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If you have an old swing set lying around, instead of getting rid of it, one option is to turn it into a chicken pen! That’s exactly what we did and it works great for our hens.
Read on to see more of my DIY swing set chicken pen.
See Also: DIY Project: Build Your Own Basic Squirrel Feeder
Tools, Supplies, PPE, and Steps
Tools
- RYOBI Sliding Miter Saw
- Amazon (10″)
- The Home Depot (12″)
- RYOBI Miter Saw Stand
- RYOBI Circular Saw
- RYOBI Jig Saw
- RYOBI Hammer Drill/Driver
- RYOBI Impact Driver
- RYOBI 2300 PSI Electric Pressure Washer
- RYOBI Tape Measure
- Arrow Staple Gun
- Empire Square
- DEWALT Hammer
- HANDy Paint Cup
- HANDy Paint Cup Liner
- Paint Brush
- Carpenter Pencil
Supplies
- BEHR #YL-W11 Khaki Shade
- BEHR #HDC-MD-06 Nano White
- BEHR #M410-7 Perennial Green
- BEHR Pure Black
- KILZ 2
- Rust-Oleum Meadow Green
- Rust-Oleum Black
- Arrow T50 Staples
- FrogTape
- Poultry Netting
- Hardware Cloth Fencing
- Closet Rod
- Closet Rod Sockets
- Tee Hinge
- Door Hinge
- Barrel Bolt
- Conduit Straps
- Shingles
- Ridge Flashing
- Exterior Wood Screws
- Sheet Metal Screws
- Roofing Nails
- Siding
- 4×8 Plywood
- 2×6 Pine Treated
- 2×4 Pine Treated
- 1×4 Spruce
- 1×4 Pine Treated
Personal Protective Equipment
- Firm Grip Flex Impact Gloves
- RZ Mask Dust Mask
- 3M Safety Glasses
- 3M Earmuff
Steps
Time needed: 4 days.
How To Build A DIY Swing Set Chicken Pen
- Thoroughly wash your existing swing set.
A RYOBI 2300 PSI Electric Pressure Washer is a great tool to use to clean your swing set.
- Paint.
I recommend using Rust-Oleum spray paint. For this swing set, I used Rust-Oleum Meadow Green.
- Build your chicken house.
I remodeled an old doghouse to use for my chicken house.
- Mount your the swing set to the chicken house.
The Home Depot offers a large assortment of conduit straps.
- Add treated 1x4s to the sides of the swing set to attach the fencing to.
I used sheet metal screws to attach the 1x4s to the metal poles.
- Staple the poultry netting and hardware cloth to the 1x4s.
An Arrow staple gun works great for this.
- Allow for extra netting to overlap the bottom so it can lay on the ground.
This provides a digging barrier for pests.
- Cover the seams of the fencing with treated 1x4s.
Use exterior wood screws.
- Build the swing set access door.
See my photos for how I built my door.
Our Swing Set Chicken Pen Story
We’ve long wanted to raise chickens but, with two full time jobs and four kids, we never seemed to have the time and focus to get out and build a pen. Not to mention that the continued care of the chickens would fall squarely on us.
My how times have changed. COVID-19 has pushed us to be more self-sufficient in general, so we’re constantly looking for ways to provide food for ourselves. Raising hens for the eggs is just one way to do this. Plus our kids are old enough now to help take care of the chickens!
Instead of building a pen completely from new materials, we decided to utilize an old swing set that’s been in the family for years. The picture above shows our son playing on it over 9 years ago. It’s still a good swing set, but we decided to give it a new purpose in our life.
The chicken house itself is actually an old doghouse I built a decade ago. I stripped off the old plywood roof and built a new one with shingles, along with new nesting boxes inside and new siding, trim, a new door, and a fresh coat of paint on the outside. The roof also opens up on both sides, allowing access to the nesting boxes.
The Build Process In Photos
The slideshow above shows a general look at the build process from start to finish. If you have any questions about how I built my swing set chicken pen, please ask them in the comments below!