Coop from old wood fence?

[Txcurtis]

I'm picking up a little under 200' worth of 6' and 8' wood fence today. I'll be building a coop from same. I'll go with either batten and board or count on the gaps between the boards as ventillation for the chickens (it gets HOT in Texas). I've searched and searched and found a couple people who've done this, but I'm up for more ideas. The search terms required make it hard to find what I'm looking for, so I'd appreciate any links to other coops built with boards and/or an old wood fence.

Links and comments please!


I'll update this thread with pictures as I build the coop, which will house BLRW's - of which we currently have 10 which we hatched from eggs. In another couple weeks we'll know sex and who gets to occupy the coop long term...

 

[Wolftalk]

Well, Ive never used old fence, but its very possible and I wish you the best of luck building it! Post pics- Im interested to see how it turns out!

 

[Linzal12]

It is very fun, you will have to sort through alot of rotten planks to get some good ones. This is what I ended up coming up with https://www.backyardchickens.com/gallery/album/view/id/6151592/user_id/112608

 

[joan1708]

I made mine from old fence. It's working out OK. To decrease further weathering of the wood, I painted all four side of each piece before putting it together.

 

[7L Farm]

I built this coop from old fence:

 

[3forfree]

Txcurtis It looks like linzal12 and 7Lfarm took their fence apart before making their coops. That's a good idea as you will find alot of rot in the boards as you go along. That way you won't have to be stuck with making your coop 6 or 8ft, you can make it to the size you want. Nice coops btw, I'm busting up pallets right now to make a coop and have found some nice lumber to use. Just last night one of the big 4x12 pallets had 4x4x12 stringers underneath, and full 1x6 oak slats on top.

 

[Txcurtis]

I'll definitely be taking the fence apart prior to building the coop. There's a lot of good boards, and a lot of bad boards. This is about 1/2 of what I have to work with - there'll be just a lil bit of wood left over when all is said and done!

I pick up my miter saw today (gotta have tools, right?) - what better excuse to buy tools than building something! I hope to get a solid start on building the coop this weekend.

 

[G-Man]

This coop was part of a fencing contractors display at the Sonoma County home show several weeks back..
I thought it was a cute design, so I snapped a pic. The rustic materials and weathered fence boards add a lot of charm to the little coop.

 

[Txcurtis]

Starting to close in on a finished coop. Maybe before I go out of town again...

Bottom portion of the coop is enclosed, for right now there's a huge dog kennel they put themselves up in at night.

 

[WinklerFarms]

looking good