Here's an idea I am playing with for a quick and inexpensive coop.
This guy is selling 5 ft wide by 7 ft long by 7 ft high plywood shipping vaults for $65 each.
http://sacramento.craigslist.org/mat/401302132.html
Here are close-up images. The vaults are plywood with (it looks like 1x4) trim to stiften the edges. Wire clips hold the corners together, and as the posting mentions, they could be screwed together for greater strength.
To create the coop I would set the box on a strong base. Adding a sloped framework to the top, corrugated roofing material (metal or fiberglass) would allow rain & snow to run off.
Windows can be either regular home windows or the picture-frame & plexiglass that some here have created.
The walls are plywood, so a door opening would be cut and 2x4 framing installed to support a pre-hung door (which I will look for in Craigslist or freecycle.)
Add the chicken door, the nesting boxes and perches, and the coop is ready for paint and trim.
As a reminder, I'm in snow country if that changes anything.
What do you think? Any ideas on this project? Can you creative folks please help me refine this idea? I will have to drive 3.5 hours each direction to pick the box up at the depot so I only want to pursue it if this is a legitimate concept worth building.
This guy is selling 5 ft wide by 7 ft long by 7 ft high plywood shipping vaults for $65 each.
http://sacramento.craigslist.org/mat/401302132.html
Here are close-up images. The vaults are plywood with (it looks like 1x4) trim to stiften the edges. Wire clips hold the corners together, and as the posting mentions, they could be screwed together for greater strength.
To create the coop I would set the box on a strong base. Adding a sloped framework to the top, corrugated roofing material (metal or fiberglass) would allow rain & snow to run off.
Windows can be either regular home windows or the picture-frame & plexiglass that some here have created.
The walls are plywood, so a door opening would be cut and 2x4 framing installed to support a pre-hung door (which I will look for in Craigslist or freecycle.)
Add the chicken door, the nesting boxes and perches, and the coop is ready for paint and trim.
As a reminder, I'm in snow country if that changes anything.
What do you think? Any ideas on this project? Can you creative folks please help me refine this idea? I will have to drive 3.5 hours each direction to pick the box up at the depot so I only want to pursue it if this is a legitimate concept worth building.
