Pallets are amazing as a raw material for DIY projects because they’re incredibly versatile and you can often get them for free! Just ask any retailer, grocery store, or construction company – they’re always eager to get rid of them. You can use pallets intact or you can dismantle them for salvaged planks, so let’s explore some DIY pallet chicken coop plans.
1. DIY Pallet Chicken Coop – Austin Garden
This pallet chicken coop uses the basic A-Frame concept but jazzes it up with cute aesthetic touches. The apex of the pitch has a flat corrugated plastic sheet that keeps the sides of the coop dry. It’s angled for rain collection, and you can rig its gutters into a DIY PVC chicken waterer.
The hollow pallet pieces have chicken mesh running between them. You can also use spare planks from dismantled pallets to fill these gaps. You can paint the pallets one color and the filler planks another color. In this case, the vibrant red and blue planks contrast beautifully.
2. Pallet Chicken Coop Construction – Healthy Homesteading
When it comes to DIY pallet chicken coop plans, people have different approaches. Some people prefer a detailed guide with written instructions, photos, and a list of tools. They even want the shop where you bought your supplies. Others prefer to follow the idea and wing it.
If you fall in the secondary category, this clip has all you need. The walls are all unbroken pallets sealed with chicken wire. The roof is corrugated plastic pitched at an angle. Only the floor is solid, and you can make it by adding MDF or plywood to flatten the gapped pallets.
3. Upcycled Pallet Chicken Coop – Wilson’s World
This project is described in two extensive parts (complete with pictures). So if you love a step-by-step tutorial, this one hits the spot. The result is remarkably high-end for a coop built with cheap-to-free pallets. Start with a raised plywood platform that deters predators.
Next, stack pallets vertically to form the four walls. You can dismantle damaged or cracked pallets and use the wood as gap fillers. Doors from salvaged glass-front cabinets are perfect for windows to let in natural light. Add a ramp, a tin roof, nesting boxes, and cheerful paint.
4. Building a Chicken Coop Out of Pallets – Nooe Lawn Care
Earlier, we showed you a video quickie demo for the DIY mavericks among you. But if you’re more into the guided structure, check this out. It’s filmed in two parts and there’s even some ASMR in there. This first section covers the basics but the second section is much longer.
To give you an idea of what Part 2 entails, they used loose pallets from the ones they had broken apart to complete the shiplap siding and seal the wall gaps. Then they built some barn doors that they added to the coop. Overkill? Yes. Quirky, fun, and stylish? Also yes.
5. Pallet Chicken Coop – Instructables
Pallets are a pocket-friendly solution when you’re building a DIY chicken coop. But they don’t have to look cheap. They don’t even have to look like pallets! This idea uses pallets to create the framework studs then clads them in cedar shakes for a magically upscale effect.
The outside of the coop is pallets coated with tar paper and wrapped in chicken mesh. Inside, use Styrofoam and bags of hay to fill the gaps between the slats. They provide insulation as well. Use weatherproof plywood and cedar shakes for the roof, matching the wall cladding.
6. How to Build a Pallet Chicken House – Hidden Hill Homestead
When you’re building an outdoor chicken coop, you can protect your birds in four ways. One, mount it on raised feet. Two, dig a concrete trench around the perimeter. Three, lay concrete flooring beneath your bedding material. Or four, bury metal meshes under the coop flooring.
All these techniques prevent predators from digging underneath the henhouse to gain access to your birds. And if they somehow crawl into the coop, they can’t climb its feet or jump into the coop. This DIY pallet chicken coop plan picked elevated legs as its pest control solution.
7. Western Style Chicken Coop – Amos Farmstead
For this DIY pallet chicken coop plan, you need flat planks of wood, so you’ll start by breaking the pallets apart. A crowbar is the easiest tool for this task. Be careful not to hurt yourself on the nails. You can pluck them out or hammer the sharp tips back into the wood.
Pile the loose planks to make the walls of your coop, stacking them tightly so they don’t have any gaps. Alternate vertical and horizontal planks for the various sections. Style the feeders as a general store, the watering area as a saloon, and the sick bay quarantine room as a jail.
8. Chicken Coop Run From Pallets
If you live in a hot climate, you can get away with a chicken mesh henhouse. The birds will be happier since the free-flowing air will keep them cool. And you’ll save on your construction materials since you only need a few planks of wood for the frame. Pallets are perfect for this.
In many places, you can get them for free or buy them cheap. This chicken coop uses broken-up pallets for the square frames, roof, and crossbars. When the weather gets wet or chilly, you can temporarily drape the chicken run with waterproof tarps, canvas, or plastic sheets.
9. Chicken Coop Made With 4 x 8 Pallets – Backyard Chickens
In some states and counties, you must keep your chickens enclosed. So if you want free-range birds, you have to get creative. One option is to build a smaller coop for sleeping and laying then install a chain link fence around it so your birds can still enjoy their outdoor foraging.
The fence is helpful because it’s well-ventilated and can stop most predators. Plus, you can plant grass and herbs inside the fence to encourage bugs. This DIY chicken coop pallet plan uses disassembled pallets so the planks have a snug fit without gaps that may let in cold air.
10. Pallet and Reclaimed Materials Coop Build – Sketchy Chicken Farm
The original purpose of pallets is to protect cargo during shipping. So sometimes, they’re sturdily crafted for railroad use and premium truck routes. Other times, they’re cobbled together in a rush using wood scraps. This affects how easily you can dismantle the pallets.
Before you start on a pallet coop project, inspect the pallets to see if they’re easier to use as they are or whether you’ll have to take them apart. Then test one pallet to check how quickly you can disassemble it. Based on this, choose a design that uses intact or separated pallets.
11. How to Build a (Practically) Free Chicken Coop in 8 Easy Steps
This is one of the simplest DIY pallet chicken coop plans we’ve seen so far. It has a dirt floor surrounded by three pallet walls enclosed in chicken wire. The fourth wall is the entrance so it has a hollow door frame in the middle and diagonal braces to hold up the chicken wire.
The roof is corrugated metal and the coop is quite airy so it works well in hot places. But if you’re worried about the cold, you can run some tarp outside the chicken mesh and/or stuff insulation between the pallets themselves. Then pad the floor with concrete or river rock.
12. Chicken Coop Construction With Wooden Pallet – Brico Nature
If you can source free wood pallets, your DIY chicken coop won’t cost you a penny. Check online listings – people are always giving them away because they have so many and just want to get rid of them. Also, check nearby businesses that routinely receive shipped orders.
These include warehouses, grocery stores, furniture depots, and contractors. Flat pallets are better, but harder to source. So you can just grab regular gapped pallets then seal the spaces with MDF, plywood, or loose planks from other pallets. This version is complex but worth it.
13. Chicken Coop from a Pile of Pallets – Shed and Beyond
Here’s a cute little coop you can make using 7-foot pallets. You’ll have to separate the planks with a crowbar and a claw hammer. The beauty of using pallets instead of reclaimed wood is the sizes are already identical and the sides and flat, smooth, and neat. Start with the frame.
The coop is raised with a crawlspace where birds can rest and a solid floor for the sleeping area. The foot stilts also keep out burrowing predators and are enclosed in chicken mesh. The bedding area is a square with a slanted roof. Next to it is an open chicken wire run area.
14. World’s Cheapest Chicken Coop – Flannel Farms
When you’re working with DIY pallet chicken coop plans, taking the pallets apart is the easy bit of your build. After that, you need some basic construction skills and a few power tools. But what if you’re not into drills, circular saws, and screw guns? Can you sneak past them?
This design idea shows you a cheeky workaround if you never learned how to wield those motorized gadgets. Just be careful if you get pre-painted pallets because those are often treated with insecticide. Check if they’re stamped MB for methyl bromide. It’s toxic to hens.
15. DIY Pallet Chicken Coop – Summers Acres
The downside of DIY pallet chicken coop plans is the space between the planks. They allow cold air and certain pests to access your chickens, including snakes and rodents. So if you want solid walls, you can use plywood or loose planks from other pallets to seal these gaps.
This extra-tall design stacks two rows of pallets vertically to enhance the headroom. The roof is pitched and clad with shingles so the rafters serve as additional roosting spots. The whole coop sits on cinder blocks to protect it from water runoff, mud, and any slithering predators.
16. Creating a Chicken Coop – Thomas Kafka
Healthy hens lay one egg every day, so rearing four to six in your backyard will ensure you have a fresh, regular supply. But chickens need a lot of attention. You can build larger DIY feeders and waterers (e.g. from PVC pipes) to reduce your feeding schedule to once a week.
Some can even hold enough food and water to last a month. But chicken litter gets smelly so you do need to clean it fairly often. Building a pallet chicken coop with a swinging door can give you better access for your bird hygiene. It also helps with ventilation if you leave it open.
17. How to Build a Chicken Coop from Pallets
Your chickens probably don’t care how their housing looks, but your HOA might! And if you have an eye for aesthetics, it’ll matter to you as well. So try this luxe DIY pallet chicken coop plan. The trick is to use flat pallets. If they come gapped, nail plywood panels on both sides.
You could also use MDF to make solid sections. Raise the coop on hollow stilts enclosed in hardware cloth. Stack two pallets vertically so the coop is really tall. Install glass windows and paint the henhouse barn red with white accents. Use dark cedar shingles for the roof.
18. Pallet Chicken Coop – Desert Coop Design
It’s important to consider your weather conditions when you’re building a DIY pallet chicken coop. If it’s balmy, you want open sides made of chicken wire or hardware cloth. The coop should have minimal solid sections. But if it’s often wet or snowy, you need insulated walls.
For places with a bit of both, a temporary cover is ideal, so use removable options like plastic sheets, tar paper, tarp, or greenhouse covers that can be draped rather than nailing them permanently into place. Plan for the type of predators in your area e.g. skunks or foxes.
19. Sweetchicks Chicken Coop – Backyard Chickens
We’ve looked at chickens that have a customized barn, but check out this chicken log cabin. The builders call it the Chilton and it’s nicer than some human houses! It takes a lot of effort though, and you’ll have to separate a lot of pallets. The windows are a mix of glass and mesh.
They have planters on the external window ledges, both for beauty and for the birds to forage bugs and greens. The roof is corrugated metal and the large outdoor run has its top and sides all fenced in with chain link. There’s a small heated mesh enclosure on the inside for chicks.
Do you have any exciting DIY pallet chicken coop plans? Share them in the comments.
