Items to Repurpose for Coops and Run/Tractor!

[katelk]

One BYCer spoke earlier in another thread about repurposing an old trampoline into a chicken tractor. It made me start thinking of what other items one might find either around the house or yard, or even for cheap or free on Craigslist that can be repurposed for coops and runs or tractors.
Has anyone else repurposed something like this? I would love to hear about any projects or ideas for projects on this topic! And of course, any pics are always great!

 

[WendyJeepchick]

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[chicken pickin]

I have used pallets to build many of my coops even my compost bin. I dont go the etra mile and take them apart I leave them as is and find pallets of matching sizes to make floors and walls and then cover with plywood. I also have privacy fence panels I plan to use to build a 3 sided shelter for some turkeys. I recently got a few garage door panels and will come up with something to uild with them.I have also used all types of scraped wood found on the side of the road to build the runs or fences. I have reused old windows and screen doors. Taken hardware off of unuseable doors windows fence gates etc. Oh I also obtained a free chainlink fence to use as a turkey run. Old tires make cute nesting areas for turkeys or geese. Nest boxes for chickens can be made from milk crates or cat liter boxes. I have seen people turn older wooden swingsets into a coop and run(I plan to try this when my kids outgrow their swingset). I turned and old dresser into a brooder for chicks also old rabbit hutches and dog crates make great brooders or growout areas. I save everything I find. I think im going to drive my DH batty he hates that I am always bringing stuff home and storing or stocking up on things. I alway find a way to repurpose everything I find. Oh I built a raised garden bed built up on legs for my DH made out of an old deck, railings, lattice and planting boxes all for free at a house that was redoing their deck. Im sure I can think of more but that is it for now lol. Ill be watching this thread too for more ideas.

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

I repurposed a 16 year old mini-van into a mobile chicken coop. I built a tractor to attach behind it for daytime forraging. It came in very handy when we had to evacuate our property last summer due to a forrest fire.


In the second photo we're on the road between home and my sister-in-laws, where we spent 9 days after being evacuated.

 

[chicken pickin]

Very impressive hummingbird hollow!

 

[Bens-Hens]

Wow!

I love the pallet stocks. We get them for free from a local industrial area, they just dump them on the verge. I pull them apart, sometimes give them a sand if I want the end product to look nicer or am worries about bumble foot.

I have also used old clip together floor boards as siding, and old gate pulled apart to make a mobile tractor frame. I get plastic drums from a local catering company that use stackable drums for olives which are great for secure feed store, poop and growing fodder in.

Made a chick brooder from two chest of draws slides.

I try make all my stuff from cheap or re-purposed materials.

Here is a really good DIY thread of stuff people have made. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/631861/diy-thread-lets-see-your-inventions/800#post_11680868

 

[jesirose]

We use pallets and lumber we got for free on CL. I posted an ad asking for free or cheap lumber. A few days later got a call, a home builder had utility boards that needed to be hauled off. It took us two trips to get it all. In addition to a bunch of pine 2x4, there were some sweet 2x10s THIRTY FEET LONG. Lots of really nice big pieces that would have gone to the dump. We saved the builder the cost of paying someone to haul it off, and it's perfect for us. My husband saved the really nice big pieces for himself. We got enough wood to build 8-10 of these tractors. We also bought some cheap fence boards to use for it.

 

[meledwards]

We are new to owning chickens and were planning on building a tractor for our girls, but hadn't given it much thought as we just got done renovating our shed to use part as our coop. I was driving one day and passed a snowmobile dealer with free wood shelling they use for the sleds out by the road! ]FREE! Hubby and I went back and brought one home and repurposed it into our ladies' new tractor. Easy to move around the yard and didn't have to put much money into it!

 

[yogifink]

I repurposed a 16 year old mini-van into a mobile chicken coop. I built a tractor to attach behind it for daytime forraging. It came in very handy when we had to evacuate our property last summer due to a forrest fire. In the second photo we're on the road between home and my sister-in-laws, where we spent 9 days after being evacuated.

This is wicked cool, love it!! I make everything from pallet wood, 2 coops, 3 compost/potatoe bins and a tractor. Ive also made garden beds, wooden milk crates and a coffee table from pallet wood. My Main coop was an old barn that I tore down and removed from someone property.

 

[cluckcluckluke]

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