How I made my chicken coop FOR FREE!

[Chicken Newbie07]

Making a #palletchickencoop is very simple! I looked for free pallets online and on apps like OfferUp, I also found pieces of wood on the side of the road while driving. Once I had enough wood, I began building my #pallethenhouse .
I placed a pallet on the bottom as the floor with a piece of plastic board on top for easy cleaning. Then, I used two pallets for the sides. For the back I use wood that I found next to a Petco dumpster. The front of the coop was also built from scrap wood I found around my neighborhood. And for the roof I used a long metal slate I had laying around the farm.
All of the materials used for this #freechickencoop project were used, recycled and of course FREE. Even the screws were salvaged from previous projects that I took apart.
The purpose of this video is to share with you how you can easily make your own coop for free or at least for very very cheap.
I hope this video has given you some #chickencoopideas so you can make your own #DIYchickencoop . Get inspired & go out and remodel your coop, build one from scratch or even make some adjustments to your existing coop and get it ready for the winter.

Thank you and have a blessed day!

 

[cavemanrich]

You may need to double the size if you intend to have broodies hatch chicks. You know chicken math is real
WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[Chicken Newbie07]

You may need to double the size if you intend to have broodies hatch chicks. You know chicken math is real
WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

You think so?
This year alone, I had 4 hens go broody and they hatched out 7-10 chicks each.
And that was before I made the adjustments. Before, this coop was in desperate need of a makeover (as you might of seen in the video), it had only 2 makeshift nest boxes and my hens only liked one (of course ).
With the new improved nest boxes, they’ve been laying consistently since the day I finished the coop.
Do you experience that too? Where you have several nest boxes and your picky girls only like 1?
Anyway, thanks for you good wishes

 

[cavemanrich]

This year alone, I had 4 hens go broody and they hatched out 7-10 chicks each.

I'm good at math as well,,,,, and there I count 28 plus chickens added. Just wondering of your current numbers, and did you sell/give away, or even consume your chickens???
Your coop is 4 feet by 4 feet. I know they only go there to sleep. Even so, how many do squeeze in there now???

 

[BDutch]

I love the reuse of materials. Not bad at all, but I think it still needs some work to optimise.

Imo its too crowded to let a broody hatch chicks in there too. A broody needs a quit place to hatch. Did you have as much chickens last year as you have now?
I would build a second coop with an attached, safe run for a broody to avoid problems.

Openings seem too big to keep smaller predators out. Having chicks in there is a real danger imo. Sealing openings with 0.5” hwc is a clever investment to improve the safety and you can use it to provide more ventilation.

The construction wood roost seem to have sharp edges. Rounded corners are nicer for the chickens feet. And the branche with bark could be a hazard because under the bark is a good hiding place for red mite. Check weekly when its warm.

A last remark. The roof doesn't look very solid and just seeing it in the video , I doubted if it holds in a storm. But maybe I’m wrong.

 

[Chicken Newbie07]

I'm good at math as well,,,,, and there I count 28 plus chickens added. Just wondering of your current numbers, and did you sell/give away, or even consume your chickens???
Your coop is 4 feet by 4 feet. I know they only go there to sleep. Even so, how many do squeeze in there now???

Only 7 chickens sleep in there at the moment. The rest of the younger chicks you might of seen on different videos have their own enclosure due to size difference. For 7 chickens, this coop is more than enough space. Also, if you watched the video, you can see their is a long metal slate as the roof, longer than the actual coop. This is because this coop will be twice the size early next year when I plan to expand.

 

[Chicken Newbie07]

I love the reuse of materials. Not bad at all, but I think it still needs some work to optimise.

Imo its too crowded to let a broody hatch chicks in there too. A broody needs a quit place to hatch. Did you have as much chickens last year as you have now?
I would build a second coop with an attached, safe run for a broody to avoid problems.

Openings seem too big to keep smaller predators out. Having chicks in there is a real danger imo. Sealing openings with 0.5” hwc is a clever investment to improve the safety and you can use it to provide more ventilation.

The construction wood roost seem to have sharp edges. Rounded corners are nicer for the chickens feet. And the branche with bark could be a hazard because under the bark is a good hiding place for red mite. Check weekly when its warm.

A last remark. The roof doesn't look very solid and just seeing it in the video , I doubted if it holds in a storm. But maybe I’m wrong.

Thank you, and yea I agree it needs some work to make it “bullet proof”, but for now only 7 chickens sleep in there, and there is more than enough room for them. Out of those 7, 5 are hens, so 3 nest boxes is also ok for now.
And if you see in the video, the metal slate is twice as long as the coop. That’s because I plan to expand it early next year to accommodate more chickens.
The roost bars are very smooth on most surfaces, especially the one fromleftover wood. The “sharp” edges are nothing but natural branch imperfections, and chickens are too smart to stand on those small parts. I do see your concern tho, and I will consider going out and sanding those out.
Ventilation is not a concern because I leave the door open even at night. And when I plan to close it, in winter, there is gaps on top where the side pallets meet the roof, not sure if the video shows that.
As far as predators, I do t have any ground predators in my area. No coyotes or raccoons or anything like that ( luckily ) , the only pesky predators around here are red tail hawks. So that’s why my coop is built the way it is.
And lastly the roof. It’s solid . The unexpected snow storm we had last year, as shown in the video, did not penetrate at all. It was completely dry inside.

 

[One Lucky Momma]

It‘s GREAT to have your kids involved. I‘d wager they’re smart and resourceful. Good job.

 

[Chicken Newbie07]

It‘s GREAT to have your kids involved. I‘d wager they’re smart and resourceful. Good job.

That they are. Thank you

 

[Katie386]

I made a chicken coop out of an unused shed. I had 8 chickens and it was perfect. that’s where I was supposed to stop. I ended up collecting so many chicks I didn’t have room For them when they grew up. I rehomed 18 chickens and kept 11. my point is be careful about over doing it