When we moved to the country, I couldn't wait to get some chickens. The property had a 3 stall barn, so I decided to convert one of the stalls to a chicken stall. The stall I chose was a 11'X10' stall with a sloping 6'-7' metal roof.
Materials list:
Pallets (free from local business)
Linoleum (free remnant from local business)
2"X4" Boards
1/2"x2" Boards
2"x2" Boards
Plywood sheets 8'X4'
Hardware cloth
1/2" Styrofoam sheets
Chains (to hang the food & water) & S hooks
Expanding foam
Nails, Screws, Eye screws
The plans:
We left about 3' space between the coop and the front of the stall for storage and access doors. The coop part of the stall was laid with pallets for the 11'X7' area, then covered with plywood. Studs were installed every few feet along the front of the coop section using the 2"x4" boards. These would be used to attach the hardware cloth, access doors, human door, ramp, and nesting boxes. The human door, access doors and ramp area were roughed in using the 2"x4" boards screwed into the studs. Plywood sheets were used for the sides and back of the coop for the lower 3 feet to protect from drafts in the winter.
Access doors were built with 2"X4"s and hardware cloth to fit the opening as well as the human door. Hinges were used to attach them to the studs.
Nest boxes were then added using the plywood, making 1'X1' boxes. A 1'x8' plywood board was installed 15" off the floor to create the bottom of the nest boxes as well as the landing for the ramp to the yard. The 2"x4"s were used to support this base off the floor. 1'x1' pieces were then used as dividers.
The entire front of the coop, and from the plywood to the ceiling were all covered in hardware cloth.
To finish the floor, the laminate remnant was cut to the size/shape of the floor + 3-4" on each side, and nailed to the plywood. The extra inches were curved up the walls to hold in the sand/shavings.
Then the leftover pallets were used as supports for the roost on the back and side. 2"x4"s and 2"x2"s were used to go across these, and nailed together. A 1"x4" board was used as a ramp from the roost to the nest boxes. A piece of shelving is shown as well, but later removed for easier access to clean.
Since the roof was metal, the stall would get very hot in the summer, and cold in the winter. Styrofoam sheets were used to insulate by cutting them to fit between the rafters. The cross-rafters held them up. Expanding foam was used to fill in any spaces or holes.
Access was then needed from the coop to the chicken yard. A ramp was fashioned, angling from the landing beside the nest boxes to ground level at the stall front wall. An opening in the stall wall was cut to fit the ramp. 2"x2"s were used to form the ramp with a plywood piece as the bottom. 1"x2"x12" strips were used 6-8" apart as grip on the ramp. The ramp was enclosed in the hardware cloth, and screwed into place.
Leftover shelving uprights were screwed to the exterior wall on either side of the ramp to create a track for the chicken door. The door was built from leftover pieces of wood. A screw eye was attached to the top of the door, and a small rope/string tied to it. This ran through some pulleys to reach over to the exterior fence so the door could be raised and lowered from outside the chicken yard.
Screw eyes were attached to the rafters, and the chain was hung from them to hold the food and water containers. The chickens have 2 separate yards so I can separate chickens if needed, and there is a chicken tunnel running along the fence so they can keep the fence-line cleaned up.
Since there was no running water at the barn, we installed a rain barrel as a water source.
Future plans:
-To extend the tunnel around the house yard
-Design & install a catch basin to go just under the roost to catch the poop, and make cleaning easier
-Install a new water container using a nipple waterer
Materials list:
Pallets (free from local business)
Linoleum (free remnant from local business)
2"X4" Boards
1/2"x2" Boards
2"x2" Boards
Plywood sheets 8'X4'
Hardware cloth
1/2" Styrofoam sheets
Chains (to hang the food & water) & S hooks
Expanding foam
Nails, Screws, Eye screws
The plans:
We left about 3' space between the coop and the front of the stall for storage and access doors. The coop part of the stall was laid with pallets for the 11'X7' area, then covered with plywood. Studs were installed every few feet along the front of the coop section using the 2"x4" boards. These would be used to attach the hardware cloth, access doors, human door, ramp, and nesting boxes. The human door, access doors and ramp area were roughed in using the 2"x4" boards screwed into the studs. Plywood sheets were used for the sides and back of the coop for the lower 3 feet to protect from drafts in the winter.
Access doors were built with 2"X4"s and hardware cloth to fit the opening as well as the human door. Hinges were used to attach them to the studs.
Nest boxes were then added using the plywood, making 1'X1' boxes. A 1'x8' plywood board was installed 15" off the floor to create the bottom of the nest boxes as well as the landing for the ramp to the yard. The 2"x4"s were used to support this base off the floor. 1'x1' pieces were then used as dividers.
The entire front of the coop, and from the plywood to the ceiling were all covered in hardware cloth.
To finish the floor, the laminate remnant was cut to the size/shape of the floor + 3-4" on each side, and nailed to the plywood. The extra inches were curved up the walls to hold in the sand/shavings.
Then the leftover pallets were used as supports for the roost on the back and side. 2"x4"s and 2"x2"s were used to go across these, and nailed together. A 1"x4" board was used as a ramp from the roost to the nest boxes. A piece of shelving is shown as well, but later removed for easier access to clean.
Since the roof was metal, the stall would get very hot in the summer, and cold in the winter. Styrofoam sheets were used to insulate by cutting them to fit between the rafters. The cross-rafters held them up. Expanding foam was used to fill in any spaces or holes.
Access was then needed from the coop to the chicken yard. A ramp was fashioned, angling from the landing beside the nest boxes to ground level at the stall front wall. An opening in the stall wall was cut to fit the ramp. 2"x2"s were used to form the ramp with a plywood piece as the bottom. 1"x2"x12" strips were used 6-8" apart as grip on the ramp. The ramp was enclosed in the hardware cloth, and screwed into place.
Leftover shelving uprights were screwed to the exterior wall on either side of the ramp to create a track for the chicken door. The door was built from leftover pieces of wood. A screw eye was attached to the top of the door, and a small rope/string tied to it. This ran through some pulleys to reach over to the exterior fence so the door could be raised and lowered from outside the chicken yard.
Screw eyes were attached to the rafters, and the chain was hung from them to hold the food and water containers. The chickens have 2 separate yards so I can separate chickens if needed, and there is a chicken tunnel running along the fence so they can keep the fence-line cleaned up.
Future plans:
-To extend the tunnel around the house yard
-Design & install a catch basin to go just under the roost to catch the poop, and make cleaning easier
-Install a new water container using a nipple waterer
