Trailer Conversion Chicken Coop 2

This is the 31st post in my series on cool coop builds. I haven’t been looking for the biggest or best, but ones that express the heart and soul of the owners that have interesting back stories and might inspire my readers.

I’ve noticed more chicken keepers who repurpose materials to build their first coops. The results are so much more interesting and satisfying than buying a pre-fab coop or hiring someone to do the work for you. I’m hoping that their stories will inspire others to challenge themselves to do the same.

This coop is the result of a family’s collaboration: the trailer and exterior mural work were donated by relatives and the conversion was undertaken by the new poultry parents, Michele and Duane. Their story combines some of things I love about keeping chickens: how folks come together to care for their flocks and how creative those keepers are in providing shelter for their birds. Together they used upcycled materials to create a shelter to be proud of, that also didn’t break the bank.

My husband Duane and I live in Idaho.

We got our first chickens in early March 2025. While this is our first time raising our own flock, both of our grandparents had large farms with chickens, so we’ve been around them before. We also did a lot of research beforehand to make sure we had the proper setup for our chicks. We currently have seven hens and one rooster: Calico Princess, Buff Orpington, Black Sex Link, and White Leghorn.

We’ve tackled a number of other building projects over the years, but this is our first coop build.

The project started with an old trailer that belonged to my mom. It had been sitting in her backyard for a few years with a rotting floor and a leaking roof and windows. She had used it for camping and had decorated it in a fun beach theme, but at this point wasn’t interested in fixing it up (she’s in her mid-70s). I asked if I could have it to convert into a chicken coop, and she happily said yes.

My brother-in-law, Cameron Stevenson of Imperial Kustom Cam here in Idaho, took it to his shop where he has a paint booth for cars and worked his magic on the paint. The trailer wouldn’t be what it is today without his incredible talent and I’d love to give him credit for helping bring it to life.

My husband Duane and I did the full conversion ourselves, which took us a few weekends to plan and complete the conversion.

Coop Details

The trailer was free from my mom, and we were able to complete the entire project for under $500.

Coop: 19’ x 8’ x 7’ Run: 10’ x 13’ x 6.5’. We found the run on Facebook Marketplace and gave it new life with fresh siding and tarps.

Features

We installed a Run Chicken automatic chicken door where the camper’s mini-fridge used to be, along with an exterior ramp to the run.

The bed area was transformed into a space with removable roosting bars, and we converted the table/sitting area into our nesting box zone using easy-to-clean boxes from Amazon.

The stove area was replaced with wood paneling and customized with feed bags for simple wipe-downs.
Overhead and closet storage areas now hold extra supplies like chicken toys, food, and bedding.
Natural light fills the space through the original camper windows, and we’ve added solar fans to help with air circulation. There’s also an automatic temperature-controlled fan for the hot summer months.

Windows are reinforced with hardware cloth so they can stay open safely.
We repurposed a kids’ jungle gym from Facebook Marketplace—using the stairs inside the coop and placing the play structure outside in the run as a perch.

Future Plans

We’re planning to extend the run using the same style of structure to give them even more space. The coop is large enough to accommodate more chickens, but we’re waiting to get through our first winter before expanding the flock in the spring.

I plan to build a white picket fence around the chicken area, add planter boxes with herbs and flowers, and decorate with fake palm trees and mini surf boards to complete the beach theme.

Thanks to Michele and Duane Random for sharing their story and photos, used with permission.