Creative and thrifty window idea for chicken coop!

[DeedeesInn]

Hi chickmomma,
You have good reason to be proud! I love the fact that you re-used lots of materials. Is the fence from a big trampoline frame?
I am guessing you spent very little money on this chicken home!

 

[IceAngel]

If you come across the link of the person who converted their camper, you should post it here. Maybe it was me, lol, because I did this several years ago and I posted this picture. I always intended to paint the camper and add a raftered roof but it still look pretty much the same......although all the grass has been pecked away. The camper is up on blocks and the chickens love it under the camper for shade during the summer and for snow relief during the winter.

 

[chickmomma03]

Quote: The frame itself is a trampoline frame. My son's actually that he had since he was 2 (12yo now), my father bought it for him and he used it many years until it died (my son has autism, and we needed it for therapy, but couldn't get insurance approval at that time). The poles are actually from a canopy tent that the wind took during a major storm (the canopy itself was really nice, too bad it ripped when it flipped several times). I actually spent 350$ on just the wood, concrete, screws, nails, and some other needed tools (needed new drill bits etc), then I had to buy the chicken wire and wire to run across the top (hawks, owls, and other predator birds are a huge concern/issue here) which was another 70$. So it wasn't "cheap", but I got a lot more living area building it myself for a pretty reasonable price compared to the ones I was looking at that were prefabs. It's 6ft tall 8ft long, and 4ft wide. I want to expand it to an 8x8 when I can afford to, but right now it's not in the budget. I had odds and ends to buy too like the supports for the nesting shelves, supports to hang the feeder and waterer in the coop, supplies to make an interior latch on the exercise pen door (to keep them from escaping since I have a few that liked to try my patience with that), caulk, etc.

I DID repurpose a lot of stuff though, siding, windows, door, trampoline frame, poles, some plywood (plywood is expensive, thank goodness I had some laying around) to make the nesting shelves, baskets and bins to make the nesting bins, some hooks I had laying around to secure feeder/waterer in the coop.

I still need to buy paint, but I found some I can order for 15$ a gallon that I really want. It's on hold right now d/t the water heater dying (replaced) and now the water has decided to completely go (the pump was surging) and it's either the welstril tank and control box (which is still under warranty thank goodness) or it also ruined the pump so sorting through that right now.

 

[DeedeesInn]

Great use of the stuff you had, $350 is not much for such a big chicken coop and run!
I made my "chicken Inn" from mostly free or cheap craigslist finds. I Keep expanding it! It's fun.

 

[DeedeesInn]

Hi, the camper coop post I saw was from 10/9, by wyochickenmamma. The interior is painted pink and yellow, very cute!
Your camper coop looks great too! I love it when people think of a second use for things. It seems like having chickens sure gets the creative juices going!
I plan to make a trough feeder today. I got a lot of food leftovers from the cafeteria where I work,and I need a trough feeder so they don't scratch it into the dirt right away.

 

[chickmomma03]

Quote: Thanks I'm money poor (rich in love though), BUT I like to think outside the box and repurpose things rather than just throw them out. Once the rest of the camper is broken down we're going to see if we can save the trailer part, fix it, and maybe sell it to someone with a big truck who needs to haul stuff. IF it's not worth fixing it will just have to go for recycle or something.

 

[chfriedmam]

I like it..I did the same thing only used colored glass bottles and inserted half way and used silicone to seal in place. Let's in lots of bright colors of light.

This is really old but I'd love to see a picture!

 

[mowin]

This is really old but I'd love to see a picture!

This thread is from 2015.

 

[chfriedmam]

This thread is from 2015.

Exactly. Like i said.

 

[saysfaa]

I see examples of bottles in walls occasionally looking for timberframe, stone, log, and cordwood construction. I tried a couple of search terms but couldn't get them to come up easily, so I did a screenshot of an example. It is from https://cordwoodconstruction.org/cordwood-snapshots

It is not the coop from this thread - that person was last seen in 2017 - but it might give an idea of the concept.