Chicken Coop Built From Old Pallets

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by Tim Fulton on February 4, 2013

What would you do if you had a bunch of old pallets laying around? The answers would differ from person to person. Some might make neat bookshelves out of them while others might burn them to keep warm, still others might use them to make a composting area. However, forum user Acuario decided he was going to build a chicken coop.

There are no plans available for the coop. Acuario just took a bit of time to think it out ahead of time and went to work. He even claims to be pretty bad with woodworking.

The tools he used to build the chicken coop are:

  • jigsaw
  • tape measure
  • hammer
  • electric screwdriver (drill with a bit)
  • set square
  • staple gun

This article isn’t really intended as a DIY article exactly. But, the design is relatively simple and should be able to be followed from the many pictures below.

chicken coop

Starting with a pile of pallets.

chicken coop

chicken coop

Build the sides up with posts at each corner to nail to.

chicken coop

chicken coop

Don’t forget to add an opening for the chickens!

chicken coop

A sheet of plastic was used to help keep rain out of the coop.

chicken coop

chicken coop

Easy access to the coop.

chicken coop

The chickens seem to like it. It is certainly better than what they can build on their own.

To see more details of the build you can check out Actuario’s forum thread on the chicken coop.

{ 3 comments }

1 marcus February 5, 2013 at 11:22 pm

Looks cute and cozy. You might want to but the plastic on the outside of the roof otherwise the water will collect behind the boards and rot very quickly. Also some ventilation like some holes in the bottom and along the top edge would be good so the hens get some fresh air.

Looks solid.

2 Ben Nelson July 1, 2013 at 8:39 am

We used pallets as dividers on a 825-gallon rainwater collection system.
http://ecoprojecteer.net/2013/07/rainwater-catchment-goes-big/

3 Acuario August 15, 2013 at 7:30 am

If I lived in a rainy country then the plastic would be better on the outside although as the chickens like sleeping on top then they might end up ripping it to shreds with their claws. The other problem would be the plastic degrading in the sun and disintegrating. In rainy countries a different sort of waterproofing would probably be advisable.

As I live in Spain and it rarely rains I doubt I’ll suffer too much from damp rot!

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