Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Chicken Coop






Happy Chickens! They finally have a place to call their own. It took about three, half days one of which we worked in the rain. I didn't get to take pics on that day, sorry. This project cost all of 245.00........it's completely made from pallets and recycled wood from an old building and playground. The linoleum flooring was given to us by a friend and the paint was a miss-tint from Lowe's that cost 5 bucks. On the inside I made the perch ladder with rondo found at my husbands golf course which works perfect! There is a door at one end where my daughter is standing that opens up for raking the bedding and cleaning..............and oh, the most important part...egg collecting!! I know what you are saying...."it looks kinda big!" Well, we have 4 chickens and two are silkie bantams so they have plenty of room and we can add about two more chickens to the flock! We have added the nesting boxes made from milk crates and the food and water. Whatcha' think?





17 comments:

Chedicorn said...

Looking for instructions on how to build a chicken coop?
check out this website I found it last week.. I actually bought one... http://www.jasha.me

Laura said...

Hi! Love this idea, thanks! I do have a question though. How did it cost $250 when you got almost everything for free?

Thanks!

mommyrottie said...

I like it. I have a couple of questions about the dimensions. How tall, long and wide is it?

I have 2 adult hens and 10 chicks that will be moving into their new home when they are big enough.

What is your door made of?

Did you just put your nesting boxes on the floor or hang them on the wall?

Steph said...

Would like to reiterate the question of how it cost $250 if most everything was free? I made a coop out of pallets, and I think the ONLY cost was nails, and hinges for the door. And litter. Just trying to learn and get ideas because I'd like to build more pallet coops. Although my design (totally on the fly) hasn't shown any problem areas that I'm aware of, I still look for different ideas of doing things, ways to improve, or even things to look out for! Thanks for sharing! :)

Anonymous said...

I love this and will probly be trying to make it this weekend. I was wondering though is there a way that the roof top can close? Needs to be warm in the winter months so thought it would be cool if the roof went up and down with the weather!

shannon duffy said...

It really should be up for ventilation. This one is fixed....you may be more creative and make it hinged. We are in ky and it gets pretty cold here, we just put a heat light inside for the super cold months. This gives us eggs in the winter too! Pretty easy to build...have fun. We love our chickens.

shannon duffy said...

The base blocks, 2x4s for the roof and the roof plus hardware.

Anonymous said...

thank you I am loving them also , they grow so fast . I have asked several people to build me something and gave up . So I am doing it!

Angie B. said...

DId you use posts for the corners or just push the pallets up against each other? How did you secure the floor to the pallets? How has it stood up to predators? I am on day 3 of a chicken apocalypse here--the predator keeps ripping ope the chicken wire and getting in. the boards protect them from the base--but it keeps climbing up at night and ripping it open in new places. I am getting very frustrated.

Ellen said...

Do you have plans for this coop? I would like to make one, this would be great for the eight chicks I have in a chicken tractor. Thanks Ellen from Georgia

Anonymous said...

Angie,
Chicken wire is not strong enough. You need to use hardware cloth. Then they'll be safe.

Laurie said...

This is SO cute and affordable. I think I could even do it myself! I've been wanting a couple chickens and am going to shoot for next year.

Unknown said...

Do you have any plans or instructions for your coop? We just picked up a bunch of pallets and this looks awesome! Thanks!

shannon duffy said...

No we did not create plans for the coop! So sorry!

Unknown said...

Shannon - Absolutely love your design. I like his the ramp goes up to close the door. We will be creating a similar one. With that much ventilation at the top are your girls warm enough? I know that you said that you have a heat lamp, but I just want to see if the amount of ventilation is still ok. Thanks for sharing your design online. Also, how many chickens do you hold in yours? ~ Candis (Rhode Island).

arturo0129 said...

Can i get a picture of the side door and how you made it? thanks!

Anonymous said...

This is so awesome! Just one quick question what does the placement of the nesting boxes look like? I am interested in making a coop similar to this but can't picture where the nesting boxes will go.

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