Chicken coops are the most expensive initial investment in backyard chicken farming. There are many creative ways to lower the price tag by creating your own. Chicken coops can be as original and varied as their owners, from traditional red barn shapes to retro funk and sleek modern chicken tractors. But some materials are not suitable for keeping these beautiful birds, and particle board is one of them.
Particle board (also known as chipboard) is made from wood chips and sawdust that are held together with a large amount of glue and then compressed into slabs. It’s cheaper and lighter than plywood, which makes it tempting to use it in a chicken coop. However, it has two major drawbacks.
One major problem is that particleboard absorbs moisture unless it’s coated with serious paint or sealer. Anyone who’s ever put a glass down on a cheap table and discovered an instant ring in the wood-finish particleboard top that looks like wallpaper knows what I mean. Chicken poop is very wet. Constant exposure to droppings will cause the particle board to warp, discolor and potentially disintegrate.
Which brings up problem number two. Chickens have a high respiratory rate and are very low to the ground. Air quality is very important to keep them healthy. Since particle board is partially made up of sawdust and glue, when it breaks down, these can be thrown into the air and end up in the chicken’s lungs. If you use good bedding, this is less likely to happen, but why take the risk? Especially when you can easily avoid the potential in the first place?
So what can you use? A popular option is to place your chicken coop on bare ground. This can get tricky and is a bit less safe from ground predators than other options. The next step is to raise the chicken coop off the ground using wood. “Repurposed” wood can include tabletops, doors, or scraps from any local sawmill.
You can also use plywood. Plywood is similar to particleboard in that they are layers of wood. However, the wood is in sheets, and the sheets are glued at right angles to each other, it is less likely to warp, and the top surface is straight wood. Another option is to use any kind of board and cover it with linoleum. This will make the surface easier to clean.
The most expensive option is concrete. Concrete has the advantage of being durable and easy to clean. It’s also harder for predators to penetrate: there’s no way to burrow through well-placed cement.