Add a chicken coop to your yard
Want to save some money? Of course you do! Then, consider adding a chicken coop to your backyard. You’ll keep money in your pocket by harvesting your own eggs and using chicken waste as fertilizer. A flock of four chickens is easy to manage and can provide about two dozen eggs a week. An ideal location for your coop is near a garage, or under a porch where the chickens will not disturb you or your neighbors. The coop should also provide the birds protection from bad weather and predators. The run (shown above) should be fenced on the tops and sides, and you can add a light bulb or a heated waterer for the coop if you live in a cold climate. Allow at least 3 sq. ft. per bird and be sure to comply with your area’s guidelines about where you can put the coop in relation to your property line and the number of chickens you are allowed to house.
The addition won’t cost you an arm and a leg if you opt for getting building materials at a local lumber store, or use scrap pieces of wood from old cabinets and the like. If you’d prefer to get all the materials in one stop, it’ll cost you: The Green Roof Chicken Coop Kit (about $999) comes with an assembly guide, lumber, screws, hinges, knobs, a roof liner and three free assembly ebooks. But you can go rogue and do it from scratch with help from the Catawba Converti Coops guidebook (about $20), which details how to build a small portable coop. If you're not interested in spending any cash, but want to learn more, take a look at How to Build a Chicken Coop at Instructables.com.
(7) Comments
No where does she talk about costs of feeding. Close to pound of feed per chicken per day with lots of waste. In my area cracked corn (winter feed) is $7.00 bag and meal is close to 9 bucks a bag.
fresh eggs are a plus, keep the roster for the frying pan if you buy unsexed chickens.
Save Money? Yeah I don't think so. An egg is only 10 cents a piece, so to cover the cost of that $1000 chicken coup, you'd need to eat 3 eggs a day, every day for 10 years before you recouped your costs. Ohh not to mention the cost of food, maintence, chickens, and so on.
I agree with the previous comment; you surely don't save money by keeping a couple of chickens in your backyard. Think of them as pets with the fringe benefit of eggs. They are also very entertaining to watch.
But, did you know chickens love bugs (esp. Grasshoppers)and garden waste?
I'd love to have a couple.
Free-range organic eggs are way more than 10 cents - we were paying close to $5 a dozen at our store! To save money on a coop we just converted a large wooden doghouse. Our four hens started laying last week!
Only that jail bird herself miss. stewurd would spend nine hundred and nine dollars on a chicken coop. I bet it looks really good, let the birds free! A chicken will eat anything you let it. I seen one today eat a popsickle stick
There are lots of chicken coop plans and designs out there. Building your own coop is actually pretty inexpensive and easier than you think.