DIY chicken keeping from fresh eggs daily: 40+ projects for the coop, run, brooder, and more!

163 Pages·2020·50.008 MB·English

by  Steele, Lisa

DIY
Chicken Keeping
FROM
FRESH EGGS DAILY
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D IY
Chicken Keeping
FROM
FRESH EGGS DAILY
+
40
Proj ects
FOR THE COOP, RUN, BROODER,
AND MORE!
LISA STEELE
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© 2020 Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc.
Text © 2020 Lisa Steele
First Published in 2020 by Quarry Books, an imprint of The Quarto Group,
100 Cummings Center, Suite 265-D, Beverly, MA 01915, USA.
T [phone] F [phone] QuartoKnows.com
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written
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the contents of this publication. Every effort has been made to ensure that credits accurately
comply with information supplied. We apologize for any inaccuracies that may have occurred
and will resolve inaccurate or missing information in a subsequent reprinting of the book.
Quarry Books titles are also available at discount for retail, wholesale, promotional, and bulk
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265-D, Beverly, MA 01915, USA.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
ISBN:978-0-7603-6644-8
Digital edition published in 2020
eISBN: 978-0-7603-6645-5
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Steele, Lisa, 1965- author.
DIY chicken keeping from Fresh eggs daily : 40 projects for the
coop, run, brooder, and more! / Lisa Steele.
ISBN 9780760366448 (trade paperback) | ISBN 9780760366455 (ebook)
1. Chickens--Housing--Design and construction.
LCC SF494.5 .S74 2020 | DDC 636.5/0831--dc23
LCCN 2019033842
Design, cover image and page layout: Mattie Wells
Photography: All photos by Brianna Waltman/Breezy Photography, except those by Peg Keyser/
CoopduJour Photography (pages 30, 31, 32, 50, 90, 92, 94, 106, 107, 108, 110, 111, 147, 149) and
Lisa Steele (pages 33, 35, 132, 133, 144, 147, 149)
Printed in China
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Contents
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 4. PALLET PROJECTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
1. THE BASICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Pallet Tool Holder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Pallet Hawk Shelter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Hammer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Swinging Bench . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Drill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Chicken Salad Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Saw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Chick Roosting Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Sandpaper/Hand Sander . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Hanging Flower Boxes for Run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Paintbrushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Compost Bins with Hinged Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Putting Together a Toolbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Boot Cleaning Station . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Safety Warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Pallet Feeding Station . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
2. QUICK & EASY PROJECTS . . . . . . . .27 Tiered Herb Garden with Mason Jars
and Chalkboard Signs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Cutting Board Coop Sign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Garden Fencing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Mason Jar Grit/Calcium Dispenser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Pair of Coop Shutters from Pallets: Three Styles . . 115
Removable Dropping Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Step Stool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Chair Nesting Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
5. WEEKEND PROJECTS . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Small Footprint Countertop Egg Holder . . . . . . . . . 38
Dippy Eggs and Toast Breakfast Tray . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Deluxe Brooder Box with Heat Lamp Attachment . .122
Reusable Chalkboard Hatch Countdown Calendar . .43 Swinging Screen Door for Run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Dowel Coop Organizer for Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 A-frame Integration Pen/Chick Tractor . . . . . . . . . 130
Clothespin Herb Drying Rack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Wood and Wire Egg Basket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Chicken Treat Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Roadside Egg Stand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Paned Window Coop Mirror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Predator-Proof Window Frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Board Swing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Nesting Boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Bath Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Converting a Garden Shed, Outbuilding,
or Playhouse into a Coop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
3. HANDY PROJECTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
RESOURCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .155
Removable Coop Roosting Ladder . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
METRIC CONVERSION GUIDE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .156
Chicken-Proof Herb Garden with Hinged Window . .66
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .157
Sliding Barn Coop Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Boot Tree Stand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 ABOUT THE AUTHOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .158
Hinged Coop/Run Seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .159
Feed Dolly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Chick Jungle Gym . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
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INTRODUCTION
WHY DIY?
I have been wanting to write this book for years. Ideas for all kinds of fun, practical,
unique projects that make my chicken-keeping life easier and more enjoyable are
always swirling around in my head. Some tried-and-true winners started to come into
focus while working on my last book, 101 Chicken Keeping Hacks. However, that book
is all about quick and easy. Plus, I realized I had so many ideas that they could make
up their own book—and here it is! An entire book of building projects for chickens
and the people who love them.
I caught the building bug when I was a little girl sitting on the floor by my dad’s work
bench, watching him complete various projects for around the house and our farm.
I remember my dad would give my brother and me a board and some basic hand
tools and tell us that whoever could make a hole clear through the board first was
the winner! These were the days before video games, so parents had to be pretty
inventive to keep their kids busy so they could get stuff done. Let me tell you, I got
pretty good with a hammer and chisel.
Years later, after my parents were divorced, my mom taught me that girls can build too.
I have to say that was the true beginning of my love for DIY! To this day, she and I enjoy
making things together. Whether it’s cutting and painting wooden Christmas ornaments
or making small pieces of furniture—including the bookshelves for the bookstore I used
to own on Long Island—I will always treasure those building memories.
This experience has served me well when it comes to inventing things for my chickens.
There’s such a sense of satisfaction when I use something that I made myself. It makes
me happy to see my chickens perching on a roost I made for them or laying eggs in
nesting boxes I constructed. Building and creating practical things that are necessary
for your everyday life on your farm, homestead, or urban backyard can create this
same feeling of joy for you.
Living remotely, as my husband and I do, there’s no such thing as a quick trip to
the store, so for years I’ve relied heavily on reusing, repurposing, and building from
scratch. What’s more, we were fortunate enough to acquire a barn full of scrap wood,
wooden pallets, and odds and ends, including boxes of random nails and screws, when
we moved here to Maine. I’m so thankful that the previous owners didn’t believe in
7
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throwing anything away that might come in handy at
some future date—and that they left it all behind for us!
Trust me, I have been putting it all to good use.
Over the years, my flock of chickens and ducks has
provided me with plenty of opportunity to dream up
projects and wield a hammer. In fact, I built my own first
tiny chicken coop, which was actually more doghouse-
sized than actual shed- or coop-sized. Still, I did the
research to figure out what I wanted it to look like
and what features it needed to have. Then once I had
envisioned it, I drew up plans and built it. That little coop
served my first flock of six chickens quite well for several
years. Then as my flock of chickens and ducks inevitably
grew, I converted a lean-to on our farm into my second,
much larger coop. Although it did require that I add
some predator-proofing and build roosting bars, I was
able to repurpose a set of nesting boxes given to us by
a neighbor, which made the entire project easier.
In this book, we’ll by and large tackle much more
manageable projects. However, I will help you build all
the components you need for your own coop in case
you’re thinking about remodeling an existing garden
shed, toolshed, playhouse or other outbuilding into a
chicken coop. You’ll find projects for a Removable Coop
Roosting Ladder (page 63) and Nesting Boxes (page 147), a Sliding Barn Coop Door
(page 70) to allow for storage space, Predator-Proof Window Frames (page 143) that
can easily be added to any window frame, and even Hanging Flower Boxes for Run
(page 97) and shutters—Pair of Coop Shutters from Pallets in Three Styles (page 115)!
If you have been thinking about getting started with chickens, or wanting to move
your chickens from a small starter coop to something more substantial, then I’ll also
show you how to convert that outbuilding—Converting a Garden Shed, Outbuilding
or Playhouse into a Coop (page 151)—into a safe, secure coop for your flock.
You’ll find plenty of other projects I’ve built for my chickens over the years as well,
including a Swinging Bench (page 90), Chair Nesting Area (page 36), and Chicken
Salad Bar (page 93) that give chickens access to fresh greens right in their run. You can
also make all kinds of things for your home such as the Small Footprint Countertop
Egg Holder (page 38), Dippy Eggs and Toast Breakfast Tray (page 41), and Boot Tree
Stand (page 73).
8 DIY CHICKEN KEEPING
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