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.
![](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fchickensoncamera.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F04%2FChicken-Coop-11.jpg&hash=f48e30df91057d623e5857d340ea0834)
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.
![](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fchickensoncamera.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F04%2FChicken-Coop-10.jpg&hash=039fa10517d67bf25ef8c7704cb2e6f4)
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.
![](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fchickensoncamera.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F04%2FChicken-Coop-09.jpg&hash=fe38e44db7f778ce4a50b0aadd252c01)
Back of the old dog house
I made the nesting boxes with a hinged roof so I can gather eggs and clean the coop.
![](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fchickensoncamera.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F04%2FChicken-Coop-07.jpg&hash=2a0a58af25444063d0bc36b534a75d10)
I used plywood that I sealed to protect it from moisture.
![](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fchickensoncamera.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F04%2FChicken-Coop-05.jpg&hash=583790a2957a93ae7911ae40aacbe93a)
I reinforced the lid with a board that I screwed through to attach the hinges.
![](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fchickensoncamera.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F04%2FChicken-Coop-06.jpg&hash=7c4daeb5a906cbb3f0bb578e4fc5de49)
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.
![](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fchickensoncamera.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F04%2FChicken-Coop-08.jpg&hash=3076758aed2ac3b53fcf1f6454509b0d)
This is the mount for the old closet rod that I'm using for a perch.
I then attached the sides and back.
![](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fchickensoncamera.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F04%2FChicken-Coop-12.jpg&hash=5049f055fc109ba8a0edad028231cf21)
This is the dog house with the side boxes attached. I also cut a door for the front.
![](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fchickensoncamera.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F04%2FChicken-Coop-13.jpg&hash=9107dcba9750771d93113e8d20ac24d6)
This is the back.
After all this I painted it red.
![](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fchickensoncamera.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F04%2FChicken-Coop-04.jpg&hash=801d348ef932f254f0b1b05be8eb25e6)
This is the final coop. I added 3 tab shingles to the sides and back.
I still need to finalize the foundation.
![](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fchickensoncamera.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F04%2FChicken-Coop-02.jpg&hash=5b52ad564359c77db5ceaac6e1f897ba)
Left side
![](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fchickensoncamera.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F04%2FChicken-Coop-01-300x225.jpg&hash=d3dae3dacc4149e424ef5ae090527805)
This is the back.
So this is it. Please leave a comment and let me know what you think.