Topic of the Week - Recycling (In) The Coop

[sumi]

Pic by @MacGuyver
​

Recycling or upcycling materials or structures is a great way to save money in and around the chicken coop. Whether it's by converting a playhouse, swing set, or building a complete coop from recycled materials. This week I would like to hear and see your recycling projects, in and around the chicken coop. Including feeders, waterers, perches, and other coop accessories.

For a complete list of our Topic of the Week threads, see here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/topic-of-the-week-thread-archive

 

[Blue Eager]

I built this coop from the reject redwood lumber pile at Lowes, including the pony wall above the stuccoed wall. All for the exception of the 4x6” posts, T1-11, & of course the roofing. The cage panels (2) are from a box panel I had for about 25 years.

The feeder is from an old hollow core door I had on hand. Cut the two lower raised panel sections in half, ripped filler strips for support, used for the front & back. Completed the rest with scrap lumber. Feeder has two sides (separator in the center), scratch in one & layer in the other.

The ramp is a section of old scaffold I had on hand.

 

[lifetimechicklover]

I built this coop from the reject redwood lumber pile at Lowes, including the pony wall above the stuccoed wall. All for the exception of the 4x6” posts, T1-11, & of course the roofing. The cage panels (2) are from a box panel I had for about 25 years.

The feeder is from an old hollow core door I had on hand. Cut the two lower raised panels sections in half, ripped filler strips for support, used for the front & back. Completed the rest with scrap lumber. Feeder has two sides (separator in the center), scratch in one & layer in the other.

The ramp is a section of old scafold I had on hand.

This is a GREAT job; especially the feeder!

 

[N F C]

Good topic @sumi! Looking forward to reading ideas on how to save $.

 

[jthornton]

Finally someone got some good from a politician lol used their signs for some good.

JT

 

[Blue Eager]

This is a GREAT job; especially the feeder!

Thank you lifetimechicklover. It was a joy to build.

 

[TomZilla43]

I built my current coop from shipping crates, pallets and leftover metal roofing. I did have to purchase a good bit of the hardware(although I did re-use a lot of screws from the crates) and the wire fencing that I used to enclose the coop. It was a fun project and wound up saving me a ton of moolah as most similar coops that I had looked at online started at around $1500 bucks and seemed to go up from there. I have about $150 in mine

 

[tigger19687]

I see on CL free Swing sets where it has the little hut on the top. That would be a great start for a coop with run ! Just add a few boards and Hardware Cloth/chicken wire

 

[CCUK]

All my coops are repurposed. they were old kids playhouses. I got two that were going to the dump. The only real cost was my time, paint and some new hardware. I have another larger 6x8 shed that I got given that will become a new coop this summer.

 

[venymae]

This is our Recycled Coop! The siding and most of the wood was salvaged from dumpsters where a new subdivision was being built. We did have to buy two of the 2x4's. The door was an old interior door whose bottom had been destroyed by dogs, our neighbors were tossing it and I loved the design on the top. The window was free off craigslist. Paint was from the household hazardous waste place. They give it away free.

The flooring was an excess roll from the old floor at my parents house. We caulked the edges with leftover caulk from a house project.

The roosting bar was a branch we cut off a tree in our yard. The pop door was scrap wood, worked with an old telephone cord for rope and a pulley. A bent wire hooked to the fence to keep it up. The deep litter bedding was leaf litter (free from yards), shredded paper (from a local business), and straw (purchased). We also used cypress needles and pine needles as available from public parks for the coop (cypress) and run (pine needles). Cypress was by far my favorite and smelled like HEAVEN.

Nesting boxes used plastic bins for easy cleaning, but eventually we took them out, and it was just one large box, which the hens actually loved. Lid was made with scrap plywood we had laying around.

Feeder was made with a frosting bucket from the local bakery and a PVC section left in our garage by the previous owners (lucky!)

Waterer was made out of a kitty litter bottle and nipples I bought online. I later switched it to food grade pastics.

Free tire we painted and filled with dirt & wood ash for a dust bathing area. Our hens liked to stand on it, but didn't care to bathe in it.

Anyway, that's our coop and I loved it!