Hi 3riverchick, I considered a recycled plastic coop, then quickly ended up w/ too many hens for the limited square footage. The plastic structure is now filled w/ nest boxes and I went to a larger wooden structure for nightime protection. I do not see why you could not use one tho. Just make sure you drill in way more high ventilation holes than you think you'l need. I believe a wood coop will absorb a little moisture from your hens breathing and poo, but the plastic will not. Trust me on this... your hens will not suffer in winter from cold any where near as much as they will suffer being locked in a humid, unventilated coop. Keep the roost out of a draft, but open up as much of the top area as you can and of course w/ a plastic structure you will not be able to use lights or heat lamps for fear of melt/ fire. That is not a bad thing, by the way, as your hens will grow their own down coats and adapt to the low temps. My flock survived all the polar vortexs last year w/ no heat. Making sure they have unfrozen water is more important. I used a heated water bucket out in the run, w/ extension cords back to my garage. Kept it outside to reduce moisture evap inside coop. For summer, try to add some hardware cloth covered windows or a screen door to your plastic palace so they don't swelter, and of course if you can arrange for the coop to be in tree shade during summer that would help cool it for night as well.
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