I am continually using things for my chickens and their yard instead of throwing them away.  Sometimes I go to Habitat and get wood and boards.

Recently, we had a 4×4 porch top that was getting old and we were going to burn it.  Instead, we put it up on cinder blocks and it made some shade and a place for the chickens to hide in case they felt threatened by a large overhead bird.  Picture below.

We also had a piece of particle board that was laying around somewhere and we took it and made a shelter for our animal’s food.  It works great.   Particle board is the cheapest board around that I have seen.  The below example has been used for about 7 years and moved all around from yard to yard.  You can also see the yellow crate that I use for the chicken to stand on to get onto the perch or into the nest for laying eggs.  The crates are also great for nests.

I also use one gallon containers that I get from Bojangles to use for water containers in the yard.   I ask the manager to save the coleslaw containers for me.   If I am cleaning out one of the containers and forget a scrubby, I grab a leaf off the tree and use it to scrub.  It works great.  The chlorophyll is like Clorox.  I was just looking for something abrasive and did not expect the leaf would actually get rid of the algae inside the container.  I try to put my water containers in the shade so they do not get the sun and get the algae but sometimes they get shade part of the day and sun the other part.

I also used an old dog house for a broody house for a hen.  I had to put a fence up in front of the entrance for a couple hours until the hen settled back down and got back on the eggs.  They don’t like it when you move them even with their eggs.

One of the first broody houses I made was from a kitchen table that was rectangular.  I screwed wood panels around three sides with some chicken fencing up around the top four inches. I planned to paint it but that didn’t happen.

When I realized how hot it was and how little shade I had for my Silkies, I took a flat bed sheet and put a couple bricks on the top of the building to secure it.  Then I stretched it out on the ground and put bricks on it to hold it securely.   The chickens stay under it during the hot part of the day and I put their water under there, too. You can see the blue colored sheet in front of the chicken house.

Everything I see at Habitat, Flea Markets, Yard Sales or anywhere else is a possible find for my chicken yard.  I also used an old coffee table to put my chicken food dish under.  Now it isn’t fancy and it does look kind of junky…sometimes.  But I have a bigger plan down the road when my husband, Calvin retires.  His boss asked him what he was going to do when he retires.  He told him his wife would keep him busy…and hopefully healthy and young, too.

The table was free,  coffee table was free,  porch was free, and the sheets were free.   So, I just made use of the things that weren’t being used.   Adding some paint to some stuff will improve the look of your yard but I suggest you use colors that blend with your surroundings.  I am thinking about putting a privacy fence around my entire chicken yard.  It is definitely a work in progress.