We had a problem with mice eating holes in our chicken/duck feed bags and I didn't want to fork out a bunch of money for metal canisters or plastic containers to store. I also had a lot of other small odds & ends for the chickens that I wanted to keep in a pull-out drawer. I realize mice can chew through wood but I was taking the chance - so far so good! :)
Here's what I ended up with:
This isn't going to be a heavily detailed tutorial with material lists and dimensions as I'm sure most will want to customize to the size of their needs.
First off I should say that my husband wasn't excited I was building ONE more thing for the chickens. I decided this was a necessary build and used what we had laying around to avoid costs. It's times like this that I'm glad I save things like drawer slides from dressers I see at the dumpster, hinges from an old deck gate we replaced, and wood scraps.
I grabbed what I had on hand:
-Dog Ear Picket Fencing
-2x2 furring strips
-1x3 furring strip
-1x4 furring strips
-1/2" particle board (free from Craigslist)
-plywood from pallet (free from Craigslist)
-hardware, drawer slides, screws, nails, etc
Because my pickets were 6' I wanted to maximize their use because I had limited materials and wanted a bin large enough for several feed bags. I had 10 pickets and cut each one 4' long for the front/backs and the leftover 2' piece was for the sides.
I cut 4 2x2's the height of 5 pickets tall and used them to nail the side pieces to them.
I added larger nails for durability (I was also running low on screws).
I nailed one picket in place to keep the sides together...
...then clamped the remaining on to nail in place.
For the front it was easiest to nail the first board on like this so the sides weren't falling over while I was turning it (I'm a one-girl-show).
I clamped the remaining boards for the front just like I did for the back and nailed in place, BUT...
...I left the bottom board loose because it will be my drawer front.
I built a shelf on the inside just above where the drawer will be (ending at the 4th picket).
I attached 1x4's around the top edge of the bin and down the centers to add strength and used 1/2" particle board for the shelf.
Next was the frame for the drawer.
I sandwiched the drawer slides in-between the drawer frame and particle board because the particle board wasn't very sound and I didn't want screws pulling out of the drawer slides over time.
I believe this is the first time I've used this drawer slide jig. It made it so easy!
Next was attaching the drawer front and knobs. I also attached the caster wheels before flipping over.
I was SO glad I had a pallet with plywood that ended up being just the right size to cut out a top for my bin and not have to pull out many screws. Pulling screws out of pallets is the worst!
I used furring strips over the lid for extra strength. I attached some old strap hinges I had in my stash.
I also nailed wood around the inside of the lid to keep pesky little creatures from getting in - there's a very small clearance when the bin is shut.
I also made a little kick-stand for the lid so my kids can get in the bin easily without needing to hold the lid up.
Other Chicken Project Links:
Have ducks?
Labels: chickens, DIY, tutorial, woodworking
