22 foot by 8 ft 1999 travel trailer thats been gutted

[naakte]

I have a chance to get this trailer thats been completely gutted out except for the propane furnace. I have 70 chickens. does anyone have any suggestions? is an old trailer a good idea? should i do anything to the floor? I hope I am not making a huge mistake. will my chickens do well in a trailer over winter? anyone ever done this before?

 

[LiLRedCV]

I've seen threads here in which people converted an old trailer (camping or hauling) for this purpose. Been a couple of these threads that were relatively recent too. From what I can see? They turned out great!

 

[MadChickensVT]

If you have weasels in your area you need to block any hole big enough for a hot dog to fit through. 1/2" hardware cloth will do the trick for big gaps and windows.

Your birds won't need the furnace

 

[Judy]

I did a search for "trailer" in the coop section, topic subject only, and there are quite a few threads on here about people who have done this. From the little I've read, I think it works out well.

 

[Knock Kneed Hen]

I'm actually considering buying one of these myself. I think it's a great idea. I don't see why it wouldn't work well.

I have a general question about Travel Trailers. Does anyone know how long their roofs last? I hate to go to all the
trouble getting an old one fixed up and then have the roof leak. It's not like you can throw new shingles on it!!
The one I'm looking at is 50 yrs old.

I'm thinking that they would stay warm enough in the winter. They are insulated for the comfort of people. I don't know
how cold it gets where you are, but most of these trailers have plenty of windows for ventilation. Let us know if you get
it and share pics!!!

 

[naakte]

I am so nervous about doing this. It will make my property look ugly for sure,butif it will benifit my darling chickens it will be worth it. The guy I am getting it from had a leak in the roof and his insurance totalled it. He is in the process of gutting it. He is interested in some silver bullion I have, so we will barter for it. It gets pretty cold here in branson in the winter and I have been worried about what to do with them to keep them warm. This seems like a great solution. If I keep the furnace on low their water wont freeze, and i dont know if they can catch a cold but the warmer the better for sure. I would like to make a cute chicken house, but lumber is just so high, so this seems the best solution for now. where is that search engine at I want to see these threads on what others did with travel trailers. Im off to search

 

[ladybug99]

We have converted two hauling trailers for chicken coops. We haven't had any problems with them at all. They are not the most beautiful coops but very functional Here are a shots of the first one we did

We had a pretty bad winter last year and they all did fine.

 

[domino7]

Four walls, and a roof that doesn't leak, some ventilation. Sounds like a chicken coop. I wouldn't even use the furnace. Trading silver bullion for it, though, is not bartering. That's cold, hard cash.

 

[70monte]

A guy I got some chickens from this summer was using a small travel trailer as a coop and it seemed to be working out great. I was going to do the same thing but the camper I was looking at got sold before I could get it.

I do know from spending a lot of time on a RV forum that roof leaks are very common and usually the damage that you can see is only a fraction of the damage that is really there. The roof material usually is not the problem but any seams that are on the roof are where potential leaks come from so you have to get up on the roof a couple of times a year and make sure the seams are still good or reseal any that look bad.

The camper that you are trading for probably has extensive damage from the leak in order for it to be totaled for insurance purposes. You might have to tear up the roof and fix any rotten wood if you want it to last anytime at all.

I live only 40 miles north of you. Good luck on your project.

Wayne

 

[fifelakelooper]

We purchased a 11 X7 travel trailer this summer for $300. It was partially gutted and in wonderful shape. We converted into a coop and redid the roof seams with black roof material...which did sort of ruin the looks of the trailer but wanted to take care of some leaks. It is now all ready and we will use it this winter so we can keep my flock of 11 handy and I won't have to shovel allllll the way to their regular coop. (lots of snow here). We are also going to Fl. Feb-April and now we can haul them to a local friends for care during that time and I don't have to sell my flock. I will post how it all goes in late spring....I think it will work good.