Cheap Cheeps

Once upon a time there was a girl who dreamed of fresh brown eggs.  

Actually, she just dreamed about cute fluffy sweet little chicks

but thought it best to tell her family about the wonderful eggs they would soon have.

Day-old peeps don't stay little for very long and would need a coop in a few months.  However our heroine was a romantic with a practical side.  She loved the idea of chickens, but didn't think fresh eggs should cost her the moon and the stars.  Ideally, she wanted to break even with her little adventure.  So she challenged herself to build a chicken coop as cheaply as possible.

This...

is not it.

She did have an unused dog house

 and an idea.

She used old plywood, cabinet doors scavenged from the neighbors and some free knobs.

Along with linoleum and hinges from the Habitat ReStore and some leftover bedroom paint.  She did splurge on a roll of insulation from Home Depot since her hens would experience cold winters.

The growing pullets appreciated it. In fact, they loved sleeping (and pooping) on the flat roof very much.

Princesses do not like such behavior, so she rooted amongst a pile of old fence boards and 2x4s and created a pitched roof.

The hens lost their roof roost but gained a rooster who proudly decorated their remodeled coop.  With the addition of a tarp, the coop provided a cozy home for the winter months.

But the girl wasn't finished.  Summer arrived, and she found a quart of exterior semi-gloss that was still usable after sitting on the shelf for twenty-four years, more 2x4s and plywood.  She cobbled together a base to raise the coop off the ground, painted the whole shebang and insulated the roof.

Then she moved the whole coop forward so that it was was more convenient for daily use--although it made it impossible to get a good photo.  She plans to nail the other half of the roof as soon as she cuts the plywood. And paint the overhang.

But the Bombshells moved right in and began laying eggs.

Any guesses on the cost of this coop?

Hint:  the practical girl is very happy. Very happy, indeed.

Insulation:  Eleven dollars
Caulk:  Three dollars
Linoleum:  One buck
Roofing paper:  One dollar
Hinges:  A whopping fifty cents
Everything else: free free free.

Truth in blogging compels me to admit that an unknown "something" still has to go over the roofing paper and that will add to the total cost.

Best of all, the base, coop and roof are all modular so two people can easily move the structure by unstacking and restacking it.  The base could use some additional bracing to stabilize it even more and a cement floor underneath would be great someday.

I'm grateful to Donna (Funky Junk Interiors) and Marian (Miss Mustard Seed) for having blog parties where I can share this!