[Marchelo] wanted to build his own chicken coop. He started researching different designs and ended up basing his build on the golden spiral.
In addition to the interesting shape, a ton of clever design choice made it into the build. For instance, [Marchello] took the time to dramatically round over the lumber used as the skids of the base. This, along with wheels on one side, will make it much easier to slide the coop if he needs to move it. Also, the roosting boxes are an addition to the side wall of the hen-house. The roof for these boxes is hinged, so checking on the chickens, or harvesting eggs happens at a comfortable height for the farmer. And finally, the plank that allows entry for the hens doubles as the door at night. So far this is a manual-operation, but we could see some mechanization as a future improvement.
[via reddit]
Now this is clever!
Why? I’m curious about the recent increase in “backyard chicken coops”. Better eggs? The love of chickens? A interesting hobby? What?
For the investment, it just seems like the way to home grow $30/dozen eggs. Organic cage free eggs are $3.50/dozen at City Market.
Are backyard coops the new living room fish tank (i.e. relaxing to watch)?
chickens also eat all the grass and weeds you can throw at them, and the eggs are much fresher than the eggs in the store, that may be a week or 2 old when they hit the shops
A healthy hen will lay an egg every day. Fifty pounds of chicken feed is ~$15, and building a coop is rather cheap. Those are pretty much your only expenses, so really it’s actually much cheaper than store bought eggs.
I’ve got a coworker who keeps chickens. He charges a few guys around the office $2/dozen, which is enough to break even or come out slightly ahead, including buying feed. He also keeps bees.
Sorry, but for the few of you that are claiming that you come out ahead raising your own chickens are wayyyyyyy wrong. Commercial growers have chicken life span, laying span, etc… down to a science (literally). You can’t touch their price. I live in a family who has raised chickens for decades and decades and these calculation comparisons have been made many many times. You cannot compete financially. You do however have self satisfaction. That is all.
My guess is that your friend didn’t calculate it the price of the coup materials and/or his labor. You have to figure in those things otherwise you are just lying to yourself.
You may be very right, but the price of labour should not be calculated as long as that doesnt prevent you from doing other work that would make money.
Building a coop yourself can be considered as a paying job, being paid in eggs, rather than paying that to the commercial grower through the price of eggs.
Also, the price of eggs inclused shipping, storage and the profit margin for the middle man. Things you dont have to pay for your own eggs.
Whether that will make raising chicken for eggs profitable for the backyard farmer I dont know
You may not be able to compete financially, but I woun’t home-raise chickens if $$$ were my only incentive. Fresh eggs, tasty meat; both organically grown. I once read about a chicken pen that was composed of two fences, one inside the other. Inside the inner fence was the family garden. Chickens can’t get into the garden, but weeds and waste plant parts easily become feed for them. The garden also benefits from reduced insect infestation, due to the need to cross a “chicken moat”. Chicken really like grasshoppers. I also know they like mice. I have seen chickens eating baby rats, and I remember it vividly, even though that was about 30 years ago.
You should be able to keep 3 chickens for 2 years for $400 – $500 including the cost of the coop. In that time they should produce around 150 dozen eggs. making the eggs between $2.66 and $3.33 /doz. You forget that when you buy eggs at a store you also pay for insurance, taxes, shipping cost, storage etc. Yes $3 is more than your factory eggs, but you can’t touch commercial free range organic eggs for less than $7/doz (at least where I am)
Factoring in labor is another story. It’s not as much work as you might think but there is work involved. But like many things here on hackaday if you don’t enjoy working on it your better off buying it.
The backyard poultry phenomena is also happening in Australia.
So much so that eggs laid in backyards are now estimated by the Australian Egg Corporation to make up nearly 12% of the country’s total annual production. When building your chicken coop or purchasing one off the shelve, safety from predators should be your main concern. Everything from foxes to your neighbor’s dogs!
You coop should have a bottom metal mesh floor to stop the predators from digging in. Also secure the door & the nesting box with a lock.
Emma Jones
My Chicken Coop