Hi everyone,
I have a large shed at the bottom of my garden and have converted about a third of it into a coop for the winter months and for when we have excessive bad weather. The shed is approximately 13'X8'.
This is how it started out...
I bought some cheap wood and some off cuts of plyboard from a timber merchants and sectioned off a third of my shed by building a frame for my winter coop in the left hand side.
I used some thick, rigid wire mesh for the window to allow ventilation and built a door with two sliding bolts to keep the coop secure.
I then used some more plyboard for a large nesting box. (This didn't take too long to knock up)
Next, I cut to size a broom handle and secured this at either side of the coop for a perch and because I had some left over, I added a smaller one too. Then I decided to build a droppings board underneath the perches to catch the droppings and make cleaning the coop an easier task. I cover this board with old newspaper and remove it when soiled.
I found the old 'Meadowside' house sign in another shed of mine and thought I'd put it to good use and name the chicken coop that.
Then I built a ladder leading to the droppings board for the chickens to jump up onto the perches. (I did lower the perches after these photos were taken to make it easier for them to jump up. I dont think it was too high, I just think they were a bit lazy and just decided to roost on the board but lowering it encouraged them to jump up onto it.) I added a few long screws to the left hand side of the coop to hang cleaning tools to keep things organised.
And finally, I gave the shed a well needed lick of paint. It was VERY thirsty and absorbed loads! But it now looks much better!
This coop, as I mentioned earlier, is only used for the cold winter months and extreme weather conditions. I like my chooks to live outside and even in winter during the day my chickens will live outside but at night will be carried into 'Meadowside'.
I also built the wooden framed chicken coop that you can see here and stapled chicken wire all around it. This is where my chickens live at the moment. They are happy chickens!
I have a large shed at the bottom of my garden and have converted about a third of it into a coop for the winter months and for when we have excessive bad weather. The shed is approximately 13'X8'.
This is how it started out...
I bought some cheap wood and some off cuts of plyboard from a timber merchants and sectioned off a third of my shed by building a frame for my winter coop in the left hand side.
I used some thick, rigid wire mesh for the window to allow ventilation and built a door with two sliding bolts to keep the coop secure.
I then used some more plyboard for a large nesting box. (This didn't take too long to knock up)
Next, I cut to size a broom handle and secured this at either side of the coop for a perch and because I had some left over, I added a smaller one too. Then I decided to build a droppings board underneath the perches to catch the droppings and make cleaning the coop an easier task. I cover this board with old newspaper and remove it when soiled.
I found the old 'Meadowside' house sign in another shed of mine and thought I'd put it to good use and name the chicken coop that.
Then I built a ladder leading to the droppings board for the chickens to jump up onto the perches. (I did lower the perches after these photos were taken to make it easier for them to jump up. I dont think it was too high, I just think they were a bit lazy and just decided to roost on the board but lowering it encouraged them to jump up onto it.) I added a few long screws to the left hand side of the coop to hang cleaning tools to keep things organised.
And finally, I gave the shed a well needed lick of paint. It was VERY thirsty and absorbed loads! But it now looks much better!
This coop, as I mentioned earlier, is only used for the cold winter months and extreme weather conditions. I like my chooks to live outside and even in winter during the day my chickens will live outside but at night will be carried into 'Meadowside'.
I also built the wooden framed chicken coop that you can see here and stapled chicken wire all around it. This is where my chickens live at the moment. They are happy chickens!
