Build a Covered Chicken Dust Bath Box from Fence Pickets

Build steps

1. Know what you are comparing. The ready-made box in this comparison is the Zylina Play-N-Roost Dust Bath Box Covered (model DDP-2631), $139.99 at Tractor Supply on November 7, 2026, at its regular price. It is made of cypress, has a roof and measures 37 × 35 × 43 in (94 × 89 × 109 cm): a different shape from this build, which is longer and narrower. Your build uses thinner cedar pickets and untreated furring strips.
2. Know what you actually pay. Nine pickets ($4.28 each), two furring strips ($2.98 each) and a 1 lb (0.45 kg) box of coated exterior screws ($9.97), all from Home Depot, come to $54.45 at the prices checked on November 7, 2026: about $54. The prices are regular prices. The picket price was read from Home Depot's brand page for one store and the screw price from the product page; prices differ per store, so check them at yours. Coated screws in cedar can discolor or rust; stainless steel is the more durable choice. Sand or dust bath mix, sales tax and shipping are extra.
3. Know the size. The box is open at the bottom and about 54 in (1.37 m) long, 18 in (457 mm) wide and 11 in (279 mm) high: two picket boards stacked on each side. Two posts of 24 in (610 mm) stand at the back and two of 30 in (762 mm) at the front, so the roof slopes down to the back. The roof is five overlapping picket boards of about 56 in (1.42 m), or a corrugated roof panel as an option.
4. Get the wood and screws. You need nine untreated western red cedar dog-ear fence pickets of 5-1/2 in × 6 ft (140 mm × 1.83 m): four for the box and five for the roof. The store page gives an actual thickness of 0.575 in (14.6 mm). For the posts and the two roof rails you need two 2 × 2 furring strips of 8 ft (2.44 m); cedar 2 × 2 boards are a more rot-resistant alternative. Hold it all together with about 60 coated exterior wood screws, #8 × 1-1/4 in (32 mm), from a 1 lb (0.45 kg) box of about 196.
5. Cut the pieces. Long sides: four pieces of about 54 in (1.37 m), one from each of four pickets. Ends: four pieces of about 18 in (457 mm) from the rest of those four pickets. Because 54 and 18 in add up to the full 72 in (1.83 m), the saw cuts and the dog-ear corners take a little off the ends, so measure them on your boards. Roof: five boards of about 56 in (1.42 m), one per picket. Posts: two of 24 in (610 mm) and two of 30 in (762 mm) from the 2 × 2 strips. Roof rails: two from the rest of the strips; the source counts about 44 in (1.12 m) of strip for both rails together, but does not give the length of each. Of the nine pickets, a little under eight are used; the rest is offcut.
6. Build the box. Stack two boards on each side and at each end, and screw them to the four posts in the corners, with the tall posts at the front. Pre-drill the screw holes near the board ends so the thin cedar does not split. The source does not say whether the posts sit inside or outside the corners; choose one and do the same at all four. Check that the box stands square and level before you go on.
7. Fit the roof rails and the roof. Screw one roof rail across the tops of the front and back post on each side, so the rails follow the slope from front to back. Screw the five roof boards onto the rails, starting at the low back edge, with each next board overlapping the one below it so water runs off. The source does not give the overlap, the rail length or how the overlapping boards are fixed. Where two boards overlap, a 1-1/4 in (32 mm) screw reaches only a little way into the rail, so check the screw length there.
8. Option: a waterproof roof panel. Instead of the five roof boards you can use one corrugated polycarbonate roof panel of 26 in × 6 ft (660 mm × 1.83 m), such as Suntuf. Lay it so the ribs run down the slope, across the box. The roof drops 6 in (152 mm) over the 18 in (457 mm) depth of the box, so the slope is about 19 in (483 mm) long. Cut the panel across into three strips of just under 24 in (606 mm), which leaves about 2-3/8 in (60 mm) of overhang at the front and the back. Laid side by side, the three strips of 26 in (660 mm) cover 78 in (1.98 m); the roof needs about 56 in (1.42 m), so each of the two overlaps can be at least one full rib and still cover the box. Two strips are not enough. So the panel does not span the 54 in (1.37 m) length on its own, fit a middle rail: one picket on edge between the two roof rails, halfway down the slope, cut to fit (about 51 in (1.30 m)) and screwed through the rails into its ends, with its top edge level with the rails. Fix the strips with roofing screws with rubber washers, made for wood. Drive the screws through the crests of the ribs into every rail under the strip, and also screw the middle strip to the strips beside it through the overlaps. The overhang of about 2-3/8 in (60 mm) at the front and back follows from cutting the panel into three strips. In this layout the front and back edges have no cross rail under them: the only middle rail sits halfway down the slope, so the middle strip has no wooden support at its front and back edge. This has not been tested. Palram Americas' Suntuf installation guide says to install the panel with the label side facing up toward the sky so the UV-protection layer faces the sun; to pre-drill every fastener hole with a 1/4 in (6 mm) bit when using Woodtite fasteners, so the panel can move with temperature changes; to use EPDM rubber washers; to drive each screw perpendicular to the sheet; and not to over-tighten it (the fastener is too tight if the washer deforms). Corrugated PVC panels cost less, but according to store reviews they can warp in strong heat. Cost of this option, checked on November 7, 2026: the panel ($23.73 for the linked Suntuf Smooth Cream panel, model 159852; other colors and variants were not compared) and a 50-pack of roofing screws ($6.98) come to $30.71. You then need four pickets for the box plus one for the middle rail, five instead of nine: the build costs $68.04 in total, about $14 more than with the board roof.
9. Leave the wood bare and fill the box. Do not stain, paint or oil the box: the cedar and the furring strips stay untreated. Sand the cut edges. The box has no floor, so set it on level, well-drained ground and fill it with the sand, soil or dust bath mix of your choice; the fill is not part of this build.
10. Check these points yourself. The picket price was read from Home Depot's brand page for one store and the screw price from its product page on November 7, 2026; both can differ per store. The comparison box at Tractor Supply has a different shape and size from this build. The sources give the outside size of the box and the length of the end pieces, but not the length of each roof rail, the roof overlap or where the posts sit. They give no bracing or anchoring for the roof and no build time. For the roof panel option, the length of the roofing screws has not been tested, and the sources give no rib spacing for the panel, so check the overlap on your panel. The actual width of the pickets and the size of their dog-ear corners were not measured for this guide.