Have the chickens, now I need a coop. Please help!!!

[Chesadream]

Do you think not having a foundation on the shed would be an issue? Can I set it on the ground (if I put a hardware cloth apron around the outside), or would I have to build a foundation for the shed?

If you don't use hardware screen on the floor or concrete you will get rats inside. the chicken usually treat them like family except they do eat a lot of food

 

[FunClucks]

If you don't use hardware screen on the floor or concrete you will get rats inside. the chicken usually treat them like family except they do eat a lot of food

Good to know, thank you!

 

[Chesadream]

The metal shed isn't a bad idea, as long as you really up the ventilation and put it in the shade.

If you have any skills and can invest the time check craigslist for free pallets and lumber I built my 4x9 with extended nesting area I've as many as 6 hens and a rooster the size of a turkey in there

 

[FunClucks]

Mostly-Final Run pictures. I added a 3 ft apron with about 600 12" garden stakes to hold it down. Also two latches secured with carabiners and a sliding latch, all on the coop door. Took a lot of metal zip ties. Used house wrap to cover where I folded the hardware cloth from the ends over the body hardware cloth, and secured in place at the bottom to wooden stakes drilled into the wood frame.

 

[FunClucks]

Final summer run pics and winterized run pics (plastic on it in addition to the tarp). I added a pallet shelter in the middle, but the (stupid!) chickens kept roosting on top of it, and I got tired of putting them down inside the shelter, so I converted the top edges to a roost. My rooster got frostbite on his comb in the -9F weather, but that's totally unseasonable here. Probably won't happen again for years. Everyone kept all their toes, so I figure it's a win. Used my electric immersion bucket heater for a week to keep the water unfrozen.

No predators have gotten through the hardware cloth, though several have tried to dig. Trapped a raccoon, possum, and have seen foxes and hawks and the neighbor's cats around. No chicken losses this year. No free ranging due to predators and AI. Lots and lots of light due to transparent tarp. Getting 12-14 eggs from my 15 hens in the dead of winter (only one is molting).

Took somewhere around $1500+ to build, but I got exactly the size and configuration I wanted. Only thing to make it better would be exterior access nesting boxes, which would be totally doable if I had the time and inclination. I have some ideas to add poop boards to the roost area so I can collect more poop without shavings for the compost heap, but so far the chickens mix it back into the litter pretty well.

I'm still in the process of setting up a metal shed coop, but I don't think they actually need it. They made it through summer and -9F weather with just a touch of frostbite. I'll probably finish up the shed/coop anyway, but no rush, since we're heading into summer again.

Year-round Fort Knox open coop/run for the win!

 

[3KillerBs]

Final summer run pics and winterized run pics (plastic on it in addition to the tarp). I added a pallet shelter in the middle, but the (stupid!) chickens kept roosting on top of it, and I got tired of putting them down inside the shelter, so I converted the top edges to a roost. My rooster got frostbite on his comb in the -9F weather, but that's totally unseasonable here. Probably won't happen again for years. Everyone kept all their toes, so I figure it's a win. Used my electric immersion bucket heater for a week to keep the water unfrozen.

No predators have gotten through the hardware cloth, though several have tried to dig. Trapped a raccoon, possum, and have seen foxes and hawks and the neighbor's cats around. No chicken losses this year. No free ranging due to predators and AI. Lots and lots of light due to transparent tarp. Getting 12-14 eggs from my 15 hens in the dead of winter (only one is molting).

Took somewhere around $1500+ to build, but I got exactly the size and configuration I wanted. Only thing to make it better would be exterior access nesting boxes, which would be totally doable if I had the time and inclination. I have some ideas to add poop boards to the roost area so I can collect more poop without shavings for the compost heap, but so far the chickens mix it back into the litter pretty well.

I'm still in the process of setting up a metal shed coop, but I don't think they actually need it. They made it through summer and -9F weather with just a touch of frostbite. I'll probably finish up the shed/coop anyway, but no rush, since we're heading into summer again.

Year-round Fort Knox open coop/run for the win!

Looks great!

 

[McChooky]

Good job!

 

[fuzzi]

Final summer run pics and winterized run pics (plastic on it in addition to the tarp). I added a pallet shelter in the middle, but the (stupid!) chickens kept roosting on top of it, and I got tired of putting them down inside the shelter, so I converted the top edges to a roost. My rooster got frostbite on his comb in the -9F weather, but that's totally unseasonable here. Probably won't happen again for years. Everyone kept all their toes, so I figure it's a win. Used my electric immersion bucket heater for a week to keep the water unfrozen.

No predators have gotten through the hardware cloth, though several have tried to dig. Trapped a raccoon, possum, and have seen foxes and hawks and the neighbor's cats around. No chicken losses this year. No free ranging due to predators and AI. Lots and lots of light due to transparent tarp. Getting 12-14 eggs from my 15 hens in the dead of winter (only one is molting).

Took somewhere around $1500+ to build, but I got exactly the size and configuration I wanted. Only thing to make it better would be exterior access nesting boxes, which would be totally doable if I had the time and inclination. I have some ideas to add poop boards to the roost area so I can collect more poop without shavings for the compost heap, but so far the chickens mix it back into the litter pretty well.

I'm still in the process of setting up a metal shed coop, but I don't think they actually need it. They made it through summer and -9F weather with just a touch of frostbite. I'll probably finish up the shed/coop anyway, but no rush, since we're heading into summer again.

Year-round Fort Knox open coop/run for the win!

You've given me some ideas, thanks!

So the wall opposite the door is just hardware cloth?

 

[drangle]

I am using cheap metal sheds for my coops. If you go that route I would refine t you set them on top of rail road ties to give the shed more height so the ventilation is above their heads and to keep their bedding above the door tracks. 2 stacked on top of each other is better than just a single layer imo. (Make sure to bolt them together or drill holes through both and stake them to the ground with rebar so they don’t slip apart.

I would also recommend setting 4x4 in the corners of the shed on on the outside and running 2x4 boards vertically along the corners of the inside. Drilll holes and all thread the outside 4x4 to the 2x4 on the inside together with nuts and large washers.
This will make your shed wind proof and also let you build your roosting bars/nesting boxes off of the inner 2x4s.

You will need to cut a 1 foot tall x however long the length of your shed walls are, hole near the top on 3 sides and back it with hardware cloth. This will give you a good amount of ventilation. Trim the cuts out and make a cover a little larger than the size of the hole out of exterior grad Plywood or boards. And attach it to the top of the vent hole with hinges. This will let you cover the hole fully or prop them less than half open and act as an awning for wet weather.


Depending on the direction of your worst wind and the area you have to work with you can decide what side the sliding doors should face. If possible I would use a prop door into the run and use the sliding doors for people access outside the run.

 

[horsegirlll]

Do you think not having a foundation on the shed would be an issue? Can I set it on the ground (if I put a hardware cloth apron around the outside), or would I have to build a foundation for the shed?

you need some kind of foundation to stop animals like foxes or dogs from digging underneath the walls, i wouldn’t even trust the hardware cloth. that’s if your shed doesn’t already have a bottom to it