Yes, you read that correctly. We made a chicnic table and it was the cutest project we’ve done in a while!
What is a chicknic table you ask? A chicknic table is an adorable chicken-sized picnic table designed to hold chicken food or treats for your chickens. It evidently became popular during the Covid pandemic, but we just recently discovered this adorable invention.
I actually had With Love, Megan on in the background and my husband happened to walk in right as she was talking about her farm fresh eggs and her chickens and they showed it and he said “we have to make that!”. So while we googled a few ideas, we found that mostly what we could find was just listings on Etsy for pre made ones. So we decided to put together a rough guide on what we did! We used a LOT of items we already had on hand and bought very little wood for this project. We have some ideas for making a smaller version as well for the tiny chicks so stay tuned for that as well.
How to make a chicknic table!
Supplies
You will likely have a lot of this in your garage (but in case not, linking some good options below!)
- Lumber needed:
- 1 x 6 (4 ft) – could also use piece of scrap plywood (we did)
- 1 x 4 (buy 3 8-foot boards)
- Measuring tape
- Pencil
- Table Saw (another great option – less portable)
- Glasses or goggles
- Clamps
- Trim square
- Power Drill Set
- 3/16″ drill bit or larger
- biggest thing here is versatility if you get the same brand for use of the battery!
- Screws (whatever you have will work!)
Instructions
The biggest thing to remember with this project is that your measurements will be based off of what size “table top” you want, but the premise will be the same. We had a piece of scrap plywood so we started with that and made the rest up as we went! This was an easy project for all three of us to participate in and does not require perfection like most of the other projects Glenn has completed solo.
PRO TIP: Before turning the saw on, be sure the line up the blade just outside the pencil line so the cut piece is exactly the length marked.
You will need four pieces of wood to make the tabletop. You want these pieces to fully line up – so measure your table top for on set, then include the tabletop plus the sides in your measurement for the other pair of boards.
Find the center of your side boards and draw a line down the center. Line the edge of your table top up on the center line, and draw a second line to show where the board will be screwed in. This will create a line to show you where to drill your holes & screw in. It will also create one side that is more shallow (the top where your treats will go) and the deeper side which will be the bototm and create the space to screw in the legs.
Now you’ll need to make the legs of your chicnic table. You’ll need 4 pieces the same length with cuts at 45 degree angles (going the same direction) so the sides lay flat on the underside of your table and the ground). The length really depends on the height you want your chicnic table to be. Use clamps to secure the legs (one side at a time) and drill your starter holes, then screw in in leg to the outside lip you created that’s the deeper side.
For the cross beams on the sides (to hold the “benches”) you’ll want to leave about 3 inches overhang on each side to sit the bench on. Use clamps to hold in place, then drill your holes (two for each side) and then screw on each side of your crossbeam.
Time to add the “benches” on each side. You’ll screw each side into the cross beam, leaving about an inch overlap on each side. Two screws on each side will do. Repeat for the second side.
And you’re done! You can either leave as is if the wood is treated or you can stain it. We chose the later and used a stain we had leftover from other projects. But first, we had to have the favorite chicken try it out of course! Thankfully, Eggbert approved 😉
Now on to the stain! This one is a great option! PRO TIP: a little goes a LONG way in staining, so no need for a large amount.
Once it dried, we moved it to the backyard to show the girls. The goal is to be able to use it for veggie treats instead of throwing them out in the yard and random tomato plants popping up everywhere. They seem to have it enjoyed it thus far! And it was a fun family project to complete!
Next up: a tiny chicnic table for the younger chicks!
