Build a DIY feed shed for chickens, horses, and more! See how I built small and large sheds to store feed, bedding, and supplies on our farm.
I decided to convert my barn stalls that I was using for feed and storage into a larger office space for my therapy practice. I needed a new place to store animal food. I designed two different feed sheds, one for the horse feed and an alternative one for the chicken, guinea pig and rabbit feed that’s smaller.
They work really well to store feed in a dry location, although just like barn stalls, you’ll get mice trying to get into the feed. That’s why we use metal trash cans to hold the feed inside. I recommend trying to find a shady spot for them in the summer so as to cut down on moisture from humidity getting into your bins.
I tried to make them look as nice as possible but just keep in mind that I was using a lot of scrap wood to avoid spending lots of money on the project.
This post may contain affiliate links which may earn me commissions should you click through them and take certain actions. As an affiliate for Amazon, Cricut, xTool, Home Depot, and other sites, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please DIY carefully. View my full legal disclosures here.
Please read the whole post so you don’t miss any important information!
As mentioned, we did two of these feed sheds. The tutorial will cover the smaller chicken feed shed, but I’ll also show some finished photos of the big horse feed shed. You can find the woodworking plan for the large feed shed in my store!
DIY Feed Shed
Project Supplies
- 2x4s (pressure treated for the base, but you can use regular 2x4s for the parts that aren’t touching the ground if you want).
- Siding panels: T-11 is one of the cheaper options but you can get alternative types of wood as well. We used pressure treated sheathing, I believe, for the smaller one we built.
- Hinges
- Metal feed bins
- Plastic pallets (I tried to build my structures to hug these plastic pallets so I didn’t need to build a floor. I like the idea of the plastic pallets as they’re pretty durable. Wild rabbits like to nest under them though).
- 2x2s for the frame of the lid
- Optional: Trellis
- Optional: Gas struts like these: https://amzn.to/4dv9HRC… these help support lifting and closing the lid, ensuring it won’t slam you in the head. We installed one on the chicken feed shed, and I’d like to use them for ALL of my feed sheds, but I need to weigh the lids first. The one on our chicken feed shed doesn’t quite work because it’s not the right size. But the idea is fantastic and it helps keep the kids from getting walloped when the wind slams the lid on them.
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1: I started by framing out the shed using 2x4s.
The goal was to build this around the plastic pallets that I wanted to use to raise the feed bins off the ground.
Step 2: Afterwards I added my sliding.
I was using a lot of scraps for this so it’s a bit of a mess. I also added a trellis in the back to keep the chickens from using the feed shed to jump over into the garden.
Step 3: I built the tops and added hinges and paneling that will keep the feed dry. We choose clear panels which would be problematic in areas with a lot of sun. This gets shaded by the apple tree and elderberry bushes in the summer so we opted for clear. An opaque top may prevent excess heat and humidity in your feed shed though.
As you can see in some of these photos, the lack of support in the middle meant that these bent in a little. We ended up adding a middle support (2×4) to keep these flat.
This is the photo with the support…
Step 4: I also made an access area for my chicken feed shed so that I could easily move the large metal trash cans in and out.
My access area with the other longer shed is much shorter due to the front being shorter. This means the metal trash cans need to be lifted up and over which can be inconvenient at times. But I try not to relocate them much anyways.
Step 5: Prime and paint the shed.
We didn’t actually do this… it’s working fine and a lot of the wood was already painted so I sort of said meh, and we’re just keeping it as is for now. When I eventually decide to paint the coop and guinea pig/rabbit shed, I may decide to paint everything at the same time, but right now it’s low priority.
OPTIONAL: We ended up making some adjustments after the fact.
- We connected the cover which was imperfect… I should rebuild it as one piece, but again- meh. It works.
- We replaced the hinges… still not super happy with the ones we’re using but they work.
- We added a gas strut to help keep the lid up and let it lower slower. This was to prevent injuries with kids getting smacked in the head when some wind blew the lid on them when they were leaning over to get food for their animals. You need to weigh your cover and get the correct size for this- we didn’t get quite the right size (we tried two different ones sigh) so it doesn’t hold it up as well, but it DOES keep the kids from getting booped so it’s doing half the job.
I created a woodworking plan for the larger feed shed for our horses which will be up in the shop soon, but here’s a progress photo from when we were working on it. I’m not sure where my finished photos went so I need to go wrangle those up.
Please share and pin this post! If you make this project, share it in our Stuff Mama Makes Facebook Group. We have regular giveaways for gift cards to craft stores. You can also tag me on Instagram @doityourselfdanielle; I love seeing everything you make!
