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Cheating on a Chicken Coop: 8 Cheap Ideas to House Your Backyard Hens and Save Some Money

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Description

[Note: This is a short idea book, not a set of building plans. Wherever possible, I have included links to simple building instructions for these ideas online, but you’ll need to be somewhat creative with the materials available to you. If you’re ready to save some money on a coop and start thinking outside the box (‘outside the coop’), then please read on!] You’re thinking of getting some chickens to lay eggs in your backyard. And then you look at the price of chicken coops. Holy manure! $900 for a fancy box? What are they thinking? You decide that maybe you can make your own chicken coop on the cheap. So you download some free building plans. Browsing through the coop plans, your eyes fix on the simplest hen house design. Okay, you’re thinking, that might be doable…in about five weekends. Then you read on and realize you don’t own a table saw… and you’ve never even heard of an auger bit. So you put your coop-building project on the back burner for awhile. This is a real shame, because you’d love to have chickens. It shouldn’t have to be this way. Somewhere between the overpriced, readymade coops and the major DIY construction projects is a middle ground. My main chicken raising manual, Backyard Chickens for Beginners, covers the basics of coop design as well as keeping backyard hens for egg laying. But since writing it, I have remained frustrated by the high prices of quality coops, while also inspired by the creativity of many chicken keepers who craft their own innovative solutions. I wrote this short book to introduce you to some functional alternatives: coops and non-coops made of affordable materials that are fairly simple to create (even for a non-builder like me). The coops in this book will never look like a $1500 gingerbread house, but they are as clean and functional as any other design. Making use of available structures and affordable materials, they keep costs and prep times to a minimum. Most importantly, your back yard chickens will have everything they need and will be thrilled with what you give them. As you know, happy chickens lay lots of eggs! Before we continue, I have two big caveats to share. First, if you live in a climate where winters are cold enough to make frozen chickens, you will need to go with one of the sturdier, more material-heavy coops in this book. Two of the options in here will not offer the kind of insulation your birds will need in the wintertime, though they can be great warm-season chicken coops. But most of these other choices should work quite well in cold climates if you remember that you may need to add additional insulation and possibly supplementary heat from a light bulb or warming pad. Second caveat: this is an idea book and not a building manual. Because the coops in this book depend largely on locally-available structures or materials, there is no universal blueprint or building plan for each one. Dimensions and materials will vary, depending on what materials you have and what you can find. Fortunately, for many of these coop designs, you will find links in this book to step-by-step online instructions, building plans, “how to” videos, and photographic slideshows depicting coop constructions and conversions. The others have pictures, descriptions, and hopefully will inspire you to go out and customize your own simple version of what you see. If you know how to cut wood with a handsaw and screw in a screw, I think you’ll be just fine. These designs are about as stripped-down as any designs can get. Just say ‘no’ to overpriced coops. There are better alternatives, and I think you’ll find a few of them in this book. If you can’t afford an expensive chicken coop and aren’t handy enough (or don’t have time) to build a typical hen house from scratch, then welcome to the club. I hope this short book will give you some fun ideas that are practical enough to use, while also helping you think 'outside the coop'! Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform


Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 17, 2014


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Print length ‏ : ‎ 54 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1495991407


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 00


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 4.6 ounces


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.13 x 9 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #414,067 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #574 in Sustainable Living #3,854 in Home Improvement & Design Books


#574 in Sustainable Living:


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Top Amazon Reviews


  • Lots of interesting and practical information.
Format: Kindle
A well written book illustrated with many excellent photos. Having lots of experience raising chickens in a cold northern climate, some of the coop ideas just made me smile. They certainly might work in milder climates. A tip on obtaining chickens: for years we watched our local Pennysavsr for free chickens or some very reasonably priced because the owners just wanted to get rid of them. Some were older, but still good layers. We ran a retirement home for chickens. :0) We were able to let them free range part of the day after they had laid their eggs in the nests so they weren't laid hither and yon. Passerbys loved to see our chickens about the yard. I recommend this book as it includes lots of information about raising chickens. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2015 by Kindle Customer

  • Fascinating Book--well worthwhile
Format: Kindle
For some time now, I have been thinking of taking on a few chickens. This book actually made me believe it would be both practical and possible. There is not much in the way of plans in this book, but plans are not part of the author's stated intention. What the book does contain, instead, is a wide variety of photos and a wide variety of suggestions as to what one might use to make a chicken coop, as well as useful links to places on the net where one might find plans. Yup...I would recommend this. Perhaps it is especially valuable to me, as a novice. But I would think anyone in search of a new way to house chickens and let them run might well find useful ideas here. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2013 by Aine O'brocken

  • Cheating on a chicken coop
Format: Kindle
First of all the book's pages were scrambled and repeated themselves, making this difficult to read. Good ideas but only links to plans or how tos. Just basic on how the coop is constructed. Good pictures. Good for sparking your own ideas.
Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2015 by Chrissee

  • Lots of helpful ideas
Format: Kindle
Encouraging --- Can do book. I love how he presents all kinds of ways to build a chicken coop - no holds barred. And all the links are good as well. It's nice to read something that doesn't say this is the way is must be done but instead says, these are the ELEMENTS that must be incorporated into your chicken coop for it to be effective. Different styles are discussed and illustrated. The only thing I wish he could have said more about is chicken coops adapted for winter. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2014 by Billylynn

  • Book review - Cheating on a chicken coop
Format: Kindle
I currently raise a few laying hens and am contemplating adding meat chickens, so will need another chicken house. This book has some very good ideas. Think outside the box! If you are looking for cheaper alternatives for housing chickens, or are not a very good carpenter (me) this book is for you. I enjoyed reading this book and came away with a double hand full of great ideas. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2014 by LC

  • Cheep cheep..
Format: Kindle
This book is a great novice how-to manual. Well thought out with a good layout for electronic devices. I give the author extra stars for grammar, spelling and good use of the English language. This is a personal pet peeve of mine since I converted to tablet reading, so it was quite refreshing to find a writer who "follows the rules of the road" as it were. I will certainly purchase more of this writer's work. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2014 by Amazon Customer

  • You too can raise chickens
Format: Kindle
I do not have a single chicken. Yet. I have been pondering the idea for a while, but was unsure how large the undertaking would be. This book, as well as Ruppenthal's other two ebooks on raising chickens, has given me the confidence to begin this weekend. These books are inexpensive and the best place to start if you are thinking of starting a backyard flock. Thanks! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2013 by That would be me

  • Good overall
Format: Kindle
This would be a good starting point for newbies. I found it a little difficult to follow. There is good information herebut it requires some digging. Nice as a resource compilation.
Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2014 by Gretchen

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