igloo dog house?

[alabama49]

My neighbor is giving me an igloo dog house. Has anyone ever converted one to a small coop for their chickens? If so, how and any suggestions are welcome!!!

 

[Teach97]

I have one in my chicken pen...not really the coop but several birds stay in it and have claimed it as theirs

 

[NancyinAlaska]

I've got bunches of them, have never used one for a coop. I'd just put some straw inside, in mine I have a 4x4 screwed to the floor at the door, it helps keep the straw inside for the dogs that use them, so I'm sure it would help for a chicken too. Good Luck!

 

[suburbanminifarm]

I have 2 of them (XXL size) for the silkies. ( plus 1 more nice one for the dogs) I get them free from my friend who is an officer at an animal shelter. I made plywood doors for them with latches, so I can lock the silkies in at night totally securely. (paranoia from raccoon evperience.) The doors hinge at the bottom, and double as a ramp when opened. Power drills can put screws in the plastic easily. I have them elevated on 2 by fours and sturdy wheels so they can be easily rolled around. I have them bedded with alfalfa hay, and the chickies really seem to love them! They keep a nice temperature inside. These are what everyone chooses to lay eggs in too.

 

[MagsC]

What a good idea!! I am always seeing those inexpensively priced around here.

 

[HEChicken]

My in-laws gave us one for our dogs - who hated it. We had it under our deck unused for months so when I got the chooks, they took it over. I put some pine shavings in it so its nice and cozy and it is a dry place for them to hang out in wet weather. The design of it means it is pretty cozy in there too as their combined body heat warms the area up for them. The issue I would have with using it as a coop (and trust me, it has occurred to me) is making a predator-proof door for it. On mine at least, the whole thing is made of, I guess, plastic, including the doorway. It would be difficult to design a door to attach to the opening, that would be halfway secure. There is also nowhere to attach roost supports but that difficulty can be overcome by having a free standing roost that sits inside the igloo.

 

[alabama49]

Thanks for all the replies but have another question--do you put roosts in them or do they just use them to lay in? I already have nest boxes so I was hoping I could figure out how to make it into a coop for the chickens to stay in at night as they are just in a run now with no coop.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

These can make nice & safe housing for poultry. I make secure doors on mine by hanging sections of wire shelving, sides of wire dog crates, even wire oven racks with thick zip-ties for hinges. Then I zip-tie a bungee cord on the other side to keep it closed. Twists of strong wire could also be used instead of zip-ties. You could get fancier, and safer, by making a wood frame around the doorway and attatching a stronger door with real hinges & latches. You may also need to drill some holes in the bottom for better drainage.

You could make a covered run that attatches to the dog house so it's like an Eglu, but unless you're really tight on materials I'd just make a run that would fit over the entire house. It would also be easy to raise the dog house up on blocks or wooden legs and give them room to nest or roam underneath.

Let us know how you finish this!

 

[Sunny Side Up]

To answer your roost question, you should be able to secure wooden roosts -- dowel rods, tree branches, 2X2s, etc -- by screwing into them through the sides with a couple of wood screws & some washers. They don't need to be very high, just enough to keep them from sleeping in their poop.

 

[HEChicken]

My first pullet to start laying DID start laying in the igloo. There was no nest box in there - she just decided it was the most secure place to put the eggs, I guess. After 2-3 weeks, I got tired of having to get down on my knees and crawl into the igloo to retrieve the eggs, so I set up a covered cat litterbox with hay and golf balls right next to the igloo. After only a couple of days she decided this was a much better place to put the eggs, and I am pleased because it makes egg collection so much easier. As for roosts, I have an A-Frame coop that I got for free from Freecycle and which did not have a roost. I couldn't really see a good way to build one in, so I made a free standing roost and slid it into the coop. It works GREAT. If I were to convert an igloo to coop, a free-standing roost might be the best way to go there too.