Soda Bottle Chicken Coop

[calista]

Well, a friend forwarded a PDF to me about how a group of Scottish schoolkids built a greenhouse out of 1500 soda bottles. This is the website and a picture of the finished project:

http://www.reapscotland.org.uk/reports/greenhouse v1.pdf

So of course the first thing I think of is WHAT A COOL IDEA FOR A CHICKEN COOP!

Yes, you would have to ventilate it or risk baked chicken and attach hardware cloth against predator incursion if it were not located inside a protected run. But what else might prevent this from being a workable chicken coop, especially in a rainy maritime climate like mine where it never gets really hot?

Take your time. It's going to be a week or two before I can collect the 1500 empty bottles from all the soda junkies I know.

 

[3goodeggs]

My husband the greenhouse horticulture guy was, 'WOW! That's such a great idea!"
I think it's pretty too! I have been saving bottles for YEARS to make a glass bottle house. I think this is much easier!
Thank you for that post!

 

[Cornychick]

This is the kind of stuff that really gets the creative juices flowing! I want to build one!

 

[maizey]

i dont see that working as a coop in my area...way to hot but WOW that is a fantastic idea! Ive been wanting a green house as bad as I wanted chickens, at home and for the kids at school...what a perfect idea. I might have a go at that. Pity I don't drink soda

but I have 170 middle school students....I could probably collect what I need in a day!

 

[Chic-n-farmer]

Wow. I guess we will have to drink more pop!

 

[patandchickens]

They may not last real long in the sunlight, so you may have to drink a whole lotta pop on an ongoing basis

As a coop, I honestly think that even in a never-hot often-cloudy climate like yours it would overheat pretty often. I would want to have at least one whole wall that could open up, perhaps more.

As long as you plan for that, though, so it does not come as a nasty hard-to-do-anything-about surprise, sure, have fun, post pics

Pat

 

[moonlyghtegirl]

If you don't drink soda, you can always get them from the recycle centers. They are usually happy to let you have what you need. This is where I get my gallon water containers I use for dripping water into my garden during those dry summer periods.

 

[Cornychick]

Here's my thought...I personally have a big cold muddy run this time of year. This can be employed over the run and create a sort of 'sun room' during the dreary months. Then when spring approaches, removed and recycled and recreated next year.

 

[3goodeggs]

Quote:
I agree with this. I think if one half of the sloped roof was on a hinge, and the roof could be propped open for ventilation it would work. We have ridge vents on our greenhouses because even on a cold day, the sun will make steamed greens out of our stock in no time.

 

[calista]

Thanks for the responses so far and I was intrigued enough to Google "soda bottle greenhouses" (because OF COURSE no one has ever made one of these to be a chicken coop before)

for more information.

Here's one that's built solidly enough to actually look like a coop NOW before necessary modifications:

http://www.wilsonvillespokesman.com...inmates.build.a.recycled.greenhouse/news.aspx

Here's one with a rammed earth and tire foundation for stability:

http://www.bluerockstation.com/index.php/cool-buildings/plastic-bottle-greenhouse

And here's one the owner will be searching across the county for after a good windstorm:

http://webplay.stardotserver.co.uk/stories/1294-reuse

My hubby called the local high school and managed to talk to a sanitation services guy who as much said we could have as many as we liked. And that's just ONE school!

What an ingenious idea to keep a lot of trash out of our landfills, no matter what purpose the final construction serves.

Not to mention what an inexpensive project this would be for those on strict budgets.