In the spring I would like to expand my flock housing and make a separate pen for my bantams, and a separate pen for my silkies, so I have been thinking about coop and run designs a lot here lately. I saw this top pic for making a coop from a swingset frame the other day and it sounded like such a great idea and I had never thought about it before!! I have at my disposal 2 old swingset frames, and 2 old trampoline frames. One trampoline frame has the framework for one of those protective nets around it, so it would make a great run I feel like. You would have plenty of room to walk in and move around. One of the swingsets is much larger than the other. I could feasibly combine the two tho.
If I wanted to make these permanent structures, I feel like I would need to do something way different than some of the ideas I have seen, as far as the coop portion goes. I live in east texas, so being hot in the summer is going to be a bigger deal than being cold in the winter, however, I have a lot of shade I can place these runs in. I want to use as many recycled materials as possible. I may turn one into a bachelor pad for all these roos I'm going to have in the spring!! I would also like to make these as predator proof as possible and I know there are plenty of people here that are experts at that!
I really like the Idea of using part of the swingset frame as the actual coop, but I worry it would be too drafty and if the wind was blowing while raining, everyone would get wet. My dad repairs appliances for a living and the other day I noticed he had a lot of old washer and dryer cases laying around that he is just going to take to the scrap yard. The wheels in my brain started rolling, and I thought those sure could make some great chicken coops, at least for a small number of chickens! At least in theory....
Has anyone here ever recycled an old swingset or trampoline for a coop, or does anyone have any ideas for incorporating a coop structure into these? Any other upcycled coop ideas? I want to re-use old stuff that people are just going to throw away, or that I can buy on a budget, but at the same time, I want it to look decent, even if all that means is tossing a coat of paint on everything. I know there are a lot of creative people on this forum, and a lot of yall have done things I would have never thought of. Anyone have any ideas I can incorporate into my coop/run plans?
I will more than likely be making roosts out of small trees I can cut down, just like I did for my coop I have now. Using buckets for nesting boxes... local restaurant sells buckets with lids for $1.25!! Can't beat that!! ANY and ALL recycled/upcycled chicken coop/run/accessory ideas you have for permanent structures... lay them on me! Thanks in advance!!