Rusty ol' horse trailer turned coop (picture heavy)

[JanetS]

Looks great!

 

[farmgirlroots]

The floor boards of the trailer are sound enough to leave as is, however I wanted to cover them with plywood so I could glue a remnant of vinyl flooring down. I plan to put sand on that. I used spare plywood we had laying around, hence the patchwork.

Today I also got the plywood cut to replace the manger floor, as we had to cut out the metal floor due to bad rust damage. Glued on vinyl sheeting to it. I plan to screen off the manger area with wire and use it as a brooder and a place to separate a hen out if need be for whatever reason. Hubby's spare boat anchors and motor oil have sure come in handy during this whole project!

I cut and installed hardware cloth over the side windows using washers and self drilling metal screws.

Next I'm hoping to cut the plywood floor for the tack compartment where I'll store my chicken supplies, and wrap up the exterior painting.

 

[mpgo4th]

Very nice. You'll have something you can proudly show off once it's done. And the chickens will love it too.

 

[Kadjain]

Really cool!

 

[farmgirlroots]

Got some more time to work on this project...was delayed a bit with a summer head cold and then caring for an egg bound chicken (poor girl didn't make it - ultimately infection killed her I think).

Practicality and my frugal side won out, and I went with painting the top green since I had more than enough paint to do so, instead of buying a quart of white. I like it well enough.

I plan to add a slide lock or something to the top doors (which someone manufactured themselves at one point and put on themselves) as one door won't close flush, which will create moisture problems in the coop during our 9 months of rain here in Oregon.

I also got the frame built and installed for where my automatic chicken entry door will go. I decided to go with recessed to make it more weather proof if we get sideways rain. Tar paper, exterior caulk, and some shingles from our leftover project pile came in handy here. The actual auto door will be installed when I'm ready for the chickens to move in as it is being used on their current coop.

I still might paint the wood on the inside for ease of keeping clean.

I've been replacing a few of the old hardware pieces that were beyond useable as well. Some of the old hardware/latches I just kept, as they still function fine.

 

[bigmrg74]

Hmmm... One of our horse boarders here have a horse trailer here that would work for this. Too bad that old coot probably wouldn't want to let it go for much less than a first born child.

 

[farmgirlroots]

Update time! Slowly making progress!
Got the scrap of vinyl glued onto the plywood floor and mounted my nesting boxes on the wall. The nests will be easily accessed from the side door so I don't have to climb into the trailer for egg collection.

I picked up the crates from a container scrap/recycling yard here for a song. I can zip tie them onto the shelf brackets, which will allow me to remove them for a quick pressure wash if need be.

This is the ladder made to hook onto the side, easily removed when I want to pull the trailer to a new spot.

The seam between the roof and body had the perfect amount of space to wedge a piece of flashing to act as a little mini awning over the windows and door on each side. I used a bead of Liquid Nails just in case.

Working on the roost, feeder and water system next!!!

 

[Going Quackers]

Very clever! we have an old horse trailer but it's still used as a horse trailer that said i can see how it could be converted, excellent re purposing a genuine house on wheels! keep updating!

 

[6of6chicks]

Wow - and I mean WOW. This is SO COOL. Subscribed because I can't wait to see the finished product!

 

[tntchix]

It just gets better and better, doesn't it?