Pallet Chicken Coop Build | It's basically blast-proof!
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- Опубліковано 2 чер 2020
- Building our chicken coop out of pallets saved us big $$$! Alex custom designed and built our DIY chicken coop out of free shipping pallets! This thing is STURDY, weighing over 1,000 lbs.
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It was a little extra work to haul and process the recycled material, but it was all completely free to us. In fact, many businesses have to PAY to get rid of excess pallets. If you want tons of free lumber, just make a couple phone calls!
Pre-built coops of a similar size are $1000 and up - and definitely not built as durable, ergonomic, or well thought out. Check out the sequel to this video, where we relocate it to our yard, and build the surrounding chicken run: • Chicken Run Build | RE...
Virtually everything for the coop was recycled material or leftover from a past project, but here is what we (unfortunately) DID have to buy for this project:
Twelve 2x4x8s:$40
Four 2x6x10s:$38
Door hinges:$28
Metal roofing:$95
Roofing screws: $12
Pneumatic staple gun:$40
1/2" staples:$4
Three 2'x5' rolls of wire mesh: $25
Window hinges:$8
Total Build Cost:$290
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ABOUT US: We are Alex and Elaina, a couple in our 20s who are currently living on the 3-acre farm in southern Pennsylvania where Alex grew up. We have a garden, backyard chickens, and build or fix anything that we need to. We still work corporate day jobs, but are working to eventually leave the 9-5 lifestyle in favor of a self-built, debt-free, homestead on 6 acres nearby.
We upload a UA-cam video every Saturday night at 7️⃣pm EST, and post daily on Instagram.
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Instagram: / masondixonacres
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Take a skill saw turn the blade around backwards and it will cut metal roofing.
So my wife said to me last week that she is going to make a chicken coop from pallets and i looked at her like she was crazy....this is absolutely genius and i most certainly shared this video with her! Great Job!!
That's awesome! We've been really happy with this coop design. There's not much we would change about it! Our favorite features are the height (we can fit a wheelbarrow beneath it), the two doors that open, & the linoleum flooring.
Thank you for this! I purchased some coop plans and after pricing the materials it was $800! I got a bunch of free pallets from a neighbor and I'm going to make this.
You should definitely put the linoleum 6-12 inches up the sides as well for easier cleaning, seal with exterior caulking.
Good idea!
Like said above turn up walls, but then run along walls over lapping the bottom turn ups and then you can pressure wash the floor and walls with ease.
three tips: use a grinder with a cutting disk to cut through your corrugated metal & I've got free PLASTIC pallets that I think would make a great floor (solid base and easy to sweep out) & for the roosts I would have put them in the corner so that each end of the roost board would be fastened to a wall.
The mother load of free wood! Coop turned out awesome.
Can't beat free materials! Thank you!
Grinder with a cut off wheel. Worked great for my garden boxes! Use a file to clean up and cold gal spray paint!
The airgap between the pallet sides would insulate it pretty well too, I think. Great coop, I will probably try something similar myself.
We do think the airgap helps a little, however we have seen some mouse droppings in there so also consider it a good spot for mice to find.
Very cool. This is going my my to-d0 list for this early spring. My wife and I are a generation older but just starting the same lifestyle. Keep up the good work!!!
Great! It shouldn’t be too hard finding some pallets. Such an exciting time. We love connecting with fellow homesteaders! You might find our raising chicks videos to be helpful too!
Love your design. We did a smaller modified version. For our coop we selected a taller pallet for one of the side walls and then did a single shed roof from left to right. We didn't have access to free plywood so I bought 4X8 siding for the exterior. We designed our roof to be 8' long so that we didn't need to do any cuts and bought 2 8' long sheets. Instead of cutting the roofing we're just overlapping the material. We're in WI so we put insulation in the walls before attaching the interior walls. Our last coop was cheap and flimsy and cost us about $300 and was half the size of our new coop which we built for less and will last for years and years. I'm surprised at how sturdy it is! Thanks for the inspiration.
Awesome!! We got an email from someone who used this design as well, making it fit their needs. That's the fun of building chicken coops. Glad you got some inspiration from this 🙂
Hello from the UK! I’m going to be attempting about half of this design. Thank you for the ideas!
Awesome! Good luck with it, reach out if you need any advice!
this is actually the nicest pallet coop i've seen so far. hope it has last over the year.
Yep about 2 years in and still looks the same as new!
Love it! My coop is 99% recycled! Just the latch on the door was new. Love to recycle and repurpose lumber!
Awesome! Absolutely, especially when a 2x4 is like $102938 these days!
@@MasonDixonAcres so true! Mine is about 18 years old, but today it would be 3-4G to build! I like that you have raised it! Gives shade and eventually dry dirt for them to dust bath!
You can fix those routing lines and numbering on the summer vent panels with some wood putty.
This is amazing , nice job Alex
Appreciate the compliment! Plenty of work but it’s always worth it.
I used old rubber floor tiles in the nest box, with pine shavings on top. It is easy to lift the carpet and dump any dirty nesting materials. I live in Fl. And I use construction sand over linoleum and it is a five minute cleanup. I love your design. Great job.
Thanks for the tips!! We will be experimenting with similar nesting pads made from hemp this spring. Never heard of sand in the coop but it seems like that would work just fine!
This looks like a great coop! Well thought!
Love it. Gives me hope attempting to build my own coop.
Give it a shot!!
Loving the color scheme. Nice job on the whole build!
Thank you! Figured it made sense to match the rest of the farm buildings. The dark green on white is timeless 👌🏻
Great build video, I'm pinching some ideas for my build. I also like your treatment of the European Starlings as they are a Pest species in Australia also. Loved the video
Best of luck on your build! Send a pic when it's done, a few others have built really cool spin offs of this coop design so we like to see what you come up with 🙂
Nice Job Guys - Coop and Video. Thx for sharing!!
We appreciate it! The chickies are also liking it 👌🏼 very thankful for the free wood from JLS!
Hey I recognize that place with the free wood! 😃 Great job guys, this looks amazing!
Haha thank you! It was great to get some use out of material that was otherwise just taking up space. The chickens love it so far 🐓
I am beginning this coop with all recycled material as well! Thanks for the example!
Wonderful! Hope it goes well! Glad the video was helpful 🙂
Put it up on stilts with a very narrow ladder to keep the predators away. A skinny ladder, with very skinny cross steps. We had one in the 70s. Worked great. No predators killed our chickens except once, the neighbor's German Shepherd killed one, while they were foraging. He had jumped the fence. My kids hit him with a BB gun, and he never hurt any of our chickens again. It only had 3 sides, and faced south, and had a drawer to pull out to clean out the poop. Wish I could find someone to build me another one.
Interesting concept! Might have to use that on coop v2.0 for our new place with lots of predators.
Absolutely amazing! I’m so impressed and inspired.
Thank you so much!
Finally a useful pallet video! Good work sir.
Thank you!
Loved watching this build. Have looked at buying a nice coop but boy are they pricey! Know you’re proud and certainly should be! Great job! Love it! And I bout died when you made the comment about the starling (sp?) and then she says “ we saved a life!” 😆 Y’all are diamonds in the rough! 👏👏
Haha thank you!! I know, premade coops are outrageously expensive. Gosh those starlings are such invasive pests, next one is getting the boot! Cheers 😄
"Egging" you guys on! Nice work Alex. Liking your work, very creative.
Really appreciate it! It will be about 6 months before any eggs, but the girls are great pets in the mean time 😄
This was a great diy build! Best I've seen so far when you want a nice large size coop but you don't want to pay alot for it! We have access to pallet wood and the plywood that you used. Hopefully I have enough skill to replicate yours or something close. Thanks for sharing 😊
We absolutely love it! We’ve had it 2.5 years now and the height is perfect for cleaning! We saved a ton of money using the pallets. Hope it works out for you!
Great project! Great video! Thank you for sharing. I’m starting mine today!
Have fun! You got this!
For cutting metal roofing materials, quite often I use a skill saw with a saws all blade. You can stack multiple sheets and cut a few at a time.
Nice work...!!!
Thanks for the tip!!
what a clever young fella.......just found your channel so looking forward to binge watching your other videos. great work.
Thanks a lot!
-Alex
This is amazing! I love it!! Great job 😊
Thanks a lot!! Glad people are still getting some use out of this project!
wow what a super great looking coop So heavy!!! Great area you have to work on it as well !!
Thanks a ton! It is very heavy.. wait till you see us trying to move it. The barn is indeed an excellent work space, very spacious and out of the weather!
Free boards are nice. They are such high quality too.
Yes, they really are! We lucked out!
Nice job!. Many good tips for construction of coop. Keep up the good work.
It was fun to build as I went and figure things out in process. Appreciate the compliment!
34:55 "We are gonna have some smooth glidin poop!" lol.... You did a very noice job and kudos to both of you for putting in the effort and perhaps most importantly enstilling the value of having chickens and being as self suficcient as possible.
As far as cutting tin lengthways goes never by far are the tool of choice however you can cut it lengthways with bailing wire, a skill saw, for both the ways that you have already tried.
Nice Job,well explained. Thank you 😊
You're welcome 😊
Thanks for watching! Elaina shares more details about the design and measurements we used for our chicken coop in this video: ua-cam.com/video/VYqOS1uJxmE/v-deo.html
I want a chicken palace now I can since this brilliant idea
, pallets will make this inexpensive for all the editions plus I can haul this around and have a rolling chicken run and reseed the grass after they till the ground. maybe even have the coop as a rolling coop.
You and your mom make a good team. Keep it up.
We're actually a couple! Hahah she's a little older than me but not that old!!
There’s no way you thought she was his mom! 😂😂😂😂😂
Very nice build. I first thought that you were going to keep bears in this pen, hence the very sturdy legs 😀, but I think you have been very clever and built a very nice coop. There is just one suggestion that I like to make, and that is insulation of the whole thing, good insulation in the ceiling and floor makes a good and cosy place for the birds, and also in the walls is a good idea. Insulation, as you know, does keep it warm in winter and cool in summer. Just wanted to mention this since you've put so much work into this coop.
Thanks for the nice comment! The only thing I’d be worried about with insulation is buildup of moisture that would lead to mold, since there’s now HVAC to remove humidity. Chickens are actually quite good with cold weather as long as they’re out of the wind.
@@MasonDixonAcres ad moisture buil up, good ventilation is always a important thing, but you know that for sure 😊. My chickens thrives a tad better in my insulated coop than the one uninsulated. I keep some (bantam Orpingtons) in the uninsulated, and the Japanese bantams indoors. But here in my parts of Norway we get quite lots of snow and cold.
hello from texas just came across your channel and ill have to say you out did yourself with this coop first video ive watched keep up the good work!
Well thank you very much! Appreciate you stopping by!
-Alex
Nice job!
Thank you! Cheers!
Quality content. You deserve more views and likes.
Thank you so much! We appreciate the kind words. We recently purchased a new camera and are working on improving our videography skills!
I did top hinged windows with hardware cloth on the inside and I hate them. The next time I have to build a coop, I'm going to build it so that the windows are under a long roof overhang and then hinging at the bottom to just pop them open easy peasy. We have a piece of wood that we hold each one up with currently and in coastal NC, we can get some strong winds, and obviously hurricanes and those pieces of wood get knocked down all the time and then the hinged wood piece slams down. I'm sure it scares the bejeebers out of my girls and their boyfriend. LOL!
However, I think I'll be taking some notes out of your book and go get pallets to do my next one. Especially as expensive as wood has gotten since the pandemic.
Hmm we haven't had any issues with ours falling. I'd recommend the twist style locks instead of a prop, they won't move in the wind. But bottom hinges would certainly work too, if you don't have anything underneath that will get in the way. Defintely use pallet wood! This coop would be about $10k in materials with today's prices :)
So the pecking order you mentioned...Is it Wife, George...You? lol Great build, Thanks
You got it 😉
This is what I'd love to have! I can't believe the work you put into this awesome coop!!
This would hold up to a grizzly!
Haha thanks a ton, fingers crossed we don't run into any grizzlies here in southern PA! It was a fun project, and hopefully should last a lifetime!
-Alex
It's great until you have to move it.
Just need a skid steer!
@@MasonDixonAcres I made a 4 foot by 8 foot chicken tractor out of pallet wood. Now, I stripped my pallets down to use the rails for the frame and the slats for the siding too, and that damned thing is a pain in the butt to move by myself. I learned right there that while the price was right on pallet wood, I need to constantly think about how to use as little as possible of it to get the job done if I ever want to move it.
Thanks for a great example as we live in a windy area.
Glad it was helpful!
We've been given the green light on having chickens!... but coops are so expensive. If you have the time, building one is much better. You can make it any way you want it. I'm just going to save my pennies and buy the first coop, though. Thanks for sharing your build. There are so many elements that I didn't realize were vital to a coop.
Yay! That is so exciting! Coops can definitely be expensive, even when building them yourself. There is a lot of material required. Glad you enjoyed the video. Thanks for watching. Excited that you are able to have chickens!
Im starting this project now. I have access to all the pallets I need. Pretty sure by the time I am done...i might have $100 into this. Thats only because I want to trim the coop out and make it more secure and safe for the chicken. Exactly video..👍 hope to post a finished video. Thanks guys appreciate you! 🙏🙏😎
Awesome, have fun with it!!
Awesome build thanks 👍 by the way angle grinder works pretty good cutting roof iron
Thanks! Appreciate the tip!
Very good ❤❤❤
Try a. Used circular saw blade put on backwatds !!!--! Use protection !!!!! Ie , gloves,glasses, ect ...
i cant believe the work you done i am doing one my self
Thanks! Yes definitely a bit of a project but a fun one!
I see so many raised coop builds without leg braces, and it gives me so much anxiety! Yours will be sturdy enough to survive a decent storm. Or a gaggle of kids using it as a bouncey castle
It is a great design and you do very good carpentry work. I can’t believe that you found all of that good wood for free. I can find pallets but I have never found quality crates like that. I would love to know what type of place you found them. Really good job. I need a new coop before winter. Some friends and built a really nice big expensive coop. We had about an hour’s work left, but decided to call it a night because a storm was coming. I live in Kentucky. That was the night of the killer tornadoes. Wind dropped a giant oak tree on top of my brand new coop. Smashed it to smithereens! I cried.
As much as I like your new coop, I am confused about one thing. Why do you want to close off the ventilation in the Winter. Even in Vermont Winters they keep the top vents open. As long as your Chickens stay dry, they will tolerate freezing temperatures. Besides predators, the 2 killers of Chickens in Winter are moisture and poor ventilation.
Try looking at winter weather maps to see which direction the storms come from, then face the vents in the opposite direction. That way the rain and snow can’t blow into the coop, but they still have plenty of ventilation.
Hope that suggestion helps. You have blessed Chickens.
Thanks for the kind words! I got the crates at a manufacturer of automated packaging equipment, they make robotic arms / conveyor belts for moving all kinds of stuff around. It's high dollar stuff so it gets transported in nice crates. Shame to hear about your coop, that is a real bummer. Those tornadoes were awful. We do have all the eave vents open year-round. It is just the window right in front of their roost we close when it gets very cold / windy in winter to keep them from getting frostbite on their feet.
Awesome. Ill be starting with chickens in a month in central pa. Think winter start aquaponics inside.... Then outdoor garden next spring.
See where life leads from there.
Pretty sure I'm the only one in my area heating with wood n next year that will be my primary
Good stuff! Funnel a little of that wood stove heat into a greenhouse and you could probably still grow some cool weather crops outside.
To cut metal: use a skill saw, turn the blade backwards and cut away.
11:00 Kreg screws should always be paired (not single).
You have carpentry skills. Your 'free lumber' yard is great! How many chickens are you shooting for. Each bird needs 1 foot of roosting space. Looks like you have room to squeeze in one more.
Thank you! Yes, the lumber was great. We are thankful for it! We currently have 6 in the coop but built it so it could fit 10-12 total. We did actually end up adding one more roosting bar because we have since adopted two senior hens from our neighbor and they were having trouble getting up on the higher roosts 🙂
Turn the 2x4 roost 90 degrees so the birds can grip the narrow side of the board.
I read they are flat-footed so you actually want to give them a place to stand
@@MasonDixonAcres in nature, chickens roost in trees.
To cut the metal, turn your saw blade backwards on the skill saw.
Thanks!!
I cut all my tin with grinder & a cut wheel. Depending on thickness of the tin, you can cut multiples at 1 time, you get cleaner cuts. I cut a 10' by 12' roof tin all at once.
Awesome! Thanks for the tip!!
Why have I never thought to use cardboard as a test cut piece. Thanks for the idea!
😂 It's funny how you can pick up on small tips like this watching UA-cam videos. Glad to help!
I've used a circular saw for cutting metal roofing, then just take a file if there are rough edges.
Thanks!
You need to put a double latch on your door for the nesting box a raccoon can un latch and lift up that plywood top.
So far so good! They probably would lift the sliding door before they could get in the nesting box
Awesome Build!!! It is amazing to me that people would throw away this much perfectly good building wood. However, you are smart to gather this and to build the most Heavy-Duty Chicken coup I've ever seen! Really great skills!!! I really enjoyed this build, thanks for sharing!
Thank you very much! It was a fun project, and the coop should last quite a while.
-Alex
@@MasonDixonAcres Your Coop is Tornado-Proof!!!! I wish I had one like it!!
overkill blast-proof for sure!!!
We had to get a skid steer to move it!
Use a disc grinder works great to cut metal roof
Nice lifting form at 4:50 🤙🏼
You will probably want to put screen wire over any openings that you have currently or coming next summer.
To cut sheet metal, my husband turns his circular saw blade backwards, and uses it. He keeps one just for that.
Thanks for the tip!
Nice sturdy build. I especially enjoyed this video as my channels' theme is repair, recycle, repurpose.
Stay well, Joe Z
Much appreciated!
-Alex
@@MasonDixonAcres My pleasure.
Where do you find locations to get this amount of wood?
I just actually got a idea... IBC tote chicken coop.. If you know how you can plastic weld several totes together... Now i gotta go see if anyone has done this yet..
Definitely a grinder for the sheet metal.
It looks amazing!! How many chickens can live it it?
Thank you! You could probably have a max of 12 birds in this coop.
a normal saw but with your wood blade fliped over or with a metal blade to cut i have the best with that methad
On the roof, the simple solution is to cut it to length and overlap the sheet to fit. You will have a double layer for a bit.
True!
What type of wood is used for shed walls?
Grinder with matabo blade for the roofing
Thanks!!
Another Walsh design! Looks great. Will u be adding wheels?
Don't think so at this point, we built the run sort of semi-permenantly around the coop where we put it in the yard. Working on the video for the run now, we have a couple pictures on our Instagram of it @masondixonacres if you want to check it out. Probably would need to put trailer axles under it with how heavy the thing is!
You know those hinge blocks on the ends of the doors where you have your hinges screwed into will not last if they get wet.
Great job! Very inspiring. What are the dimensions L x W x H of your pallets?
35:37 Finger point put the fear of god in me, amazing video!
Hahah better watch out 👉🏼⚡️ thanks sir!
nice job beautiful coop from scrap, so tell me when the crane coming to move it.
Haha watch the chicken run video 😂
Great job! That’s not coming down anytime soon.
Hah tell us about it!
George has his own opinions on the paint, and you two will just have to agree to disagree.
You did good work. The coop is really nice. However, we had pullets with spradle foot; which can develop from slippery areas. Blessings.
Thanks! Never heard of that issue, maybe related to "bumblefoot" from jumping from high distances? We use the deep bedding method and have a couple inches of pine shavings on their floor, the linoleum just helps with cleaning it out easier.
Hi. Not sure of bumblefoot. But, when we received our pullets, one leg was dragging. I think most cases can be corrected by banding legs together overnight. Glad you have good surface covering!
Interesting, will have to keep an eye out for that in the future! Thanks for the input!
If u leave the rafters open like that won’t mice or anything small get in?
We have noticed some mouse droppings in the open spaces of the pallets, but nothing crazy. It's sort of to be expected in an outdoor chicken coop after a couple years
if you put your skilsaw blade on backwards it will cut that tin roofing nice
thanks!
Any suggestions for sourcing the larger 1/2 Crate Plywood? I have a friend that's got around 20 pallets or so they've said I'm welcome too have. There's also a couple sheets of particle board, but I'm thinking it's too far gone to be useful.
Thank you for the inspiration.
Look for manufacturers that would receive large crated shipments but not necessarily send them back out in those crates. Ours came from a robotic assembly line company. Construction, defense, and tons of other industries are also applicable
@@MasonDixonAcres Thanks for the tip!
To heavy for me but got some good ideas- TY!
No problem!
And subscribed
Your chickadee's have a doggone PALACE! What a coop!
Haha we think so too! Spoiled girls 😄
I love this. How can I find these materials?
Check FB marketplace or reach out to a local manufacturing facility to see if they have excess pallets.
Nice job!! When can I move in???
The girls would love to have some company 🙂
This coop is AWESOME. TYVM for sharing