Building Our Recycled Chicken Coop

Layla and Orietta

For Layla's 6th birthday she received 2 baby chicks from her friend. Well, 2 turned into 11! We just kept adding to our flock because they were too stinkin' cute! We will be finding a new home for some our chickens because some of our gals turned out to be guys. LOL. 

They have grown and grown....here is my oldest son Rylan being a chick magnet.

After 8 weeks living in a horse trough inside our home, we finally got around to realizing they needed a home of their own. :) We googled chicken coops galore and even visited some in real life. We finally came to a decision on how we wanted our coop to be designed. Living life in the ministry means we have very little extra money to spend on things like chicken coops, so the most important factor had to be cost. We decided to make it our goal to make the perfect coop as free as we can, so that means RECYCLED!

Today we went collecting free materials. God is good. I love how he surprises us with little blessings along the way! The Auto Shop that my son, Nolan, apprentices at offered us as many free wooden pallets and plywood that we needed! How awesome is that! In addition, another friend donated cinder blocks to help get our coop up off the ground. So, today we completed Step 1: The Foundation

Step 1:Foundation

After attaching four pallets together with screws, we placed them on top of the cinder blocks. We found some thick plastic foam stuff (water proof) and placed it between the pallets and the plywood we screwed down. We thought the plastic foam would make great insulation for our coop, especially come this winter. The foundation  measures 6.5 x 6.5 feet. I think it'll be a nice size for 1 rooster and 6 hens.





Step 2: Flooring and Walls
We decided to put down linoleum on top of the plywood for two reasons:
1. Better insulation
2. Easy to clean with a water hose which means less odor than just plywood soaking up urine and feces through the straw bedding.

We got a great deal for a very large oddly shaped remnant of linoleum from a local flooring place. This was the first real cost of our chicken coop, but I believe it will be a good investment in the care and maintenance of our coop in the long run. Plus, it is a nice gray color that really will bring out the color in our chickens. Just kidding. I don't think the chicken will care. Linoleum cost =$30

Gideon was an awesome helper today. He laid out and stapled down the linoleum flooring for me and did and awesome job too! He said the electric stapler made him feel powerful. lol. ..BOYS. :P

After the flooring was complete, I began working on the walls, while Gideon worked on what will be the door to the chicken coop. 

We only got half of the walls up today. Tomorrow I'll post pictures of  our finished walls. 

Step 3: Completed walls and started on the roof framing.

Mr.Feather (rooster) and some of his gals hanging out watching us build their new home. 

Today we got started late and had to stop early due to Youth Group, but we did get some work done!  

                                                                                                      Nolan and Gideon taking apart pallets, so we could reuse the wood. Hard working boys!

  

                                  Framing the roof!  We did have to purchase four 8 ft 2x4 = $10

Our chicken coop project is almost done. ALMOST. It just needs a roof, the side pallet spaces covered, and some pretty paint. The roof in the picture is not connected. We haven't decided what we are using for the roof yet. It has been a fun project for Gideon and me. All of my other kiddos gave up and left us. lol. However, Gideon says to me yesterday, " Mom, I'm glad we unschool. If I was in a desk all day I'd never have learned all of the things I'm learning." I said, "What have you learned?" He said, "All kinds of things. I never knew how to build something...different size drill bits...how to use a saw... build a foundation..or put on a door. It has all been very cool! Our chickens are gonna love it!" Since I am 8.5 months pregnant, Gideon has been the worker and I've been like the foreman (sitting and directing). lol. We are taking a break today. I am beat up, cut up, bruised up, and sunburned. Wondering if these chicks are worth it all? lol The mommy/son time and learning experience, for us both, definitely has been worth it though! 

Layla modeling  our nesting crates and perches we created for our chickens inside their coop. 

All done and Mr. Rooster and his gals are loving it! Just needs some purty paint. :)

Gideon's Got Worms

Gideon is now an entrepreneur and all because he's got worms!

He has just started his own Mealworm Farm and has decided to breed them and sell them to the local chicken farmers and fishermen! We live in a small town and the closest place to purchase these worms would be an hour away, so Gideon to the rescue!

He has named his business....


Makes me laugh every time!

We are brand new chicken owners and have learned so much about caring for our girls (hens). In fact, that is how Gideon learned about mealworms. He was googling treats for chickens. One thing led to another and he came across a site about raising mealworms yourself to provide a tasty treat for your hens! So, here we are and now we've got worms!! He has done a lot of research on mealworms prior to purchasing the items and worms to build his first farm.  Here is his worm farm set up.

Basically, we bought a 3 drawer plastic bin at Wal-mart, a large container of Oats, and the mealworms. He started out with 200 mealworms and they should turn into over 10,000 within a few months! It was fascinating to see the oatmeal begin to roll and move within minutes of adding the worms to their new home as they burrowed their way through it. He adds a few slices of potato, carrot, or apple once a week to provide them with water and then watches in delight as each stage of their life cycle emerges.

He has done non-stop researching and reading about the lifecycle of the Darling Beetle since he learned that they would be a tasty treat for our girls (hens).

He also has found that they can be consumed raw by humans as a nutritional snack! Ewww gross! ..and  yes, Gideon  tried one. gag! 

.....crunchy exoskeleton, juicy, yet refreshing! Ewww!

After trying one he said, "I think they are pronounced 'Meal' Worms, not 'Mill' worms because they can be a meal." lol

A love for learning doesn't just happen because it is time to learn............

................it happens because one is inspired!

 

He is constantly identifying the stages that the worms are in. We have many that are almost to the pupae stage. Gideon can't wait until his first beetle emerges! Exciting!

He has created an advertisement to post at the local market too! He already has a customer! She contacted him to order 25 mealworms for her Gecko!

After researching online how much mealworms sell for, he came to the conclusion that he would sell his for $3.00 per 25 mealworms. A great deal, especially when living so far from civilization! He even offers delivery for an additional $1.00. 

More cool pictures...