Hi, I will be a first time chicken owner this spring. My husband and I are building our own coop. We're using all upcycled materials. Our main foundation of the coop being wooden pallets (not broken down). I was thinking of insulating the inside of the pallets with paper egg trays. Anyone have suggestions on what materials I could use to cover up the egg trays that the chickens would not tear apart? Thank you. Also any suggestions to other good materials to use in our upcycled coop would be much appreciated.
If you watch your local Craigslist, people will occasionally give away, or sell cheaply, all sorts of stuff you can use. Especially watch for scrap lumber, wooden crates, cinder blocks and bricks, corrugated roof panels, windows, doors, hardware, etc from restorations or teardowns.
I would not insulate the pallets for two main reasons. 1. It would be a great place for bugs that you do NOT want to hide. 2. It would hold moisture in the rainy or snowy season. What size of coop are you looking to make? Raised or on the ground? You can put plywood on top of the pallets and paint it with porch and floor paint. Mine is holding up well with the porch and floor paint. Craigslist is a great place to find odds and ends that would otherwise end up in the landfill.
