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

[Coop de Grass]

Thanks for the info about the powder! What size screen would you suggest? I will have to look at the garden tools! I will check the link, thanks.

 

[Coop de Grass]

Mesh basket! Brilliant idea! And I probably have one somewhere. leveler is pretty simple too.

 

[otakalhasas]

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!

I absolutely LOVE it!!!!! And the idea of adapting a smaller coop within the yard so that chicks can have a safety zone, well that's is simply genius!!! Thanks so much for taking the time to share your lovely, lovely set-up!!

 

[Coop de Grass]

I absolutely LOVE it!!!!! And the idea of adapting a smaller coop within the yard so that chicks can have a safety zone, well that's is simply genius!!! Thanks so much for taking the time to share your lovely, lovely set-up!!

Thank you @otakalhasas I am always looking at ways to improve the chicken kingdom. I have 2 week old chicks inside the house in a brooder, so that smaller coop is about to be detached from the little run and although the 4 week olds will stay in that coop, they will have a fence around it that has little doors that allows them to go in and out, but that none of the hens and 12 week old checks can get through. The brooder is going to go out into the small run. That run was a prefab unit that I got at Tractor supply. I've had the little ones under a MHP, but when they go out, I'll move the ecobrooder in with them. Just waiting for the sun to come out this weekend.

Also, @aart suggested using Sweet PDZ under my roosts, and that has been incredible advice. It is easy to scoop, keeps everything dry, and it doesn't smell!

I love this community! Thank you for your comment.

 

[Kathyb2]

Where did you buy your shed from?

 

[Coop de Grass]

Where did you buy your shed from?

We got it at Home Depot. It is a Sun Cast Shed. I have hardware cloth cut to fit the windows and when it warms up, the windows are open 24/7.

 

[Tessa's Mom]

Hello! I know that this is an old thread, but I just wanted to say thank you for sharing your ideas! I'm sold on a resin shed-type coop and love getting ideas! I will definitely go with a poop board too and will cut in an auto chicken door to the run. Thanks again and I hope your coop is working out great!

 

[Taylorbrood]

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!

This is amazing, we just got a 10x8 resin from home depot and I am wondering what kind and size screws did you use to mount the roosting boards, and how did you cut the hole in the side? and finally did you screw the run to it? mine has double doors and a set of windows with shutters on each side, dreading leveling the yard. Our biggest predators are rats, hawks, eagles, dogs and cats and most recently a family of cougars spotted in the area. I plan to house my ducks in there and somebody wants to put the lawn mower and rotatiller in there, but I don't think that is a very good idea unless we divide the area in half with a pony wall and fencing so that we can get a cross breeze.

 

[Taylorbrood]

Hello! I know that this is an old thread, but I just wanted to say thank you for sharing your ideas! I'm sold on a resin shed-type coop and love getting ideas! I will definitely go with a poop board too and will cut in an auto chicken door to the run. Thanks again and I hope your coop is working out great!

just wondering how yours is working? I just got one and it seems intimidating lol

 

[Coop de Grass]

This is amazing, we just got a 10x8 resin from home depot and I am wondering what kind and size screws did you use to mount the roosting boards, and how did you cut the hole in the side? and finally did you screw the run to it? mine has double doors and a set of windows with shutters on each side, dreading leveling the yard. Our biggest predators are rats, hawks, eagles, dogs and cats and most recently a family of cougars spotted in the area. I plan to house my ducks in there and somebody wants to put the lawn mower and rotatiller in there, but I don't think that is a very good idea unless we divide the area in half with a pony wall and fencing so that we can get a cross breeze.

Hi, I've used all kinds of screws to fasten the roosts and the nest boxes- for the most part, I've used self drilling screws with wide threads. I've reconfigured the roosts 4 or 5 times, so there are holes here and there where the roost used to be. I used face mount joist hanging brackets and 2x4s that sit so the hens sit on the width of the 2x4.

I have hardware cloth permanently attached to the windows- I removed the plexiglass panes. In the winter, the windows are covered with plywood. The shed does get hot in the summer, so my husband installed an attic fan in the vent above the double doors, and I leave the door open when it is very hot. We have fencing around the coop that has netting above it, so as long as it is daylight I can leave the door open.

The run is not screwed to the shed, just right up against it. We have expanded it in the last year. The 4x4s are set in metal post holders that are 24" deep.

I had put linoleum on the floor, but it did not work out very well, and I've been pulling it up.

Hello! I know that this is an old thread, but I just wanted to say thank you for sharing your ideas! I'm sold on a resin shed-type coop and love getting ideas! I will definitely go with a poop board too and will cut in an auto chicken door to the run. Thanks again and I hope your coop is working out great!

Thanks! The resin shed was an affordable solution for us, though I would love to have a wooden coop. We do not have the time to build one and these days it would require my husband to help me. He would do it, but there is very little time for this kind of construction!

Let me know how it is working for you! And please post some photos. I would love to see them. I have made some changes, and will try to post them soon.