Our shed to coop conversion - Phoenix, AZ!!!

[MattandTolonia]

OK all, first of all we are new to this site and also to chickens! We are husband and wife with two kids ages 10 and three, a 100 pound - 30 year old Desert tortoise, and We have a little more than an acre in our new (to us) home and in the back corner was a shed that we painted and are converting to a chicken coop. We are calling it “The Crypto Coop” since I’m all in 100% invested into cryptocurrency and bitcoin. But this is a chicken website so let’s move on....



It is now a 9 x 7 empty shell that is painted and the floors sealed. There is an overhead fluorescent light that I considered turning into a fan? Thoughts?



It’s very solid and is framed in with insulation, has electricity, A/C vents toward floor, and even has that thing on the roof that spins to suck out the hot air.

I just completed blackjack 57 application to the floor of the coop and up the walls a foot. The floor had linoleum slats that were cracking apart and what looks like an unsealed wood floor underneath. Thank you to whoever suggested blackjack 57 in one of the threads that I read during my research phase.



for the run we started to string up a bunch of colored rope we had because of the size of the ceiling canopy. The run is 25ft x 25ft and I felt like it would be easier to try this method to deter flying predators Rather than try to figure out how to make a chicken wire roof that won’t collapse.



We quickly learned that 110° days cause the nylon in the rope to get soft and sag. We need to string up some kind of support situation. I’m thinking of taking all the rope down and restringing it and around each turn through the eye hook apply in some kind of crimp to hold tight.

In regards to land predators, we don’t know. I have a 6 foot wall all the way around the entire backyard completely enclosed. We are going to get some test chickens to see if they survive more than a day or two when we are ready to get started. If they don’t, we will have to figure out how to make a roof structure. At that point I will attach pictures and ask for help.

Automatic chicken feeders I put together out of 4in pvc pipe are going to be on the back wall which will be in a picture. I’m not sure where to attach these. I also need a hole with a door to let the chickens out. Where to put these things? Hmmmm.



Chicken swing will hang from trees - how high off the ground should it be? I don’t want it to be so high that they get hurt if they fall. If that’s a silly question, remember I’m new. I know they can flap their wings, but I read that if you don’t pad the coop floor, then the heavier chickens when they jump down off their roost can hurt their feet and get some Foot issues.



I’m going to cut a hole in the back by the feeders for a door opening for them to get in and out of the run. I’m debating on the placement. The floor of the coop is only a couple inches above the ground outside. They would not need a ramp to get outside into the run if I created the opening low enough.

Going to have automatic water feeder‘s with the nipples both inside and out. Will most likely hang from trees And on the inside of the coop I thought I could hang the water underneath the poop board. I have seen that set up in other threads.

I was thinking of having a single poop board from one end to the other along the length of back wall. Nesting boxes beneath. But I see people put different heights for their bars because of the pecking order and wanting to be higher... So I was wondering if I should do one roost bar 9 feet wide all the way across the back wall or cut it in the middle and make one perch maybe an inch or two higher than the other one. So it would be side by side roost bars but one higher or just one straight bar across. I was intending to have the roosting bar maybe 6-7 inches above the poop board which will have Sweet PDZ in it.

Since the nesting boxes will be beneath that board along the back wall, it should make egg collection easy. Just walk straight in and collect.
We are not sure how many chickens we will have yet but figured there are 4 of us in house so 4 chickens. Each have one we pick and name. We have never had chickens before and are very excited

I’m not sure what other information to include so if you have any questions let me know when I can share pictures. This is my first time posting on the forum like this so Give us some tips and ideas.

Random pics to follow to give you idea of what coop area looks like.

 

[MattandTolonia]

Also, in the run area is like pea gravel on the dirt. should we rake that out of the run so its less rocky/gravel?

we intend to hopefully let them free in the backyard! we have lots of grass and crawly things.

and we need a cat, we found a mouse back by the tortoise area/coop. i heard we will get mice. oh well.

also, what am i putting on the floor? i intended to pad it with like 6 inches of hay/bermuda grass, but read on other threads that they got mites, etc.

what is the floor situation gonna look like?

 

[MattandTolonia]

More pictures of the area for reference.

 

[Steven Bussell]

Really your floor bedding really depends on you... this question gets asked a 100 times a month .
Read a ton of old post. they will cover everything from nesting boxes ventilation, lighting, bedding or everyevery else.
One thing to consider is feed location. I don't see a place outside there it will stay dry?

 

[pennyJo1960]

You will need to move the feed in or it will get wet trust me we have roofs for ours
sorry thunder lighting here our roofs for the two outside feeders needed painted had them out storm tonight got them back in fast

 

[Steven Bussell]

Hey I just looked back though your pictures. My city requires that our coop and run are no closer than 15' to a neighbor's house. Your neighbors house doesn't set back that far from your fence/wall ?
Do you know your city code for keeping chickens?
We are allowed roosters but all it takes is one complaint from a neighbor and it's a no go .
Will you be having a rooster

 

[gtaus]

Welcome to the BYC forum!

Very nice shed to coop conversion. As to changing the overhead light to a fan, I don't think a fan light combo (like in a house) would last very long due to the dander generated from the birds. Everything gets full of that fine dust and a ceiling fan/light would not last very long. There are livestock fans made for high dust areas, but they usually vent out a side wall. You can get them for just over $100, but they should last much longer and be much safer. Regular house fans cannot stand up to the dander and the motors have been knows to seize up and even start fires.

My chicken run is only 13x13 feet. I strung twine from one corner to the other making an "X" across the top. On top of this, I put a 14x14 foot bird netting I got at a local farm store. The X twine support works good enough for my run, but there is a little sag. If I had a 25X25 run, I would still use the twine, but perhaps build a wooden support Tee in the middle where all the twine would be supported. Maybe add more twine in the middle of the sides up to the Tee. Then I would put a 25X25 bird netting on top of that to deter aerial predators. I live on a lake and we have lots of bald eagles and hawks that would love a chicken dinner.

My chicken run has 6 foot tall 2x4 wire. It is predator resistant, not predator proof. But the girls get locked up in their coop at night which is like Fort Knox safe. I went with the 6 foot tall wire so I can stand up in the chicken run without bending over. If you need overhead greater than 6 feet, you could make your center support Tee about 7 feet high, or so, and then you would not have to worry about much sagging.

I have my pop door on the same side as my chicken run. My people door is outside the run. So I can clean and/or maintain the coop just by shutting down the pop door when the birds are in the run and I don't worry about them getting back into the coop and flying out on me. I also have a people door on the chicken run, so I can clean/maintain the run while the girls are locked up in the coop. As you can tell, I don't like to be distracted by birds sneaking out when I am busy cleaning. And yes, before I had everything set up, that is what happened to me a number of times. 5 minutes of cleaning turned into 20 minutes trying to catch loose birds on the run.

I think the more you can automate your feeding and water, the better. I have a 5 gallon bucket feeder hanging in the coop and just a double wall 3 gallon waterer sitting on a base, but I only have to refill the feeder and waterer only about once every 10 days for my 10 birds.

I have a roosting board at 2 feet high and another at 4 feet high. My nest boxes are built 1 foot off the floor bottom. I don't think you would want the nest boxes directly below the roost bars, unless you plan on cleaning the top of the nest boxes daily. It took a few weeks, but my girls went from sleeping on the floor bedding, to using the lower bar, and now all 10 girls are sleeping on the high roost every night.

I currently don't have a poop board. I use a dry deep litter system and just fluff up the wood chips every so often. So far, it has worked for me. My idea was to minimize the amount of time needed for cleaning, and having a poop board that needs to be cleaned every few days did not appeal to me. As my girls get older, I may reconsider the option of adding a poop board. But for now, I don't see any need for one.

I made a drop down access panel on the backside of my nesting boxes, so I do not have to go into the coop itself to collect eggs. That should make is easier for me, but you have a nice shed conversion built for walk in access. My coop is built on an old boat trailer frame and I use a ladder as steps for when I need to get into the coop. Fortunately, I can access everything I really need from just opening the access doors and windows, so I have not been inside my coop for about 5 weeks now. I might build some real steps someday, but really, I don't have to go inside the coop for anything except for occasional cleaning/maintenance. So my step ladder works good enough.

I would not worry too much about mice, your chickens might catch them and eat them anyway. If you do have a mouse problem, you might want to put a cover on your feed at night.

I would think your pea gravel floor in the run would be just fine. I have my chicken run on grass, but the chickens are scratching it down to dirt. I have been throwing in extra grass clipping in the run and making a carpet of grass clippings. If that proves not to work after a good rain, I might start throwing in wood chips to cover the ground. Anything to keep them out of the mud. You pea gravel floor is probably a better setup than what most people have available for their chickens.

In any case, it really looks like you are going to have an eggcellent setup to raise your birds. Best wishes.

 

[Steven Bussell]

I mixed pea gravel,sand, pea moss and small untreated bark in my run. The chicken will do the mixing. The heavier stuff ends up on the bottom of the mix. Every night I do a quick racking to fill in the holes they dig. Then I add water and food as needed.
I'm not worried about providing a week worth of food or water. Every other day I drain my waterer, clean and refill.
It's all set up to drain through a hose or into a bucket to be used around the yard. I only put out a day and a half of food just incase I get home late.
Our goal should not be about how little of time spent feeding and caring for them.
But it should be about providing them a fresh clean environment. Even if it means more work.
Every day I spend at least 3 hours talking care of them and sitting with them and enjoying my cold or hot coffee.
I replaced the time I would spend watching tv to watching FLOCK TV.
Its more positive and relaxing

 

[gtaus]

Our goal should not be about how little of time spent feeding and caring for them. But it should be about providing them a fresh clean environment. Even if it means more work. Every day I spend at least 3 hours talking care of them and sitting with them and enjoying my cold or hot coffee.

I appreciate your dedication to your flock. However, not everyone has the desire to spend 3+ hours per day with their backyard flock. I try to minimize the time required to care for my birds. I automate as much as possible. I will agree that a fresh clean environment is necessary and you need to dedicate as much time as necessary to keep it clean. Some methods of tending your flock reduce your cleaning and maintenance chores. That is why I use a deep litter method and have removable nest boxes. That is why I have twice the minimum space requirements for my chicken coop and run. All that built in extra space reduces my required cleaning.

People have different reasons for having a backyard flock. If I had to spend 3+ hours a day with my flock, they would be gone. But I do understand how other people may not only have that time to spend with their birds, but it may be the reason they keep them.

And yes, I too enjoy my chicken TV as my outside patio deck looks down out on the backyard with the coop and run. Not only that, but I can watch the girls from my kitchen and my home office windows too.

 

[Ghosty]

I think if more automated methods work for you, that is great. I've tried some, but I have too many birds for that. I give them fresh, cold water every morning in the summer, and might refill it again later in the day. If I don't, the water tank is full of larvae by the next day. I feed from feed pans. I have to have 3 large feed pans going in different areas, to give them the space they need due to pecking order. I do have a nipple waterer in the coop, and one outside, for emergencies, should their water get spilled, and train all my chicks to one. Sometimes, I end up with older birds that don't use them, though. I think it is helpful to mention flock size and type; 4 layers is far different from a large mixed flock. I have around 30 birds, a mix of layers and game chickens. Everyone has differing situations, and there is really no one right method.