Couple built their chickens a coop that looks just like a UFO

An Idaho couple who raises chickens decided the typical, garden-variety coop just wouldn’t be good enough for their flock. Why just build a home out of boring old wood planks and chicken wire when you can create something that’s out of this world — or at least looks like it comes from another galaxy.

Brett Wilson and Ellen DeAngelis of Boise share another passion beyond raising their beloved chickens. They also are self-proclaimed “UFO nerds.” So, what better way to bring together their love than to create a flying saucer chicken coop?

Here’s an image of their creation, as posted to Facebook by Wilson when it was first erected:

Originally built in 2017, the UFO chicken coop has recently become a viral sensation on Facebook, Reddit and Twitter. One Twitter user, @AgriStainless, joked about wanting to take up chicken farming after seeing a video of the “Unidentified Flying Omelette.”

Wilson developed the design himself and used some unusual materials to build the futuristic coop, including two 10-foot satellite dishes, a trampoline base, some aluminum paint and LED lights.

“Brainstorming the UFO spaceship design was a very quick process as there were so few ‘up-cycle’ options that would get us a classic UFO shape,” he posted on the website Backyard Chickens. “We quickly determined that the satellite dish would be a stellar foundation. We located two 10 foot dishes on our local Craigslist page and jumped straight into this project.”

To help keep the birds warm during the brutal Idaho winters, the UFO is lined with 1-inch styrofoam insulation and has a waterproof cover made of roofing felt. Wilson added two 250-watt ceramic heaters that are connected to a program that also allows the farmers to monitor the coop’s temperature remotely from their home computer.

The UFO chicken coop may seem out-there from a design perspective, but it has a practical purpose. A warm coop over the winter keeps the hens comfortable and able to continue laying eggs without interruption. And keeping them off the ground makes it harder for predators to reach them.

The couple even posted a YouTube video of the creative coop to the Brett W YouTube page.

And for Halloween in 2019, they added aliens and smoke effects. What a unique and fun way to house and protect their feathered friends!