Any suggestions to build a chicken coop on a budget?

Linda Webb
by Linda Webb
I am in the country and must keep critters away from chicks. my yard is fenced but the crows will kill them and need to contain them. I am old and on SSD so limited income. Has anyone found household items to build a chicken coop. crates etc.
  14 answers
  • Tammy Terpstra Tammy Terpstra on Apr 11, 2016
    Pallets! Look around your town many places give them away. There are many sites on the web with pictures to help you decide which house/run you like.
  • Ellen Ellen on Apr 12, 2016
    Just make sure they're not the ones saturated with toxic chemicals. Can't find the post to help distinguish...sorry.
  • Moonalisa Crabass Moonalisa Crabass on Apr 12, 2016
    Also, you can check your local lumber and home improvement stores, for their cut lumber scraps. I recently scored enough 4 ft long 2x2's to make some drying racks for my garden...FREE!
  • Moonalisa Crabass Moonalisa Crabass on Apr 12, 2016
    One more idea...if there is any new home construction near you, ask the contractor for their wood scraps. Hope this helps!
  • AtaSnailsPace AtaSnailsPace on Apr 12, 2016
    2 sheets of ply wood, 2 8' long 2x4's 4 hinge door clamps, 8 ' of chicken wire, 1 bundle of hay, a water bottle and a hanging feeder. Cut ply wood in 4'x4' sections need 8. Cut 2x4 into 10 4' sections, cut door in back peice of plywood attach hinges. Build frame with 2x4's, attached sides (plywood) attach roof attach 2 hinges on roof so you can open half for cleaning. Run 4' of chicken wire into a square, cut enough to cover the top. Nail or staple chicken wire to sides of coop. Spread hay inside and out. Viola you have a chicken A chicken coop for approximately $40.
    • Ellen Ellen on Apr 12, 2016
      @AtaSnailsPace Have you made this kind of coop? I'd like to try it. How many chickens do you think would fit? I would need 4 sheets of plywood for 8 4X4 pieces though, right?
  • Mary Mary on Apr 12, 2016
    Does anyone in your family or in the neighborhood have an old trampoline they aren't using anymore? My sister used one as a framework for a "yard" for her chickens by using chicken wire around the outside and across the top, if need be. It was connected to a coop, but it kept the chickens safe day and night.
  • Debra Debra on Apr 12, 2016
    If you have an older a frame swing set you can wrap it in chicken wire and build nesting boxes on one end.
  • AtaSnailsPace AtaSnailsPace on Apr 12, 2016
    My husband made this coop. We had 4 chickens. Sorry yes 8 pieces.
  • Sharoll Kegin Sharoll Kegin on Apr 12, 2016
    Pallets
  • Anna Anna on Apr 13, 2016
    Go visit Justin Rhodes at abundantpermaculture.com. He will show you everything! He's the Chicken Ninja Master. I built his "chickshaw" (movable coop) out of odds and ends I had around. He has videos and free chicken lessons. Check him out.
  • Lavende Lavende on Apr 13, 2016
    I saw a fantastic one built out of an old tv cabinet! Let me see if I can find any pics from that day...
  • Dana Mason Dana Mason on Jan 01, 2018

    Here is a photo that I had downloaded a while back to build our duck hut by. It is pallets as others have referred to. You could also use a pallet for the floor and use old doors or windows from the local habitat store. And the roof can be covered with anything that would shed water (such as old tires cut into squares or rectangles, tin, etc)

    The hole on the top of the house does not need to be that large for chickens, as the chickens would simply use it as a perch. (Our Ducks don't perch).

    Another idea is an old baby crib turned upside down.

  • Sharon Sharon on Jan 01, 2018

    Pallets.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxKCS2JKEY0

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tF30DmAUYI

    Best design.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMsFhV1jhCE

    or logs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lUaJD-eRto we used smaller trees about 6" at butt end cause we saved the big ones for firewood

  • James Rossi James Rossi on Oct 16, 2019

    I have never before raised chickens, and I have never built anything in my life, but I needed a chicken coop and I didn’t have the funds for a store bought one. A quick Google search brought me to Building a Chicken Coop by Bill Keene.


    Bill promised to simplify the process of building a chicken coop from scratch and provide all the information I would need to successfully keep my own chickens.


    Most importantly Mr. Keene provides a 60 day money back guarantee, which made the purchase risk free. Either it was everything he promised or I got my money back.


    He also includes lots of bonus material, I was really excited about bonus number four, a pdf file titled: The Cheapest Materials to Build Your Coop Out Of.


    It all sounded ideal for my needs, and I ordered right away.


    It was just what I needed, and it sounds like you do too!


    Here's a link to his site. Good luck! It's not too hard once you know what to do :)