8 x 10 shed conversion to chicken coop

[MountainChickenMama]

We are converting an 8 x 10 shed into a new larger coop, does anyone or has anyone ever done this and can you post pictures of the inside of the coop....I have NO idea what to do with the inside, LOL....

 

[kayla_sayswa]

Do you have a picture of your shed? Is it a gambrel roof? We're doing the same thing with a 12x20 shed. I'm building half of it into a coop, the other half into storage. It currently has a rollup door so we're building an actual wall to close up the opening so I can put in a window, a clean out hatch, and a pop door.

Searching this forum for "shed conversion" or "shed converted" will give you lots if ideas and pictures. I also looked at teh chicken coop section of this website for so many more pictures.

Good luck with your conversion and post pictures! We all learn from everyone here...

 

[MountainChickenMama]

Here is a picture......

 

[Ridgerunner]

The location of your door(s), window(s), pop door, and vents are the controlling factors. If your door swings in or out may have an impact. The number of total chickens could be important. Diferent people put different things in the coop. The basics are roosts and nest boxes, but many people feed and water in the coop, some build in brooders, dropping boards, or some place to isolate a broody. There is not really a fixed set standard of what goes in a coop.

I'd start with the roosts. How many do you need? I try positioning them away from traffic areas and the doors. In front of a window is fine but not required. Put them where the chickens will not be sleeping in a draft from your wintertime ventilation. I'd suggest that they be about a foot higher than the top of your nest boxes, but the actual height and installation can wait until your nest boxes are in place. Right now just decide how many and where. When laying out the inside of the coop, try to keep the area in front of the roosts free. Chickens need a clear landing area in front of the roosts.

Then I'd place the nest boxes. I suggest a minimum or two, even with just three hens, but generally put one nest box for every four hens. Six hens means two nests. Ten hens means three. Try to position them where the light from the window does not shine directly into them, though that is not really that critical. Chickens generally look for a darker, secure, hidden place to lay so they can hide from predators, but the light shines directly into mine and they work OK. That "dark" is a nice to have, not a requirement.

Some people build their nest boxes under the roosts and use the top as a droppings board, but that can be inconvenient when bending over to gather eggs. Think what your head could bump into. I put mine on the side wall about 3 feet in front of the roost. That way the chickens can use the top of the nests as an intermediate step when getting to the roosts. That intermediate step is probably not required but mine do use it a lot. Some fly straight to the roosts from the floor though.

That is all you really need inside a coop. If you put anything else, just try to position it where they have a clear space to come down from the roosts.

I just saw your photo. Looks like it is in a pretty area. I can't tell how much ventilation you have. You probably need quite a bit in the summer due to the heat, but you also need a lot in the winter to get rid of moisture.

 

[mandelyn]

Ventilation is REALLY important, we cut out 4 windows, 2 pop doors, and replaced the doors it came with with two that have the upper half as windows. We have a metal shed, so we had to insulate it too. Not needed on the wooden ones, but ventilation is needed on all of them. We used a drill to start a hole and a sawsall to cut it out. Cut some frames, stapled hardware cloth to the window frame, and then bolted it over the window holes, on both sides, to make it pretty.

The cool thing about a shed is you can outfit it as you want.

We built in a brooder or "introduction room", the roof of which is the poo board under the roosts. I have a section of wire dog crate that fits the opening perfect if I need to put birds in it. Otherwise it stays open.

I have plastic stackable totes as nest boxes. Food and water station. Plastic garbage can for the feed storage.

Recently we put a divider wall down the middle and put ducks on the right side, chickens on the left side. The double doors up front allow easy human access to either side.

You just can't beat the square footage and the amount of usable space a storage shed has.

 

[bradgsanford]

I just got finished with a similar project this weekend. I converted an 8X8 shed into a coop. It was really easy. I took a sawzall and cut out some windows and a pop door. Kept the cut out parts and hinged them back on to the building so they can be open and shut as needed. Placed wire over the windows. Rigged a pully to the pop door and ran the line out the front of the building.

For roosts, I just took 2 8' 2x3s and ran them from one side of the shed to another in the back. one about a foot higher and deeper than the other. Couldn't have been easier. Slid a couple of nest boxes on the side wall and called it done.

Got three 10x6 dog kennel panels and built a run, carefully covering all gaps with mesh wire and aproning out for diggers. Twine & CDs strung across the top with another 2x3 to hang food/water from. Called it done.

It was very easy, cheap, and worked out great.