Help/advice: converting a plastic kennel to chicken coop

[tiameg]

I was very pleased with myself today, got hold of a brand new, extra large, very solid plastic dog kennel (shaped like a Wendy house) for just £20! Great I thought - can use the saving to get an automatic door opener...Ideal for converting to a coop for my as yet imaginary (but coming soon) chickens!

It has a large entrance for a big dog but everything else is slotted together strongly/securly, so cant easily be taken apart every day, but can do so for a good cleaning. However, now I'm panicking!

I'm obviously going to need to be able to get in daily to get eggs and also will need to fit a pop hole securely and door for the chickens however, I've never worked with plastic! I'm unsure about the best way to go about it e.g (will a normal drill/saw work on it?) will screws go into it pretty much the same as in wood or do I need a different type of fixings to screws to attach stuff to plastic?

Have you added a pop hole and access to collect eggs to a converted plastic coop and if so how? Please advise how?

My only ideas/dilemmas so far...
Did think of buying and adding a lockable cat flap for easy egg collection?
Door opening on it is 56.5cm x Width 30.5cm which is too big to just add a pop hole to - so what would be the best way to go about adding one and making the entrance smaller? I know that I will also need to add ventilation and a roost bar inside also.

Plastic kennel Height 82cm x Width 86cm x Depth 84cm - hoping that is large enough for 6 hens to just sleep in and have plans for an additional 10ft x 10ft run outside.



Thanks :)

[Sejjie70]

Have a plastic dog kennel too. So far only modification I've made is ventilation (just carefully drilled some holes in the front & back walls at the top/apex). Not cut out a pop-hole or made a door yet (still on the lookout for something suitable to use). Oh & I've made some free-standing perches - figured it'd be easier to just remove them rather than fix some in permanently & have to clean out around them).

[Steve the Gas]

Tia, any pics possible?

[LisaB]

I know Taz converted a plastic storage shed (or something similar) to a chicken coop, but that already had doors but she cut a gap out to fit an electric pophole, I'll ask her in a moment if I can get her pictures to put on here

For the nest box when I get my plastic storage shed, I'll be using a plant pot (but it would be easier just to use a square storage container), and cutting a gap in the side to fit the nest box perfectly, so it's half in the coop and half out, put a hinged lid on the outside bit, and voila! can just open the lid to find the eggies

[The gardener]

Wow, what a bargain!!! Can I ask where you got it from, Tiameg? just wondering if such a bargain could be found in my neck of the woods, since I'm plotting to get another couple of girls in the very near future

[pamela]

my OH is in the process of converting a plastic dog kennel like yours ours was even cheaper it was on one of these recycling forum for free he has cut with a small saw a square in the back reinforced the side with wooden strips cut a piece of sterling board which i painted it slides up and down the runners to give access for cleaning and egg collection and he made a smaller one for the front for closing at night using a small basket for a nesting box we spent so much on our big coup and run so we are really pleased with this one for free if i was really clever i wopuld put a pic on to show but i am not that smart

[LittleBrownFrog]

I can't be of any help for most of your questions. Just thought I'd throw in my thoughts on cat flaps. My parents' dog (who holidays with us) can force the lock on our lockable cat flap without much trouble, so I imagine Mr Fox would be able to do the same

[tiameg]

Hello All,
Steve- would post pics but at the moment have no camera- must get one!
LisaB - Could you ask Taz what they used to cut the pop hole please? I'm most worried about using the wrong thing and braking it - I'm sure plastic is less forgiving than wood.
The Gardener-We were out driving and saw a village fair, it was late and they were just packing up but thought I would look to see if they had any cheap plants. Saw a chap struggling and dropping things trying to put them back in a very small car, so stopped to help and picked a few things up for him off the floor. He thanked me and said his wife had 'gone off with the other car' (seems they had been running a pet stall) and he was having trouble fitting everything back in the one vehicle. I saw the box with the dog kennel in and before I said anything he said "They RRP at £79.99 but if you want it- you can have it for £20 save me taking it home! True to his word, I've found them online since at that price too!
Pamela - Sounds great but wondering, (as they are so fly) can a fox not slide a door off or to one side?
Little Brown Frog - Thanks for the tip. I did wonder and thought perhaps I would look to see if a bolt of similar could be added.

Got a lead today on some heras type security fencing (would be ideal for building a secure run) so will follow that up this eve. I may ens up with my chicks sooner than I thought if I can convert the kennel and get them a great run set up too.

Thanks all - would still welcome advise on the best way tools-hand/electric etc to cut this plastic kennel and on what materials to use for pop hole and egg collecting hatches :)

[Steve the Gas]

Depending on the thickness of the plastic wall - a combo of.

A drill to start off with.
padsaw or jigsaw to cut out desired size.
tape measure and first aid kit.

[Sejjie70]

Am using our plastic kennel now as a house for our broody. Still haven't got a door (just a bit of old pallet) but it's in a secure run & my neighbours girlfriend is currently working on making a door for it (she's marvellous at DIY-type stuff but useless at cooking so I'm "paying" her with home-made jam & a roast dinner next week LOL!).

[LisaB]

Taz said she'll post pictures and let you know how she did it today ^^

[pamela]

no sejjie
unless mr fox has had weight training he couldn,t lift it it can only go up n one way and made of sterling bord so quite heavy

[tiameg]

Thanks all, can't wait to see/hear how Taz converted the plastic kennel, need all the ideas/advice I can get :)

[battychick_kike]

Hiya,

LisaB told me about this thread yesterday but I was out so could not reply until now.

I have converted a half height plastic shed into a coop. It is only a coop for my girls to sleep in, so I dont have a nest box in there as I've got a separate one which they use.

I also used a dogflap for their pop hole and my run is completely enclosed as well as on concrete so the flap is never locked. We only used the rubber flap for the pop hole because the solid flap has really strong magnets and the girls may not be strong enough themselves to push it open when they want to get in or out. We did need to trim the sides of the runnber flap so that it swung easily.

To cut the hole for the flap to go on to, we used a drill to mark each corner, then a jigsaw to cut each side. The plastic is reasonably soft so we were not concerned about it splitting, as some plastics can be brittle.
Once we had cut the hole, we put the dogflap on, using the screws that it came with. We thought initially that we would need to have a wooden frame for the flap to be attached to, but there was no need, the screws held it on perfectly.

We then made a perch frame that I could easily remove from the inside so enable me to clean it out daily with ease.

The Shed/coop is also on a home-made table so that the girls do not lose any floor space, we put the table over their dust bath and they still use that ok.

For ventilation, we propped open the lid of the shed as its a lift lid.

Here are a few pictures.

Home-made table with the base of the shed on it, dust bath underneath


The hole for the flap being removed, you can see the drill holes in the corners


The perch rack.....Coco modelling it beautifully


Dogflap in place


This was taken the next morning, I had to fold the flap up for a couple of days, but now they all go through it ok.


I hope that this is helpful to you

Taz

xxxx

[tiameg]

Hello Taz,

Can I say a big "Thank You" very much for the reply and pics. It has definitely helped me a lot to read and see. Your set up is fab btw :)

It was great seeing that the plastic cut ok with just 4 drill holes then a jigsaw. I'm much more confident at least now about cutting the kennel!

I'm thinking that my large run will be made out of heras fencing and secured all the way around with another layer of weld mesh. We are then going to add a fixed roof, so it will be semi-covered but not totally enclosed. It should (as far as possible) be fox proof but I'm wondering if I have a closing door on the house, if it will just add that 'extra layer' of defense for them should a fox get in the run. So not sure if I will get away with a regular dog flap as they don't lock (I would also like an auto door opener) but it would be a great and easy solution! Wish I could use one. Would love to think my run was so safe from a fox that I could use one but I'm paranoid. lol

My kennel is Wendy house shaped and already has a large opening in it for said dog to get through (no door on that) so I'm thinking that I may have to somehow add a sheet of plastic (if I can get any) to close off the large dog height opening and try to add a regular pop hole to that. (I want to add an auto door opener so think I will need a regular chicken coop door for that)

Mine would have their nest box inside, coop on large table in run and dust bath underneath the table, so I will also have to add access for egg collecting to it. Again, going to have to think of a lockable solution. Will take a trip to the pet shop in next few days and take a look at cat flaps that I may be able to make lockable with a bolt and that are also big enough for me to get my hand in to collect eggs. I'm not that skilled with wood and a ready made solution would be great.

Also, you pics made me realise that the kennel will be hard to add a large removable tray to unless I somehow make it so I can have access to slide one in and out as unlike yours, it does not have a whole side that opens out. I need to think on that one...

Darn fox's making everything so difficult - a dog flap would have been perfect otherwise for pop hole at least:)

Thanks,
Dee