TWEAK MY COOP~Tweaks on the Cheap

[SHERRING7712]

There's always T posts....are they more or less expensive than the wood you plan to use? You can always watch local ads and CL for folks getting rid of chainlink fencing real cheap and also places that are throwing out scrap lumber. The best way to keep expenses low with chickens is to scavenge for scrap materials for housing and fencing if you can.

Pallets can be a great way to get lumber if you don't need too long of sections. I saw a pic of a greenhouse (could have been a great hoop coop where they used pallets for the sides and pvc to form the arcs...I have access to tons of pallets so I am considering something along those lines as well.

 

[Beekissed]

Great advice! Folks are out there building entire coops from pallets as well, so when thinking of coop building, think about pallets for that too. Pallets are incredibly tough and can hold up for years if treated right.

 

[Beekissed]

Here's some pics of pallet coops and runs....

 

[BantyChooks]

Pallet runs is a great idea!!


Beekissed, I have a question. In the pic of your coop, there does not seem to be seperate area for the birds to sleep, if they sleep on the roosts pictured.... I thought the wire used to build it (the hoop coop) did not seem to be able keep out preds. Am I seeing wrong?

 

[Beekissed]

Pallet runs is a great idea!!

Beekissed, I have a question. In the pic of your coop, there does not seem to be seperate area for the birds to sleep, if they sleep on the roosts pictured.... I thought the wire used to build it (the hoop coop) did not seem to be able keep out preds. Am I seeing wrong?

Nope, you are not.

I have two dogs guarding the area around the coop day and night, so I don't have to have a predator proof coop at all, nor do I need a run as I free range all year round. I also never close my pop doors unless I want to keep the birds indoors for some reason, which is pretty rare.

It's a very easy breezy way to keep chickens and I love it!

 

[BantyChooks]

Nope, you are not.

I have two dogs guarding the area around the coop day and night, so I don't have to have a predator proof coop at all, nor do I need a run as I free range all year round. I also never close my pop doors unless I want to keep the birds indoors for some reason, which is pretty rare.

It's a very easy breezy way to keep chickens and I love it!

"Easy breezy"

Nice!!

 

[Nardo]

My coop is made of pallets and huge shipping crates. A lot of businesses will let these go just to have them out of the way. But it takes longer to build...but it is very inexpensive..shrug.

 

[SHERRING7712]

My coop is made of pallets and huge shipping crates. A lot of businesses will let these go just to have them out of the way. But it takes longer to build...but it is very inexpensive..shrug.

Do you have a picture by chance? I'm always looking for design ideas. I work in a business where we get 4-6 pallets a day so I have access to all of them I can haul!

 

[Beekissed]

When scrapping a coop together out of such things, it always takes longer to build and one has to get innovative on fitting the pieces together, as they are often different sizes and quality.

But...hugely worth it when it comes to expense.

Some folks want a pretty as a picture pen, so they wouldn't even consider pallets or scrap wood, but chickens don't notice a bit of difference. Those folks like to talk about how much their first eggs cost them while posting pics of their $1500 coop on FB, but I wouldn't trade them for a minute...I can brag about how much my first egg didn't cost me.

 

[ShrekDawg]

There's always T posts....are they more or less expensive than the wood you plan to use? You can always watch local ads and CL for folks getting rid of chainlink fencing real cheap and also places that are throwing out scrap lumber. The best way to keep expenses low with chickens is to scavenge for scrap materials for housing and fencing if you can.

I'm not really sure how expensive the T Posts are because I hadn't thought to look into it but the wood I planned to use was just regular 2x4's, maybe bigger wood on the base, so I would assume T Posts might be cheaper but not sure. I'll have to watch out for chainlink and wood scraps, I forgot to look there.

Pallets can be a great way to get lumber if you don't need too long of sections. I saw a pic of a greenhouse (could have been a great hoop coop where they used pallets for the sides and pvc to form the arcs...I have access to tons of pallets so I am considering something along those lines as well.

Great advice! Folks are out there building entire coops from pallets as well, so when thinking of coop building, think about pallets for that too. Pallets are incredibly tough and can hold up for years if treated right.

Here's some pics of pallet coops and runs....

Pallet runs is a great idea!! Beekissed, I have a question. In the pic of your coop, there does not seem to be seperate area for the birds to sleep, if they sleep on the roosts pictured.... I thought the wire used to build it (the hoop coop) did not seem to be able keep out preds. Am I seeing wrong?

My coop is made of pallets and huge shipping crates. A lot of businesses will let these go just to have them out of the way. But it takes longer to build...but it is very inexpensive..shrug.

Do you have a picture by chance? I'm always looking for design ideas. I work in a business where we get 4-6 pallets a day so I have access to all of them I can haul!

I actually considered pallets when we were first building the coop, and we even collected a few, but for some reason we opted for this and I can't remember why. But I hadn't realized they could look so nice and hadn't even thought of using it for the run!!