for following along!
Stay tuned to #KnotilusChickens for more!!
And if you’d like, visit the shop and pick out an item so I can more easily afford this build!
Much appreciated!
https://www.knotiluscreations.com/shop
https://linktr.ee/KnotilusCreations
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