Converting shed to Chicken Coop

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silkiefluff

silkiefluff

Chirping
6 Years
Aug 22, 2013
122
10
73
NS, Canada
Hubby and I got a free shed a bit ago and thought we'd use it to store our outdoor tools, etc. About a week ago we found a gentlemen that breeds very nice looking Barred Rocks and will sell us some in a couple months. We previous had Cuckoo Marans, but really wanted BRs. When this opportunity came up we realized we'll need more space for them (didn't realize how big they were compared to the Marans). We're only getting three, but want lots of room. The shed is one of these (8x8):



It needs a wall replaced and the doors fixed (and locks added!). We're also adding a large window in the back and two small on either side of the doors. We're doing an outside nest box on one side and the other will have a poop board and roosts. We're going to chicken-wire off the inside, about a foot in, so when we don't want them out we can just open the main doors and they still get lots of air and light. There are no drafts, but I'm not sure where to put the ventilation - I was thinking above the big window in the back and above the doors??

For the floor I was thinking of linoleum for easy cleaning? And then using sand or shavings (we use shavings now) on top.

I'll take pictures of the project as it goes and post here. Am I missing anything?
 
We have a friend who converted part of their shed into a coop. Basically, they build a hutch and attached it to the side of the shed inside. They cut a hole in the side of the shed and made a ramp into a fenced chicken yard.

They still can store other things in the shed - next to and beside the chicken hutch.

The only thing I would be concerned about is the heat inside the shed. Ours is fully exposed to sun and is blazing hot. So, how shady is it around your shed and what kind of ventilation are you adding?
 
I was thinking of adding ventilation to the back and again above the door? Too litte? The summers are hot, but not extremely hot (I'm in Canada). It's more the -30 winters I'm worrying about.

And painting...should it be painted on the inside?
 
I did something similar, converted a 12x16 shed into a coop. I made it so there is a people section for hay, food and supply storage, and then a chicken area, duck area and a 3rd area reserved for sick, injured or picked on birds. For ventalation, in addition to the windows, I added a wooden screen door with the screen replaced by hardware wire so I could open one of the solid doors and then closed the screen door behind it, keeping the coop secure, but allowing tons of light and fresh air. Home Depot sells basic wooden screen doors for $20, and then just remove the screening and replace with hardware wire.

Then I built on a covered run, added windows to the main doors - what started out as a simple shed conversion project took on a life of its own!



 
silkiefluff said:
Hubby and I got a free shed a bit ago and thought we'd use it to store our outdoor tools, etc. About a week ago we found a gentlemen that breeds very nice looking Barred Rocks and will sell us some in a couple months. We previous had Cuckoo Marans, but really wanted BRs. When this opportunity came up we realized we'll need more space for them (didn't realize how big they were compared to the Marans). We're only getting three, but want lots of room. The shed is one of these (8x8):



It needs a wall replaced and the doors fixed (and locks added!). We're also adding a large window in the back and two small on either side of the doors. We're doing an outside nest box on one side and the other will have a poop board and roosts. We're going to chicken-wire off the inside, about a foot in, so when we don't want them out we can just open the main doors and they still get lots of air and light. There are no drafts, but I'm not sure where to put the ventilation - I was thinking above the big window in the back and above the doors??

For the floor I was thinking of linoleum for easy cleaning? And then using sand or shavings (we use shavings now) on top.

I'll take pictures of the project as it goes and post here. Am I missing anything?
Click to expand...


Do you plan to have a run attached to the coop?
 
I've heard about folks who have added power ventilation fans to move the hot air out. Whatever ventilation you make in there is good as long as it isn't drafty... but you could cover the vents partially in the winter.
I wouldn't paint the inside unless you really want to.. extra work
 
Thanks! The ones I've seen painted look nice, but I'm not looking for extra work and I don't think the chickens would care. :p

We got the building moved today (that seemed like the most work just to move it around the back of the house). I'll post pictures soon of the progress!
 
Here are some pictures. It's coming along. We replaced the bad wall and decided to do the other one too. We got two ventilation pieces for above the front door and window on the back. Should that be enough during the Winter? Or should we add more?
We used as much materials we had around as possible. The wood from the walls was a wall in an large, old shed. So it was in great condition and, nice and dry. We used an old window and made the new doors (not pictured yet) out of the same wood. We want to put in linoleum, but I'm not sure how to attach it (would nailing it down work?).


The beginning, after we moved it here.


Really decade wall off



Window going in


The walls are up and window in. We put hardware cloth over the inside of the window and we will cover all the drafts and holes in the sides. The wood across the floor is where the door on the inside will be and it will have screen or chicken wire there.
 

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