I built a chicken coop for free

JUNK CHICKEN COOP: There comes a time in every parenting life when you decide to buy an animal for your child. I was pushing for a goat but I was outvoted and we got chickens. Problem: no place to home them. Buggered if I was going to buy a chicken coop, or materials to build one, meaning I had another junk-made project on my hands. I had no bloody time to do it, but squeezed it in over two months (yep, i thought I’d get it done in a weekend…idiot!) This, my egg loving friends, is making a junk chicken coop from junk*.

*noting that many good chicken palaces are made from second hand stuff.

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Produced by
BEAU MILES
MITCH DRUMMOND

Edited by
MITCH DRUMMOND

Rough Cuts
LUCY CAWOOD

Final Sound Mix
JAMES DOBSON

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[dekekun]

Tip for you Beau if you want to avoid a traumatic fox attack - either take that rebar and attach it to the floor of the coop, or dig a trench about two feet down around the outside and fill it with chicken wire before backfilling. Foxes will dig under those sleepers otherwise and you'll have a really tough morning.

[ThePhliphip]

As a german backpacker I would totally live in your chicken coop for 40 bucks per night. It's like a cat cafe. But with a bed and chickens. Great stuff!

[hoplitnet]

the ulta-recycling subgenre of beau vids are always most comforting

[PtLeoJet]

As may a folk have mentioned, you need a fox plan Beau! They'll dig their way in to chicken dinner in no time!

[dereknalley]

Waking up on a cold morning, three layers on, cup of something hot, working on a scrap project; that's heaven right there.

[davidwarren]

Easier than digging down (about 2 feet minimum) for anti-fox chicken wire, instead just lay i out *horizontally* about 3-4 feet on the surface around the coop, and use a few tent pegs etc to fasten it to the ground. The foxes will try to dig, and won't be able to penetrate it. They'll try different spots, but they usually won't try going further away from the coop until they find the edge of the wire. They'll eventually assume the ground is impenetrable and give up trying...

[threalharrydubois]

great beau, now we NEED an update every 6 months or so on the chickens. CONTENT.

[andyd]

Awesome work Beau.

While on a motorbike trip earlier this year I actually rode past your place and saw the chicken coop, and at the time even said to myself, I bet he made a film about building that, and 6 months later, here it is.

Well done legend. 👍🏻

[flywithcaptainjoe]

Loving Helen‘s new hairstyle! She‘s clearly the one still going to the hairdressers 😉

[Glidus]

I adore all of your videos Beau, but this has to be the most gorgeous little thing you've put up here. Cheers mate

[Fongpaay]

7:03 "I love triangle's! They're interesting, aren't they? They're just interesting."
Beau is basically a play school presenter for grown ups.

[electriczap]

I had made a "junk" chicken coop with my parents, and it was up to me to design it, it consited of random fencing from the property, an old dog house for the main housing, and the roof was some old truckbed hard top (some sourt of camper thing that had windows) for the run. It worked pretty well after adding wire to make it hawlk proof, but that was just for the chicks, they moved them into a grain bin with a fenced/netted area for the run. I loved being able to use old stuff around the farm that I had seen laying around as I was grouning up to good use. Unfortuntaly, racoons had found their way in and had a bit of a feast before fixing the faults. Overall I really hope my future home/forever home will have some random junk the property that I can just throw together and make something usefull out of it as I did with my parents property.

[junnybear]

I love that you're not just thinking about giving your girls something to do but you're thinking about empowering them too

[mandyleeson]

Great coop. We’ve kept chooks for 18 years, pretty successfully until this year, when I decided to install an automatic door. Fox cased the joint. Saw the door opened and closed at the same time every day. Took most of them one day and came back next day for the rest, while I was still in mourning and didn’t have the presence of mind to turn the blooming’ thing off. Glad to see you’ve not made the same mistake.

[MapBot]

That screen door needs something tougher in front of it to keep predators out. Also, chicken wire is only good for keeping chickens in, not particularly effective at keeping predators out. A predator apron around the coop is a good idea as well to keep anything from digging in.

[em_pen]

That's awesome :) I have 14 free ranging chickens here, they're the best thing I ever did I reckon!
BTW chickens drink a LOT of water, especially in Summer, and they make a lot of mess so do whatever you can to catch chook poop in the common areas (their sleeping area for starters) to make the clean up easier.
They need a lot more space than that too but I guess you'll be letting them out once in a while? They also need a high (flat not rounded) perch for sleep, they like to feel that they're too high up for predators to reach. My chooks sleep very high up in a tree.
And don't forget oyster shell or some other extra calcium source.
Helen was right :P Closer to the house would have been better and further away from the road.
You're going to love having those girls!

[Cermagine]

turning a square into a triangle is exactly what I watch Beau for

[outlawtartan]

Beau helps us remember the meaning of less is more and family is the best.

[jamesemery]

you need to fox proof the the run they will quickly dig under the run, dig a channel around the edge of the run about 600mm deep drop concrete pavers/slabs in vertically or fill with concrete. the chucks will also dig holes where you don't want them to form dust baths and digging for food. the large gauge mesh you used on the end wall and above shoulder height will allow rats and mice easy access. The fly screen door needs proper mesh a fox can burst through fly screen I've lost chucks this way. The chucks need a roost box something you can close off securely inside the run not just for fox protection but so every day when you lock them in and let them out you can inspect the birds for any issues. don't normally comment like this but don't want your girls finding the remnants after a fox attack. I've learned these lessons the hard way. i currently have a flock of 150 in total old breeds (not for eggs but to keep the breeds going, the eggs are a bonus).

[TheRozylass]

This reminded me so much of my dad who built sheds out of whatever was to hand. Great job, fun story! Your girls are so blessed to have you and Helen as parents.