Thank you so
Fantastic setup on your Zero Cost Coop! Really appreciate threads like this that encourage people to NOT spend a fortune on their backyard flock.
Will be looking forward to other comments on this thread.
I know you did a lot of work putting the nest boxes up on the shelf and maybe it's just hard to see via the pics, but how are they getting up there? Jumping? I might change it up by using 2 stumps that are same height to make a low shelf for the nest boxes against the wall. And then in front of that 2 stumps that are higher with a 2x4 or branch on top. You'd have all that you need for them and additional storage on that higher shelf for yourself (put stuff there to block them from roosting up there.) Just an idea. Again, it's cool and creative and you got this!!
I was just going to mention adding branches between the stumps. Also, a tiny lesson Learned...I had a limping chicken the other day and wondered if she had a hard landing. because I heard a loud thud. I added extra bedding below the roosts, and in your case nesting boxes. Just a thought.
That was my original thought when I saw the stumps, just use screws to install them. I have branches all over my structure, some at angles, some straight, I just screw them into the 2x4s of the structure -- at first I was trying to use only nice straight branches, but then realized all the cool looking bent/cooked branches gave me more options for mounting them and they look better to me
great ideas!!
going to start looking for branches
thank you so much for your reply. i love your ideas and love learning from those willing to share
In keeping with your Zero Cost Coop idea, here are some of my zero-cost suggestions/modifications I would consider given what has been discussed thus far.
First of all, I am also concerned that your nest boxes are higher than your roosting stumps. My chickens will always prefer the highest roost for the night, and, I suspect, your chickens will sooner or later start roosting in the nest boxes overnight. The problem is that they poo while sleeping and you really don't want poo in your nest boxes. My zero-cost suggestion is to remount all the nest boxes much lower to the floor. I have my nest boxes one foot above the floor, and their roosting bar is 4 feet high. So they never consider roosting in the nest box overnight.
I used to have a few stumps in my coop, for the chickens to jump up on as desired. Eventually, I just got rid of them because they got too dirty and were too hard to keep clean. Even though you clean off the stumps daily, the fact is that the roosting chickens will be pooing on the stumps and sleeping in that mess until you clean it the next morning. My zero-cost suggestion is to scavenge up a 2X4 to use as a roosting bar. I laid my 2X4 on the flat side, which allows the chickens to tuck their feet up into their body at night, and their butts hang over the edge so when they poo it all just falls to the floor bedding.
Again, your scavenged 2X4 roosting bar should be higher than your nest boxes. Do you need a new roosting bar right now? Probably not. But I would start looking for scavenged wood that you could use.
FYI, I have been getting free shipping pallets from Harbor Freight. Every once in a while, they put out free pallets that are 6.5 feet long and made from good 2X4's. I just used a couple of those pallets to make a zero-cost workbench for my garage. If you don't mind putting some work into breaking down a pallet and removing all the nails, then you might get some good wood to repurpose for your chicken coop. Zero-cost.
Here are some zero-cost suggestions for augmenting your coop bedding. I'm all for using whatever free resources you have for coop bedding. Pine straw sounds like a great option. I have also used fall leaves that I rake up and bag for winter use, dried grass clippings work well, I can get free wood chips from our local county landfill, and last winter I had great success using paper shreds I make at home from our waste paper products (newspapers, junk mail, light cardboard food boxes, office paper, etc...). Of course, you don't need to have just one litter material and I often mix different kinds of coop bedding together. I, too, use whatever I can get for free.
BONUS zero-cost idea. If you find a source for free pallets, you could make a pallet compost bin which you could use to turn your soiled coop bedding into compost for a garden. I tell people that I have a backyard flock of composting chickens, and I get eggs as a bonus. This spring, I harvested about $200.00 worth of chicken run compost from my chicken run and used that in my new raised garden beds. I've got a bumper crop of produce starting to grow. Zero-cost compost from the chicken run instead of spending all that money on bagged compost from the big box stores.
Even if you don't use any of the suggestions offered, I still commend you for your Zero Cost Coop setup! Very nice.
