Does anyone have or knows a website that has instructions for making a chicken coop for a hot country on a low budget? Thanks

-- Steve Hill (omnipresent@kuripot.ph), April 16, 2001

Answers

Steve- For a small flock you might consider a chicken tractor, or more than one if you have more than a few chickens. My 4 RIR's are housed in a 4' x 8' x 2' pen made of 1"x4"'s and 1" chicken wire. Using scavanged materials the whole thing cost me under $4 US. 6' of the top is covered by plywood and the other 2' is a chicken wire panel. I intended to use corrugated metal roofing for the top but did not have a way to cut my 14' sheets, so I put the scrap plywood roof on "temporarily". Naturally it is still there 5 months later. But, I left it because I decided that it is cooler than the metal roof would be. Eventually it will rot, but I have scads of salvaged particle and plywood around with which to replace it.

-- Elizabeth (ekfla@aol.com), April 16, 2001.

Hello Steve, I made my chicken coup from salvaged roofing tin. The corner post are oak saplings that I cut from my woods. I used salvaged 2x4s for the framework and then just nailed the roofing tin to the framework for walls and a roof. I dug a trench around the bottom of the chicken coup so that the tin could be buried about six inches into the soil. This discourages varmints from digging under it. It has no floor but, I put a think layer of wood shavings and sawdust to help absorb their waste. The whole cost of my project was just for the hinges on the doors, the roofing nails and the paint, about $14.00. If you would like to see a couple of pictures of it you can view them on my website! Click on the link on the left side of the homepage titled, "Ozark Lifestyle". Sincerely, Ernest

-- http://communities.msn.com/livingoffthelandintheozarks (espresso42@hotmail.com), April 16, 2001.

You might check out the Housing and Other Things To Build link off of Pocket Flocks at http://www.angelfire.com/de/pocketflocks/ Also, you could post your question on the Poultry Information Exchange board--- also listed off of Pocket Flocks. Lots of options out there!

-- E. Richardson (bantams@angelfire.com), April 19, 2001.

Hi, I have a chicken website that has a chicken links page with a bunch of links to housing plans. My site begins at bantychicken.com, and my personal site is Jos's Miscellany: http://bantychicken.com/jos Look for the chicken links page.

-- Jos (jos@bantychicken.com), April 21, 2001.

Wow, Jos...what a wealth of info on your web site pages! Terrific job that you've done. Don't even have a chicken here, but after looking at the pic's...getting the urge to get some. Thanks!

-- Jay Jones (jay@NorthWestUSA.com), April 21, 2001.