Shed into Coop - Need Ideas & Suggestions

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clickdb

clickdb

Chirping
May 22, 2015
226
60
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High Desert, Southern California
My Coop
My Coop
Hey everyone, I am in the planning stages of converting a shed on my property into a coop. Before i go all in, i want to have a decent plan for reconditioning the interior into a good coop.
Here's the shed, which is 20'x12', but i will only be using a 12'x12' area as the coop living space. The front door will open into the coop, and there is a separate side door to access the remaining 8'x12' storage area.

Here is an aerial view of the coop and run areas. The shed is outlined in blue, a 10'x12' growout/separation run (fully covered) is in yellow, and a 36'x24' fenced run is in green. They will also have over 2 acres to free range on.


all suggestions are welcome, i am really excited to make a larger home for my chickens! (also, then i can get more of them hehe)
 
depending on the temp range where you live you will probably need to add lots of ventilation to the coop area.

I would also consider adding outside accessible nest boxes so you can collect eggs without having to go inside to get them.
 
Yes, ventilation is definitely part of the plan. Its not visible in the picture but there is a spinning ventilator on the other side of the roof. I also plan to cut out the V at the roof line and cover with hardware cloth.
You can probably tell by the picture, i live in the desert so it gets HOT... last 3 days have been over a hundred, poor guys are just laying around trying to keep cool. at least there is lots of sand for them to play in lol.
 
Started cleaning out the shed today, planning to cover the windows with hardware cloth this week and cut out the ventilation holes under the eve of the roof.
How far off the walls should the roosts be? And the walls are about 8' high, I was thinking to make the about 4' up. (Level with the bottom of the windows) I know they will end up playing on the roof rafters as well.

400
 
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clickdb said:
Started cleaning out the shed today, planning to cover the windows with hardware cloth this week and cut out the ventilation holes under the eve of the roof.
How far off the walls should the roosts be? And the walls are about 8' high, I was thinking to make the about 4' up. (Level with the bottom of the windows) I know they will end up playing on the roof rafters as well.

400
Click to expand...
The roost should be at least a foot off the wall, if your going to use some type of poop board i would cover the ceiling with chicken wire because they will be all over the rafters and poop containment will be useless at that point.
 
I deep litter and for me it seems to be an easier route than the board. Since you live in the desert, if there is power to the shed you could install a fan in the coop. It gets really hot and muggy here and I use one blowing straight out the door and it helps alot to cool the coop. I also used a shed but it's metal and tucked in the tree line of the woods.
 
I did stuff today, so here's an update.
Put hardware cloth over the windows, and started adding new ventilation.
4 windows like this:
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I got the middle section of the eve cleared, had to get a pick axe in there to pry off the siding haha. Forgot to take a picture of that, once I've got it completely secured I'll put up more pictures.
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I am seriously considering the deep litter method for this coop, how deep should the sand be?
 
Thats going to be a great coop. Cant wait to see it once it is finished.

For the DLM you dont want to use sand. I use a variety of natural elements that will break down and produce micro organisms which are very good for chickens. I use things like coconut mulch, grass and weed clippings, leaves, wood chips from a tree service, dirt, pine shavings and so on. It keeps the coop smelling like a earthy forest and never smells. Just keep adding natural elements and the chickens will add to it with their special contributions.
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I have a cement floor in my coop and it works great. It looks like you have a wood floor in there if I am not mistaken. You may want to cover it with something so the wood does not break down. In my run I add all that natural goodness over the dirt.

Good luck and happy chickening!
Marie
 
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Thanks for the heads up about the DLM, I am reading through the thread now so I understand it better. And yeah, I'll have to put something down on the floor so it doesn't become compost too.

I got the rest of the paneling off the wall, but had to call it a day before I could do any covering or finishing on it. The kids have to come before the chickens lol. Tomorrow is another day.

400
 
clickdb said:
Thanks for the heads up about the DLM, I am reading through the thread now so I understand it better. And yeah, I'll have to put something down on the floor so it doesn't become compost too.

I got the rest of the paneling off the wall, but had to call it a day before I could do any covering or finishing on it. The kids have to come before the chickens lol. Tomorrow is another day.

Click to expand...
great job and yes I know what you mean. I dont have any kids at home but my six Yorkies come before the chickens as well. I call them my hairy kids.
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