Camper for a coop?

[MariposaMama]

Okay, am I just being totally redneck (no offense meant) and tacky?

There's an ad for a free full size camper on my local classifieds, and I'm thinking it could make a nice chicken coop. The owner says the outside is in good shape, but the interior paneling is warped from a small leak in the roof. DH could easily fix the roof leak and we'd pull the paneling out anyway. If we take the doors off the cabinets we'd have instant nest boxes and we could build plenty of roost space.

I have too many chickens in too small a space, so I'm looking for something quick and cheap to solve the problem.

What do you all think? Good idea or bad?

 

[jnjross]

i've done it, but i'd leave the panel, mine had nothing behind it and was supporting the exterior metal, just staple some hardware cloth over to window in place of the screen,

 

[Comet Mum]

If the price is right, go for it! One of my neighbors uses a converted bus for a brooder.

 

[Omran]

Quote:
Well nothing wrong with rednecks, heck most famous successful busnessmen and women are rednecks, camper will work perfect and will be real cheap way to have a coop.

 

[Shockwave]

I think it's a great idea. If it works for you, use it!

 

[Davaroo]

TMEN did an article on it some years ago. Go over there and look it up. Seems it worked out well, IIRC.

 

[thechickenchick]

Sounds great to me! Check out my sig line and you will know why!!

 

[MariposaMama]

Thanks for the opinions. Nice to know I'm not totally off my rocker.

Davaroo, I would love to read the article, but I don't even know what TMEN is. Could you point me in the right direction? Thanks.

 

[CARS]

I have an older slide-in pickup camper and have had the same thoughts. I also have a large barn and only using 1/2 of the main floor so I didn't pursue the idea.

If anyone in the southern MN area wants it to use as a coop, pm me and pick it up.

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
TMEN is an acronym for the The Mother Earth News. If you've never heard of "Mother," well... you should. They wrote the book (and still do) on sustainable, wise living.

Here's the link to their camper coop article:
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Sustainable-Farming/1992-12-01/The-Versatile-Camper-Top-Cabin.aspx

PS - I couldn't find their vast archive of past material via direct link on their new website. I had to get to this one from google. After looking around TMEN, it seems they've categorized their archive articles several layers below their various sub-headings. This requires a lot of exploration around their site to find what you want. Bummer.