7 ft. 2 in. x 7 ft. 6 in. Resin shed coop conversion

[Coop de Grass]

Hello all!

My chicken adventure started with a small coop that I knew would have to be changed out.

DH decided that they needed room to roam and that he was going to build a predator proof run for his little darlings - the ones he didn't want!

Of course, then they needed to be protected from the rain, so he added a corrugated plastic roof with UV protection!


and even more run space, so the space was extended to the garden fence and forward about 10 feet.

My DH and I decided to use a Resin Storage shed to build our coop – no time to build from scratch, and no money for an Amish shed. My son came home just in time to help!




You can see the small coop here behind the window box, but it is now in the outer run area and has an enclosed run which has been modified so that the chicks can run in and out but the adults cannot get in.


November 2016 after my foot surgery. The run extension has begun!


So far, I have changed the floor plan 4 times and it has only been up since late August 2015!

This is the second or third incarnation. The crate on the right was to accomodate one of my Bielefelder hens. She used it for two weeks and then crammed herself into the plastic nest box next to it. My other Biel insists on laying her eggs under the "step" by the automatic door.

The original shed has been modified with an automatic chicken door on the back wall which opens into a covered run. There is also an additional window at floor level that the girls like to look out of when it gets too breezy, or they just don’t feel like coming outside.

The run is 15’ square and fully predator proof. There is a second run surrounding two sides that adds 10 feet in each direction. That is contained within a fenced are approx. 30 ‘ x 20’ which has bird netting over it.

I have tried deep litter, but it is so dry inside the coop, that nothing is composting and I am worried about the flies during the hot months. I think that I would like to switch to having droppings boards under the roosts.

At the moment to the left there is an 3' square area where I had the chicks isolated, now there is food and water hanging there.

I now have 7 hens, 8 chicks (aged 7 weeks) and 27 eggs in the incubator! I am planning on selling at least ½ of those.
I know that I will need more roost space and have plans to build a smaller coop with some salvaged hardwood flooring.

I would really appreciate any suggestions about the best way to set this coop up in terms of roosts, nest boxes, etc.

Thanks!

 

[Coop de Grass]

I think that I am going to lower the roosts and put a poop board under them. Will post pictures as I go along. I figure that

Then I'll be able to hang the food and water under the poop board. I didn't have the food in the coop until I had chicks. Still not sure that I will keep it in there - the chicks are hardly in the coop except to sleep.

So that means that I could use that space differently

I'm going to have to deal with another passel of chicks soon so more floor space is a great thing!
Might be a good place for the brooder!

 

[rottlady]

That is fantastic!

 

[Coop de Grass]

@rottlady Thank you! We have only had chickens since June 21 2015, and I'm finding out that there is always something else I need to do to make the set up better!

 

[Coop de Grass]

I've added a poop board and lowered the roosts. So far, this is what I have!

 

[aart]

Wow, that's a big poop board!!.....but no reference for size....can you reach the back of it?
How big is the shed? Never mind just read the title haha!
What do you have for ventilation?
How do you attach things to the plastic walls?

Pretty cool setup.

 

[Coop de Grass]

Wow, that's a big poop board!!.....but no reference for size....can you reach the back of it?
How big is the shed? Never mind just read the title haha!
What do you have for ventilation?
How do you attach things to the plastic walls?

Pretty cool setup.

Thanks! It is constantly evolving!

The poop board is 3 feet wide - I can reach across it on my toes, but I am going to rig a rake of some kind! That is what happens to vertically challenged chicken keepers - you get creative!

I had the piece of underlayment cut at Homedepot so I wouldn't have to lug a large piece home and trim it myself - figured it is easier to cut down than to add on

I am worried because the girls just don't seem comfortable roosting, and that doesn't make sense because they are the same roosts, but now they are almost the same height and not up at the ceiling. I figured that during the summer it would be cooler lower down. I will give it a couple of days.

For ventilation, there are 2 vents near the ceiling, and the unit isn't really airtight. I used insulation at the roof line for the cold, but I will be removing that next month. The pop door is open all day. Haven't had any ammonia smell at all, just tons of dust!

I just screw things into the wall! If you look at the joist hangers you will notice that one side is actually screwed into the pvc windows!

Which reminds me that the PVC comes out and the hardware cloth goes in as it warms up. There is an overhang of the corrugated plastic that I can raise if it is going to rain...

The last project was to build portable fence posts - which I based on the ones being sold - can't afford those. Mine may not last as long, but they are taller


I could use any advice you have!

Right now I am keeping an eye on the small incubator because I have an OE that hatched and a Crested cream legbar that has zipped. 3 more to go.

 

[aart]

Any change takes a few days for them to get used to.

I took a standard garden hoe with the handle cut down to manipulate the poop board contents for sifting......
....but I only have 1/2" of the stuff on there and sift it all every other day - rather than just pick the poops out with a slotted scoop ala kitty litter pan
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...raphic-gross-poop-pictures/1100#post_13179595

 

[Coop de Grass]

Any change takes a few days for them to get used to.

I took a standard garden hoe with the handle cut down to manipulate the poop board contents for sifting......
....but I only have 1/2" of the stuff on there and sift it all every other day - rather than just pick the poops out with a slotted scoop ala kitty litter pan
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...raphic-gross-poop-pictures/1100#post_13179595

I like your idea about the garden hoe. I was thinking about using 1/2" hardware cloth to make a sifter - the kitty litter scoop is ridiculous!

I have less than an inch in there right now and it doesn't go all the way to the edges. It is granular because that is what they had at Tractor Supply - 2 15 lb bags. My local feed store has the powder in 40 lb bags so I will pick some up from them. Do you use the powder? And do you think it is safe to use the droppings in compost?

Two chicks hatched and

for the other 3. The first two are banging all over the other eggs... they are in the Brinsea mini advance because they are a week ahead of the others in the larger incubator! I'm thinking my Broody hen kept moving her eggs until the hatched, so they should be ok.

 

[aart]

DO NOT get the powder!!
The granular is dusty enough.
1/2" is way too big....did you look at the link?

You can use it in the garden compost.....