What have you repurposed while building ?

[Pensmaster]

We have a couple of them right here close; not quite that nice, though. If you can match that we'll see that you're featured in Mother Earth News and Better Homes & Gardens.

I think they are really cool. I might even do the Christmas lights.

 

[Flamens Farm]

I turned an old metal bunk bed into a brooder. My children used the bed, then my grandchildren used the bed and now my chicken babies use the bed! Used all material I had on hand except the boards for the roof. The lamp is hooked to a bungee cord so I can move it when needed. The floorboards were left with 1/8 gaps in the middle and on the right end for washing out with a water hose. It works great!

 

[microchick]

Everything! No I'm not kidding. Wood was left over from other building projects. A friend cleaning out his yard gave us metal siding that had been taken off a building. I have a smaller coop that was sided with weathered board taken off of a demolished shed.

Chain link fencing was also gifted from the same friend that gave us the corrugated metal siding. That fence is now part of my run.

I love to repurpose!

 

[DoeAndGander]

I’m in the process of building a guinea coop from nothing but repurposed material. I’ll take pics along the way. Also, I’m more than likely using an old washstand as my nesting boxes in hen house too. I’m a DIY repurposing junkie!! Love this thread

 

[GrannyHeeney]

Best thread ever! Just read all 17 pages and now my eyes are crossed.

Our landlord is a hoarder. You wouldn't believe the stuff he's brought home for the last 15 yrs from the various construction sites he's worked, including a few decayed cars out back behind the barn. Says we're welcome to anything we come across. There's a bunch of chicken wire he once used for "blueberry cages" (like the blueberries were going to escape LOL Sorry, I'm mad at him right now ). He also has a big roll of hog wire that I'm dying to use for something but I think it's just too wide to keep anything in, but one of the first photos seemed to have some used for fencing on one side. Hmmmm...

 

[DoeAndGander]

Best thread ever! Just read all 17 pages and now my eyes are crossed.

Our landlord is a hoarder. You wouldn't believe the stuff he's brought home for the last 15 yrs from the various construction sites he's worked, including a few decayed cars out back behind the barn. Says we're welcome to anything we come across. There's a bunch of chicken wire he once used for "blueberry cages" (like the blueberries were going to escape LOL Sorry, I'm mad at him right now ). He also has a big roll of hog wire that I'm dying to use for something but I think it's just too wide to keep anything in, but one of the first photos seemed to have some used for fencing on one side. Hmmmm...

I just read it all too! You could do a hoop coop with hog wire. The outer shell of car would make a neat coop too!! I almost bought a Model T cab at an auction to do just that

 

[CapricornFarm]

I just got a vintage bread box and taters and onion box from my grandmothers house but I love them too much in my kitchen. But awesome idea but surprisingly hard to come by

Goodwill or other thrift stores, yard sales.

 

[CapricornFarm]

Dear lord Banty! Where do you live? Alaska?

Canada, even better.

 

[Twoleggedmotherhen]

Steel roof on coop given to us by the owner of the steel building company (cut it to the length we needed & gave us the screws for installing) window frames with hardware cloth from a small coop, also used the ramp from the small coop. Temp run made with pvc pipe that surrounded the garden, two sides of the run are 4ft dog exercise pens with doors. New run is going to be built in the next month.

 

[PouleChick]

Great thread! We were in Ikea and they had their basic futons on sale for €9 each so we grabbed 4 of them - no way could we buy wood that cheap from any where else. We made what was going to be a tractor and then converted 1/2 way through to a non tractor coop totally using the futons (other than the frames), even the screws were used. There is storage at the top and the whole side opens for access. I will be adding hanging nest boxes off one end shortly:

Oh actually there are some boards as well for the roof!

We then got in a bit of a muddle when we had 3 broodies all at once so needed to do something quickly. We had been given a huge wooden box to use as a planter (dh thinks it may have originally been the box that tiles get delivered in) so we quickly converted that to a small coop to use fro one of the broodies - the other wood was stuff we had and the old tiles were found on our property too.

When we were waiting to build the bigger coop (still not our main one which we still need to find time to build - ill be big and walk in!) we had a time where we had the 2 new silkies and 3 pullets so we let the silkies have the small hutch we have and put the other 3 into the back of an old TV - we even found a grill off something that worked as a lockable door They happily lived in there for a few weeks until the coop was done! I still have it in the run (they use it for shelter) and one of the broodies stayed in there until her chicks were born (I did try to move her but she wasn't having it!) when I moved them to the box coop!