Reduce, Reuse, Recycle! A fantastic example, if I do say so myself!

My sister has a friend who is looking to get rid of 7 laying hens. It just so happens that Hubby & I are almost ready to start in the "Chicken Biz". Well, at least we're ready to try to raise some for eggs and meat. My sister gave me her phone number and said to have a coop ready for them.

I didn't exactly have a coop here yet and buying one is WAY too expensive. So, I set forth to make one with the materials already on the farm. Happy coincidence: when the house was gutted and redone 7-ish years ago, all the old stuff from the house was tossed into the garage, which up until yesterday appeared more landfill than garage. Yesterday it became a candy store and I, the proverbial kid! I walked around picking through the heap with a smile growing on my face as I uncovered precious treasures that would be PERFECT coop materials.

FIRST!!! A safety warning!!! If you are ever wandering about heaps of stuff outside, always watch where you put your feet and be super observant of your surroundings. Nails DO stick out of boards, ants DO roam around enough to find you whether or not you are near an ant bed, and Spiders DO lurk in EVERY nook & cranny available to them.

A Brown Recluse inside a cabinet in the garage.

Kitchen Cabinets from the remodel of the old farmhouse.
At times I actually am thankful for lazy people.

I took off the doors, turned them 90 degrees and attached the hinges
to the bottom so they would open into ramps the chickens could walk up on.

Staple gunned some chicken wire over the drawer openings for ventilation and light.
Found some pieces of siding to make a roof sitting atop more chicken wire for protection an support.

The back of the roof peels up for easy access to eggs.

Nailed in some wooden claw strips to ease the climb for the chickens.

True, it probably won't win any beauty pageants, but it only cost me a roll of chicken wire and some staples. I can't complain.

This'll sit next to the house for a while so we can clear its permanent location: next to the garage inside the livestock fence. We're hoping for tasty eggs, delicious chicken and silky smooth fresh milk by this time next year.