Building an Indoor Coop

[GoatGunner]

My biggest gripe about keeping chickens is maintaining them during the winter; trudging through mucky snow, carrying water in freezing temps, etc.. I decided it was time to build a coop into the existing lean-to shed behind my garage.

I collected a bunch of free lumber from my work, as well as Home Depot, picked up a nice nester box off a local classified listing, and have plenty of hardware cloth and other hardware parts to complete the project..

Here’s where I’m at so far, just need to add the hardware cloth and build a Dutch door setup. Please note that the wood piled all over the exterior walls was not me... previous owner’s handiwork there.

This space is approx 90sq/ft, so my (currently) 5 hens will have lots of room.

I’ll be using 1/2” hardware cloth, which would go up tomorrow if I have time after work. I plan to add 2-3” of sand for the general litter as what I’ve read seems to point to sand being generally the best option. I figure if I go a few inches deep I don’t need to worry too much about the chickens scratching the concrete.

For a roost I plan to build a movable roost bar setup with a suspended tarp underneath to make cleaning poop easier.

I plan to add water and food refilling from outside the coop in coming weeks. I just need to figure out what will work best for my situation and space available.

I plan to add some windows very soon as well, and ideally I complete the automotive radio antenna pop door before it gets too cold

Any suggestions y’all may have with what you see and what I’ve laid out, feel free.

 

[Galeann]

Interesting idea. Looking forward to seeing more pictures as you build. Hope you will have big windows to allow plenty of light and fresh air. Will you be able to take them outside?

 

[Ursuline Chick]

Looks and sounds great to me. Good luck with your project, I am sure your chickens will feel like they live in a palace.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

ooh, definitely watching this build! I want to see how you do the demo in order to install windows, because we all know that when it comes to chickens there are three things to consider: ventilation, ventilation, and ventilation! Also, I have a building .... and I have been trying to figure out how to modify it to accommodate the chicken math I want to fall victim to! Carry on! And keep those pictures coming!

 

[GoatGunner]

Interesting idea. Looking forward to seeing more pictures as you build. Hope you will have big windows to allow plenty of light and fresh air. Will you be able to take them outside?

they have a run outside. Still not 100% on my window plans.

 

[Sammi_0411]

Great idea as long as they still get outside get plenty of light yiu have obviously worked well, well done
Sam xx

 

[GoatGunner]

Great idea as long as they still get outside get plenty of light yiu have obviously worked well, well done
Sam xx

This photo taken during the daylight hours better shows that there is a good amount of ventilation higher up all along the roofline. I’ll be sealing these openings with hardware cloth and leaving them for ventilation in addition to some other windows that I’ll add.

 

[GoatGunner]

Built some Dutch doors tonight. They’re not hung yet, just balancing precariously.

 

[GoatGunner]

I got the indoor coop done just in time for the first snowfall!

The waterer and the heat panel are both plugged into a thermoblock and wired along the roof.

I ended up going with a pine shaving that has diatomaceous earth mixed in.

I checked on the hens at about 9pm and they had not figured out the roost, perhaps because it’s higher than they’re used to. They had chosen to roost on the board that leads outside. I picked them up one by one and set them on the roost. I checked up on them again around 11pm and they were all hunkered down on the roost.

I popped in this morning before heading to work to see everything working as it should, heat pad on, waterer not frozen up, andan egg already in on the the nesting boxes. I think they love it.

 

[Stonemoore]

Looks great!! And prettier than what my hubby and I just built lol but my birds seem happy enough.