Anyone used an old yard swing for a frame?

[RoeDylanda]

My father (master scrounger) was here for Christmas and noticed the frame. I've been using it to gate in/dress up the leaf compost pile, but it's approx. 5d x 7w x 8h feet and has convenient rails at just-over-wheelbarrow height. I'm planning a raised coop.

Has anyone used this as framing? The swing part broke after one summer of normal use-- 2 of 4 bolts ripped out of the metal of the seat frame. We are not very big people, but the kids did play on the swing and I'm sure stressed the metal. So I'm concerned that the frame is not strong enough to support plywood cladding and a real roof. Otherwise it's a perfect size and height, and much classier than anything we're likely to design on our own.

Thanks!

Edited to add: because of the height it never needs to support person weight, just itself and the chickens!

 

[patman75]

Should work, I seen much less structural things used to make coops. You might want to give it a good coat of rust proofing paint before you start.

good luck, post pics of the finished product.

 

[photo chick]

We used our old swing set as a basis for our old chicken coop. The kids DID NOT approve!! It worked well except after building had started I realized that everything wasn't squared up so all my walls ended up being slanted which made it really difficult to make a fitted door. A fox ended up getting in. Now we have a new coop built from new lumber and new chickens. My husband uses the old swing set coop for storage.

 

[matimeo]

I haven't, but my brother has a coop that is framed around their old swing set. It's actually pretty awesome. It has nesting boxes on one end and a coop with roost on the other. It works quite well.

 

[mulewagon]

We use our old swing frame to hang the scalded carcasses for plucking. It's a big help, if you're going to process...

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

I used my kids' old swing set frame to make 2 coops.

I used three pieces of plywood and covered them with metal roofing material and a roof cap. Then I made triangular doors with vents in each of them.

I have since started to disassemble them. They were unusable after awhile. Here's why:

1. The plywood floors started to warp at each end downwards, and my screws started to come out. This left a gap that critters might have been able to get into.

2. The ventilation was so poor that even with large vents on each door, I worried about my chickens. I eventually took them out and STUFFED them into my other coops, where I was certain they could get more fresh air. Then I sold some chickens to alleviate the overcrowding.

3. The wood ceilings of the "A" frame at the entrances warped, so the doors were having a hard time closing. The barrel bolts didn't line up anymore. Then the doors started to pop open by themselves whenever a few chickens clustered near the door from their weight.

4. The rain soaked the entrances and left wet shavings there. So I took the shavings out and treated the floors like a poop board. Well, they STAYED wet- nasty. I tried putting up tarps and shower curtains to keep the rain out- but they were just so ugly.

5. I couldn't catch chickens once they entered the coop unless I had a second person to herd them to the opposite side where I was (the whole thing was like a tunnel). So I tried using a net bungee corded onto a very long pole- UGH!

 

[RoeDylanda]

Thanks so much for the responses! This is actually a grownup-size swing, and the frame is rectangular:

It seems that I can get away with this as long as I shore up the bottom and screw the sides into square before I start cladding and roofing. I plan to use a cap vent along the whole length of the top, plus windows on the sides. I will certainly post pictures when it's done, but it will be at the other end of this evil weather we're getting in Connecticut this week! Also I'll probably wait until my father has time and inclination to help me.

He's hilarious and also very good at solving technical problems as they arise.

Thanks again! This forum is the best!