The Dog House Chicken Coop

I’ve wanted to get chickens for a while now and my wonderful wife got me six baby Araucana chicks for my birthday. So now I had to figure out a way to house them once they were grown, and not go broke in the process.

The old dog house with the sides and back cut out.

I decided to take my dogs old dog house that she never uses and convert it to a chicken coop. I cut the sides and back out.

Back of the old dog house

Obviously the dog house by itself would be a little small for the six baby chicks so I made nesting boxes for the sides and back. Essentially double the square footage in the coop.

Back of the old dog house

I made the nesting boxes with a hinged roof so I can gather eggs and clean the coop.

I used plywood that I sealed to protect it from moisture.

I reinforced the lid with a board that I screwed through to attach the hinges.

Another shot of the side nesting box. I used the same design for the back nesting box.

On the inside I’m using a old closet rod for a perch in the new coop.

This is the mount for the old closet rod that I'm using for a perch.

I then attached the sides and back.

This is the dog house with the side boxes attached. I also cut a door for the front.

This is the back.

After all this I painted it red.

This is the final coop. I added 3 tab shingles to the sides and back.

I still need to finalize the foundation.

Left side

This is the back.

So this is it. Please leave a comment and let me know what you think.