Repurposing dog house- chick coop. Any tips?

[mefbrennan]

Hello! I am just getting started on constructing my own chicken coop and run looking for suggestions! My little brother is in school for architecture and my boyfriend is quite a handyman so the possibilities are endless. However, one of our dogs recently died so we have an extra doghouse in the backyard...it's a standard doghouse, nothing special pretty big though (two pit-bulls sleep in there) I am thinking of ripping off the roof and one side to allow for a hinged roof and an attached nesting box area. Has anyone ever done this? Any suggestions AT ALL? Thanks!
Margaret

 

[miquwid]

if the roof is shingled like mine I would keep it and work from the sides or the bottom. I wanted to do the same but m son wanted to keep it my dogs sleep in my bed so the dog house gets no use but it does look nice which makes our backyard look nice. I would open up from the sides to use a nesting box. Post a pick more ideas would come your way.

 

[OCpeep]

We converted a dog house that we got for free on craigslist. It already had a removable roof, but it is too heavy. The hole in the front was bigger than I wanted for the pop door so I picked up a remnant piece of fiber board from Home Depot to re-do the front into one large human door with a pop door built into it.

Here's a pic of the coop before the front door is installed. I added the ventilation above the door, and the coop sits on a stand that we built.




This is the new front door with the pop door built in.



This pic shows the coop with the door installed. The whole thing sits inside the run.


Hope this helps. I'd like to see pics of your progress.

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

I just went to Google and did a search for "dog house chicken coops" and found a bunch of interesting images that might inspire you.

 

[seminolewind]

I have 3. They were from Doghouses.com . What I did was put them higher so I could put the food underneath to protect from the rain. Works very well.

 

[Eggsoteric]

This is my doghouse to coop conversion (I think this particular doghouse measures 4' long x 3' wide x 4' at the tallest point; it houses 3 small Silkies). I added all the trim work; the openings on either side (on the left side there's a window with an awning) as well as the vent holes, awning, paint, etc.:



The back side already had a door on it (I just tweaked it a bit):



On the frontside, for ease of cleaning, I put a door within a door:



Have fun with your project!

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

Eggsoteric, your "Mini Coop'r" is adorable!

 

[mefbrennan]

Today was our start date but a friend asked if I could foster her Doberman Pinscher temporarily so it looks like our house will be getting some use for the next week or so. We are currently on hold, I will try to remember to post a picture tomorrow. On another note: the run will be on concrete, I am thinking of making some kind of tub to go under the actual coop to hold dirt for the chickens to scratch around in, anyone made something similar? I came across a neat idea for a planter box type set-up...open to suggestions!

 

[CluckAcres]

Im getting ready to turn a doghouse into a coop as well. Im going to attach it to my chicken tractor i made.

 

[mefbrennan]

This is the doghouse I removed the roof and siding in this picture.