Introduction: Pink Chicken Coop

About: My background is in architectural drafting, and I use these skills to design things I make out of wood. I also make tutorials on youtube about using AutoCAD software, and I also write software for use in Auto…

My wife decided she would like to get 2 chickens, so we needed a chicken coop. As we didn't have th money to buy one, we went around looking for pallets. We found all sorts of different sized ones, and I found a crate type pallet at the mechanics down the road they said we could have. That became the base once it was turned upside down. We also found scraps of wood in a dumpster from someones house renovations they said we could have. Also 2 of our neighbours gave us scrap wood they had too.

Unfortunately I can't find the photos at the moment I took of the stages of building the coop.
EDIT: Found photos now made a step by step.

As you can see though, my wife likes the colour pink.

The tools I used to make this were:
Hammer
Nails
Drop Saw
Drill
Jig Saw

Step 1: Build the Frame

The base of the chicken coop was something i already found made at the local mechanics, so I didn't have to build that.

The other parts were bits of old wood I found in the garage and from a skip and my neighbour who is renovating, and also from old pallets I found around the factory areas.

All the wood was joined with 2 screws at every joint. The bit at the side hanging off the main structure had a lot more screws used to join it to the main structure.

Step 2: Lining the Frame

All the external cladding was just bits of old pallets. You will want to use very long nails as they will need to go through the pallet lining, there will be a gap where the lining overlaps, and then the rest of the nail will need to be able to embed into the frame good enough to not come off. You could also use glue.

I built a main door that is large enough to open to be able to clean the coop, and a smaller door just for the chickens to go in and out. I put a latch on the smaller door to hold it open so the wind didn't blow it closed so the chickens could come and go as they wanted.

Step 3: Framing the Roof and Openings

In the next series of photos, I left enough room for an opening for fresh air and some light to the coop. I later put a mesh over the opening.

I framed the roof with rafter that I just nailed together with nail plates....similar to roof trusses but you can put these on with just a hammer.

I held the rafters to the top of the frame using those clips plumber use around pipes that are fixed to walls. I hammered the clips flat, then I hammered a 90 degree bend in the clip so i could screw one part to the top plate, and the other screw to the rafters.

You can also see some orange on the lower roof. As the wood was likely to have rain soak through or be blown up under the roofing, I lined under the roof with thick garbage back plastic bags for waterproofing.

Step 4: Finishing Off

I lined the rest of the roof with plastic bags. I also have some extra rafters in the middle of the main roof.

I lined the roof with pallet wood and some scrap wood my neighbour gave me.

I made some barge boards that I fixed to wood blocks I fixed to the rafters. I then cut out a finial which I screwed to the barge boards.

I used a jig saw to cut out the notched triangular looking decorative pieces to the side of the roof.

Step 5: Last Touches and Painting

I finished off the coop by making some doors for the nesting boxes. I put a sliding bolt on the doors to keep them closed. I then added a canopy on the side where the window is to protect from the rain.

I then painted it all my wifes favourite colour, pink...with some white for contrast.

The chicken cut outs on the door and the word 'HENS' above the door were cut out with a CNC router.

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