Costs of a coop?

[BCollie]

Well, I know my parents don't want an ugly coop in our yard. But I bet we can do a lot with a bunch of pallets, my feed stores sells them for $1 each.

 

[Carols Clucks]

Do you have a bar like this to help you take apart the pallets?

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Stanley-12-in-Wonder-Bar-55-515K/100093815#.UU5SVhzCaSo

 

[BCollie]

Do you have a bar like this to help you take apart the pallets?

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Stanley-12-in-Wonder-Bar-55-515K/100093815#.UU5SVhzCaSo

Well, we have a small crowbar.

My stepdad pointed out that maybe the pallets could be used whole, as the actual walls? I just measured the one I have out of my car and it is 4' x 3', which would work well for the 6'x4' coop I'd been thinking of doing. Then just put up some kind of siding(like plywood sheets, I think they're called). Cut out a door to access the coop, and a smaller door for the chickens to go in and out of...plus ventilation(which is something I still need to read up on).

Could this work? Anyone done this before?

 

[PalmersPeepers]

We are just finishing our first coop for 10 chicks that will be moving in there within the next 5 weeks. We built an 8X10 coop with a fairly large run. My inspiration for the coop came from this website. I fell in love with the "Egg Plant" coop that is shown under the medium coops section. My husband and I did want a coop that was pleasant to look at so we built it to match our house complete with matching shutters and all. It is costing us approximately $1200 after all is said and done. This is more than I originally wanted to spend, but we wanted to build something we would be happy with for years to come. I also wanted our chickens to have plenty of room and be comfortable.

 

[BCollie]

We are just finishing our first coop for 10 chicks that will be moving in there within the next 5 weeks. We built an 8X10 coop with a fairly large run. My inspiration for the coop came from this website. I fell in love with the "Egg Plant" coop that is shown under the medium coops section. My husband and I did want a coop that was pleasant to look at so we built it to match our house complete with matching shutters and all. It is costing us approximately $1200 after all is said and done. This is more than I originally wanted to spend, but we wanted to build something we would be happy with for years to come. I also wanted our chickens to have plenty of room and be comfortable.

Yes, unfortunately that is WAY more than we're willing to spend on a coop/run.

 

[gaitngirl]

Any tips for breaking apart wood pallets? After an hour I managed to get 3 pieces of wood off...I must be doing something wrong...A lot of the nails are really deep into the wood, even hammering from the underside doesn't really help.

My bro-in-law says YouTube has some really nice pallet deconstruction videos - you might want to check that out. He got some beautiful pallets from a place he used to work (the bottoms were 1"x12"x3' boards) and was having a hard time getting them apart without destroying them. With what he learned on Youtube, he and my nephews (ages 7 and 10 at the time) took apart about 20 of them quite quickly and with very little loss.
I used leftover 2x4's that had sat behind my pole building for years, metal siding from the pole building was used for the roof, an old wood picnic table that was falling apart became parts of the nesting boxes, etc. I had leftover chicken wire from my 2 chicken tractors. I had to buy about $300 in new boards and materials. It's not pretty but it's not ugly either. I used greenhouse plastic to cover part of it for the winter - I will take it down once the temperature warms up enough. This spring I will paint it, put fencing around it, and landscape it to make it 'pretty', lol.

 

[gaitngirl]

Well, we have a small crowbar.

My stepdad pointed out that maybe the pallets could be used whole, as the actual walls? I just measured the one I have out of my car and it is 4' x 3', which would work well for the 6'x4' coop I'd been thinking of doing. Then just put up some kind of siding(like plywood sheets, I think they're called). Cut out a door to access the coop, and a smaller door for the chickens to go in and out of...plus ventilation(which is something I still need to read up on).

Could this work? Anyone done this before?

I had wanted to do that originally, as well, but the project grew out of hand a bit. I had even thought about making a couple of the pallets into 'living walls' inside and outside the coop and planting herbs, veggies, and chicken friendly plants in the spaces during the spring/summer. I'm not sure if pests would take up residence in those areas though and become a nuisance . . .

 

[BCollie]

I'll have to check out Youtube for videos on taking them apart.

I had wanted to do that originally, as well, but the project grew out of hand a bit. I had even thought about making a couple of the pallets into 'living walls' inside and outside the coop and planting herbs, veggies, and chicken friendly plants in the spaces during the spring/summer. I'm not sure if pests would take up residence in those areas though and become a nuisance . . .

That does sound like quite the project!
I wonder if anyone on here has done what my stepdad suggested, just a coop with pallets as the wall, sheets of plywood over it..?

 

[NightHawk123]

Yup. I think I saw a you tube video of a pallet coop using whole pallets.Do a Google image search for "pallet coop" swell.

 

[gaitngirl]

I'll have to check out Youtube for videos on taking them apart.

That does sound like quite the project!
I wonder if anyone on here has done what my stepdad suggested, just a coop with pallets as the wall, sheets of plywood over it..?

I have seen several on Youtube - there are start-to-finish videos. There are various pics in some of the search engine picture galleries, as well. I think you could easily build a frame, side it with full pallets, insulate the inside of the pallets before the outer boards/covers are put on, and end up with a very nifty, thrifty coop.

Uh-oh . . . I think I may be getting the itch to build another just to try it now, lol!!!