Cheap Way to Raise Chickens: Chicken Coop

A few months back I decided that I really wanted a few chickens. My husband, Michael, wasn't sold on the idea. He however agreed to help me get things set up as long as I care for the chickens. He thinks he will want nothing to do with them, but I believe he will change his mind once we get them.

If we were going to set out on this adventure, we wanted to do it as cheaply as possible, but still do it in a way that the chickens would be safe, warm, happy, and productive. After brainstorming for a while I came up with the idea to use our old garbage bin for a coop. The sanitation department now requires us to take our trash to the end of the drive, so the bin has been unused for a while. Michael agreed that we could make it work and save a bundle at the same time by not having to buy any materials to build a coop.

Here is the bin we decided to use.

Do you think this will be satisfactory? We still need to get the feed and water in there as well as a roost and nesting boxes. Also, we will need to get some chicken wire for a fence.