As chicken keepers, we all daydream of our ideal chicken setup. An acreage with plenty of space for the flock to free-range (and it is predator-free). A variety of chicken breeds so the egg basket will display a natural rainbow of colors. And for the comfort of the flock, a palatial chicken coop with ample room for roosts and nest boxes. Plus, it is well-ventilated with self-opening windows.
But reality hits and the daydream begins to shatter. I do not have my dream acreage nor large chicken coop, but instead, a medium-sized coop that fits easily in the urban backyard and keeps our hens warm in our harsh winters.. And to take reality one step further, money was (and still is) an issue. The coop was not ordered from an upscale website, nor selected from a glossy magazine. It is a modest structure that was built from mainly recycled, reclaimed, upcycled materials. My reality met my wallet: What I could afford was an upcycled chicken coop.
Factors that Affect an Upcycled Chicken Coop
- Money – this is the biggest issue for most chicken keepers. Dreams often outspend our reality.
- Space – this is very important for final coop and chicken run size. If you live on a postage stamp lot, a large, palatial coop may not fit.
- Usage – could the coop ever be reused for another purpose? A question to ask yourself is, “Is there a possibility that you won’t always keep chickens”? This question could eliminate many commercially produced coops as some models are not built high enough for a person to walk into if you have visions of someday turning the coop into a garden shed for example. Another possibility, would this coop withstand the rigors of other animals? Ask yourself, could this coop adequately house goats?
- Integrity of materials – some manufacturers use materials such as plastic for the outside panels of a coop. While that would be adequate for chickens, would it be able to keep out determined predators such as fox, coyote, or raccoons? Building your own coop, you can select materials that will hold up to predators much better.
- Availability – your dream coop may no longer be available or perhaps it is now on back order. How long are you willing to wait?
- Size of flock – ultimately, the size of your flock should determine the size of your coop. You can build (or add on to an existing coop) to adequately house your flock.
- Aesthetics – can you find a commercially constructed coop that fits your aesthetics? It is often easier to build or modify a structure to suite your own personal tastes.
Before you set to build a chicken coop from upcycled materials, investigate where you can acquire inexpensive building materials first. For our chicken coop, we made use of at least three of options listed below.
Where to get Upcycled Building Materials
- Thrift stores -It’s a great resource for non-traditional building materials. Think glass jars to be turned into light fixtures.
- Garage sales – often times, if a homeowner finishes a project and has leftover materials, those same items are usually very inexpensive or even sometimes free for the taking.
- Resource – eco-thrift stores that take in used building materials and in some cases, brand new materials that were surplus from a job site.
- FreeCycle – online site with community sites across the country. People offer up items for free so they are diverted from the landfill.
- Craigslist – online site with community sites across the country. While most items are not free, they are often much less than at a retail store.
- Habitat for Humanity – non-profit home improvement stores that sell inexpensive, gently used materials to the public.
- Friends/Family/Neighbors – always a good resource for some items. Often times, they will gladly give you the extra items leftover from a project.
- Landfill – your county landfill may have a ‘second chance’ store on the property where they divert gently used materials for sale to the public rather than burying them in the landfill itself.
Our Upcycled Chicken Coop
Money was the biggest issue when it came time for a backyard chicken coop. Given the size we wanted, a commercially produced coop would have cost upwards of $1000. However, our reality did not even let that be an option. Fortunately, seeking out free or inexpensive materials is fairly easy in our community.
The first step was checking out FreeCycle. As the name implies, items listed on the site are free. We were fortunate in finding a listing for an ‘animal shed’. We said we would take it sight unseen. When we arrived, it was a dilapidated wooden outbuilding that had housed sheep back in the 60’s. Granted, we made a couple of trips to the landfill as the roof was rotten as were many of the exterior boards. But with some hard work, we were left with enough board wood that we could upcycle into a completed chicken coop.
Next, the top layer of roofing for the coop came from some friend who had just shingled their house. As luck would have it, there were just enough extra shingles for us to finish off the top of the coop. (Our upcycled chicken coop is slowly becoming a reality).
With the exterior complete, we then visited a local eco-thrift store. We sorted through various materials and ultimately selected a shower rod which would become a roost, a shower door handle which would become the main coop door handle, laminate peel-n-stick flooring to cover the floor of the coop, carabiners for the door latches, and then some egg-n-dart trim for a nice finishing touch below the lid of exterior access to the nest boxes.
In the end, we spent about $100 dollars to construct a 6′ x 8′ chicken coop (with storage area), and an attached 8′ x 10′ chicken run. Most of the money went towards the hardware cloth for the chicken run and the 2″ x 4″s used to finish framing the coop as well as the entire run.
Free DIY Chicken Coop Plans
Building your own chicken coop is cost effective with these DIY chicken coop plans. Use cattle panels to build a permanent diy chicken coop. Use use a baby crib to build an inexpensive diy upcycled chicken coop. These free chicken coop blueprints are simple to follow and can be made in a relatively small amount of time with very little equipment. If you have access to logs, use them to build a sturdy diy chicken coop. Use pallets to upcycle an old shed into a diy chicken coop! Turn the top of your diy chicken coop into a rooftop garden with this tutorial. This is an incredibly easy and cheap way to make a diy chicken coop with repurposed items. Turn the kids' old swing set into an upcycled chicken coop in an afternoon. Noone will believe that your stylish diy chicken coop was made with pallets when you follow this tutorial. If you have access to vinyl siding it all the better, but it's not necessary. Who knew a trampoline could be used for more than just jumping - it can also be part of a diy chicken tractor! Wooden spools are great for so many outdoor projects, including making a diy chicken coop. Another diy chicken coop made from free wooden pallets - truly, the options are endless. Use the kids old playhouse to create a fun upcycled chicken coop for your hens. Let's not forget the baby chicks. They'll be cozy in this curio cabinet that's been upcycled in to a chick coop.DIY Chicken Coop Plans - Free
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These free chicken coop blueprints are simple to follow and can be made in a relatively small amount of time with very little equipment.
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estevan
Monday 4th of September 2017
would be nice to see pics of the finished coop.
Connie Meyer
Wednesday 6th of September 2017
While there is not an overall, single picture of the completed coop, the individual photos are indeed of the finished coop.