In need of coop advice!

[NewChickenmama06]

As I had mentioned in other feed, we are looking to expand our flock. As of now we have 6 chickens. We hope to get 3 or 4 more hens in March. The coop we have now was given to us for free. It's one of those TSC super small ones with a little run. It served it purpose, but now is falling apart (so we need a new one regardless of expanding the flock) and only holds up to 6 birds. We are on a tight budget and the coops that we have been looking at are way out of our price range. The wood to build them is pretty high in price as well. We looked in Craigslist, and we found some, but we have no way to get them to our yard. Sooo, now to my question, if properly ventilated, can a resin shed be used as a coop instead of a wood one? They seemed to be the only thing that we can afford. Any advice is greatly appreciated as always.

 

[mowin]

Do you have any building skills? Pallet coops are inexpensive. One can usually find pallets for free.

Friend of mine went to a hot tub/pool store. He got 6 pallets from endless pools. Made a storage shed out of them.

 

[Mtnboomer]

This exact thing has been asked before cause its a good question. The general consensus was, yes, but ventilation will be a huge issue as the resin does not naturally breathe like the construction of other materials.
My advice is go to your local home depot, lowes, hardware stores etc. Ask about getting lawn mower shipping crates. They will usually gladly give them to you for free because otherwise they are just thrown away and dtore mudt pay for the refuse. Do not ask for pallets as they send those back to suppliers for reuse. Lawn mowers arrive in wooden crates up to 8ft long depending on the size of the mower. They are framed with 2x3 kd pine, oak 1x2, and have long side and bottom slats.
I built my entire coop except for 4x4 pressure treated posts in the ground, shingled roof, and hardware from these crates. Not to mention many furniture pieces and I got years of kindling for the wood stove.
The resin shed can be made to work but the door hinges are almost always a point of eventual failure. If you can get the materials, i think there are more long term benefits to traditional materials.

 

[NewChickenmama06]

Do you have any building skills? Pallet coops are inexpensive. One can usually find pallets for free.

Friend of mine went to a hot tub/pool store. He got 6 pallets from endless pools. Made a storage shed out of them.

Thanks!

 

[NewChickenmama06]

This exact thing has been asked before cause its a good question. The general consensus was, yes, but ventilation will be a huge issue as the resin does not naturally breathe like the construction of other materials.
My advice is go to your local home depot, lowes, hardware stores etc. Ask about getting lawn mower shipping crates. They will usually gladly give them to you for free because otherwise they are just thrown away and dtore mudt pay for the refuse. Do not ask for pallets as they send those back to suppliers for reuse. Lawn mowers arrive in wooden crates up to 8ft long depending on the size of the mower. They are framed with 2x3 kd pine, oak 1x2, and have long side and bottom slats.
I built my entire coop except for 4x4 pressure treated posts in the ground, shingled roof, and hardware from these crates. Not to mention many furniture pieces and I got years of kindling for the wood stove.
The resin shed can be made to work but the door hinges are almost always a point of eventual failure. If you can get the materials, i think there are more long term benefits to traditional materials.

Thanks, I'm going to run this by my husband, is it ok if I I copy and paste your post so I can send it to him at work?

 

[NewChickenmama06]

This exact thing has been asked before cause its a good question. The general consensus was, yes, but ventilation will be a huge issue as the resin does not naturally breathe like the construction of other materials.
My advice is go to your local home depot, lowes, hardware stores etc. Ask about getting lawn mower shipping crates. They will usually gladly give them to you for free because otherwise they are just thrown away and dtore mudt pay for the refuse. Do not ask for pallets as they send those back to suppliers for reuse. Lawn mowers arrive in wooden crates up to 8ft long depending on the size of the mower. They are framed with 2x3 kd pine, oak 1x2, and have long side and bottom slats.
I built my entire coop except for 4x4 pressure treated posts in the ground, shingled roof, and hardware from these crates. Not to mention many furniture pieces and I got years of kindling for the wood stove.
The resin shed can be made to work but the door hinges are almost always a point of eventual failure. If you can get the materials, i think there are more long term benefits to traditional materials.

Oh would it be to much to ask you to post some pictures so we can get an idea how they look?

 

[mowin]

Enter pallet coops in the search thread. Some are rather elaborate. But you'll get many ideas on how to build one.

The article section has a lot of coop builds also.

 

[Mtnboomer]

P

Thanks, I'm going to run this by my husband, is it ok if I I copy and paste your post so I can send it to him at work?

of course

 

[Mtnboomer]

Oh would it be to much to ask you to post some pictures so we can get an idea how they look?

This only photo i have of my coop on my phone right now. We are planning to repaint our house and i want the coop to match, but until we have the time and money to do so, I just white washed the coop to protect it from the elements. If you would like more photos, id be happy to send them.

Also, check the "cull" bins at the hardware stores or lumber yards. You can get boards 70% off. They may have a bow or a crack in them but you work with them or cut the bad piece off. I just bought 4 16' x 2" x10" pressure treated boards for $6.40 ea. They are normally $21 ea. I don't even have a project in mind but you cant turn that down. NOTE: Splits can but cut out and bows can be forced back into place or reduced as you cut the boards shorter, but twists are too much aggravation to fool with.

 

[NewChickenmama06]

This only photo i have of my coop on my phone right now. We are planning to repaint our house and i want the coop to match, but until we have the time and money to do so, I just white washed the coop to protect it from the elements. If you would like more photos, id be happy to send them.

Also, check the "cull" bins at the hardware stores or lumber yards. You can get boards 70% off. They may have a bow or a crack in them but you work with them or cut the bad piece off. I just bought 4 16' x 2" x10" pressure treated boards for $6.40 ea. They are normally $21 ea. I don't even have a project in mind but you cant turn that down. NOTE: Splits can but cut out and bows can be forced back into place or reduced as you cut the boards shorter, but twists are too much aggravation to fool with.

Thank you!