Build the coop of your chickens’ dreams with help from the ReStore!
An example of a DIY chicken coop made from recycled items. From the Mushy Mom's Fiat blog, https://www.themushymom.com/themushymommy/2021/11/16/wn2wt9yi8hfpqu0ym145bvs70efut5
Western Washington County, Oregon residents love their chickens! You can find chicken coops not only on farms and ranches outside of any city limits, but also in the backyards of neighborhoods in Forest Grove, Cornelius, Banks and Gaston.
But new chicken coops can be expensive, and buying new coops creates the need for merchandise to be shipped from elsewhere, even abroad, and that’s not great for the environment.
Building your own chicken coop from recycled items from the Forest Grove ReStore can save money, give you creative control and help be kinder to the planet because you are fully participating in recycling/reusing, you are keeping things from being shipped AND you keeping things from the dumpster, at least for a few more years. In addition, your purchases can help build homes for humans and help fund critical repairs for vulnerable homeowners here in our communities, via West Tuality Habitat for Humanity.
The Forest Grove ReStore has all - or at least most - of what you need for a DIY chicken coop, including:
hinges
latches
screws
various kinds of wood (doors, pallets you can pull apart and use, new wood, fencing, wood leftover from construction and more)
windows (yes, windows! some say chickens don’t care about how their coop looks, but we say otherwise!)
materials for the roof
hand tools
The Forest Grove ReStore’s pallet and other wood product inventory can vary, so you may to visit several times to find what you need.
Note that many wood pallets have the logo of the International Plant Protection Convention or IPPC printed on the wood and may also have printed codes. Pallets shipped long distances are usually treated to kill insect pests or their eggs that may be hiding in the wood. Pallets bearing the IPPC logo have been treated to kill pests. Most have HT printed on them in bold black letters, which stands for HEAT TREATED and means they were baked in an oven to kill insects. Most bloggers online say it’s a good idea to avoid pallets marked MB, because this means the pallet was treated with methyl bromide, a toxic chemical that could be hazardous to humans and chickens.
Pallets are usually fabricated from spruce or pine, which are soft, easy to work, and light in color. Other pallets are made from oak, ash, elm, or even exotic hardwoods and are usually darker in color than softwoods and are heavier and more durable.
What pallets does the ReStore have? That depends? Our inventory changes frequently, so stop by often!
These tools are helpful for deconstructing a pallet or crate:
Claw hammer
Pry bar
Nail puller
Pliers
Saw
Leather gloves
Eye protection
Hearing protection
If you want to paint some or all of your coop, the Forest Grove has both new and recycled paint as well!
The Reddit community BackYardChickens can help give you ideas and guide you in your construction. YouTube also has a lot of “how to” videos for designing and building your chicken coop.
We have put a lot of photos from various sources at the end of this blog so you can get an idea for your own chicken coop creation.
The Forest Grove ReStore is open Monday through Saturdays, 9 to 5. Sales help support the programs of West Tuality Habitat for Humanity.
If you have built a chicken coop using any ReStore items, please send your story and photos to photos@westtualityhabitat.org.
If you have recycled and re-imagined something you bought at the Forest Grove ReStore, or have bought something and placed it in your home, as is, and you think it’s particularly beautiful or interesting, we want to hear from you! Please send your story and photos to photos@westtualityhabitat.org. And if you have a blog idea for the Forest Grove ReStore and want to submit a drafter, we would love to hear from you!
