Use this DIY plan to build a pallet coop for next to nothing (hardware not included!).

ARTICLE by Frank Hyman

I’ll bet the biggest hurdle for folks who want to keep backyard chickens is the cost and hassle of building a coop. Fortunately, with very basic skills and very little money, anyone can put together a long-lasting, well-constructed, high-performance chicken coop by using free pallets.

I’ve seen articles about using pallets to build structures, but they often recommend the very hard work of taking all the pieces of the pallet apart with a crowbar for the raw wood. Don’t do that! Whole pallets are made to be sturdy, square and lightweight. Don’t sacrifice that by dismantling them.

In this coop design, whole pallets provide ready-made framing for the floor, walls and roof. A few more pallets, easily cut apart with a reciprocating saw provide free siding and roosting bars. A couple of people using these pallets, inexpensive materials, a few tools and low-skill techniques can build a coop in two or three leisurely afternoons.

Frugal coop builders will find an inexhaustible supply of free wood in the form of wooden pallets at local businesses: plumbing supply houses, HVAC installers, feed-supply stores and even garden centers, among others.

These photos, captions and sidebar, supplemented with tips from my book Hentopia: Create Hassle-Free Habitat for Happy Chickens; 21 Innovative Projects, show how just about anyone can build a coop from free pallets with just a drill, jigsaw and a reciprocating saw. So get started on your nearly-free poultry pallet palace! •

Frank Hyman is the Chicken Feed Café columnist for Chickens magazine and the author of Hentopia: Create Hassle-Free Habitat for Happy Chickens; 21 Innovative Projects.

Tools & Materials

How many pallets are needed for a backyard coop for 8 to 10 hens? Considering a common pallet is 5-by-40-by-44-inches, you’ll need about 14 pallets.

• 2 pallets for the floor.

• 5 pallets for walls (1 pallet cut in two)