Bulding a coop and wondering about storage

[SpaceChicken]

We are planning to have 8-10 chickens and don't have any sense of how much space the supplies (feed, shavings, what else?) will take up. We plan on doing the deep litter method, so I don't think we'll be changing the bedding that often, but don't know how often you add more shavings between cleanings.

We have lots of animals in the area so I assume we will need to keep feed in a metal trash can, but how do you store the bedding etc? Does that need to be in a metal bin as well, or will mice not really bother with it so we could keep in it plastic. Is it ok to have the bins just out next to the coop or should they be in the run? We don't really want to have to make the coop big enough to include storage space inside (we are planning a 4x8 coop and an attached run for a total of 8x15)

Any other thoughts on storage?

Thanks

Diane

 

[BarneyNCyndi]

We have six chickens and just use a dog food bin for their food. It seals up well and takes little space. For bedding we use white shavings and just store that in a big plastic trash can. So space isnt really an issue. But then we do have some space under the coop for miscellaneous supplies like food scoop for cleaning, extention cords and the like. I dont think 8 to ten chickens will require very much more space. Hope this helps in some way.

 

[ChickenMammX4]

Our coop is 8' x 18', half is used for the chickens, half for storage. We keep feed & scratch in a trash cans (the feed bag in the pic is new). Never had problems with mice getting in shavings or other bags though. It's so nice having everything close and an area to get out of the weather when doing coop chores.

 

[DaveNay]

We are committing two unused horse stalls for the chickens. Both are 12' x 10'. One stall will be the coop and the other will be the store room with the egg boxes being accessible from the store room.

 

[Folly's place]

Dave, that sounds great! Make sure that the coop area is predator proof; lots of hardware cloth over openings. Are you building a run outside, with a door for the chickens? Mary

 

[DaveNay]

Dave, that sounds great! Make sure that the coop area is predator proof; lots of hardware cloth over openings. Are you building a run outside, with a door for the chickens? Mary

Most definitely predator proof. Yes outside run. Probably 10' or 12' wide x 36' long.

 

[aart]

We are planning to have 8-10 chickens and don't have any sense of how much space the supplies (feed, shavings, what else?) will take up. We plan on doing the deep litter method, so I don't think we'll be changing the bedding that often, but don't know how often you add more shavings between cleanings.

We have lots of animals in the area so I assume we will need to keep feed in a metal trash can, but how do you store the bedding etc? Does that need to be in a metal bin as well, or will mice not really bother with it so we could keep in it plastic. Is it ok to have the bins just out next to the coop or should they be in the run? We don't really want to have to make the coop big enough to include storage space inside (we are planning a 4x8 coop and an attached run for a total of 8x15)

Any other thoughts on storage?

Thanks

Diane

Welcome to BYC!!

What is your climate?
Putting your location in your profile can help folks give better answers/suggestions.


Having your supplies close at hand and under cover from weather (and free from chicken poop) may well be worth the cost and effort of building a bigger coop.
You can also build your nests so you can gather eggs out of the weather and without having to go into the actual coop.
Having an inner wall and door will also give you access to coop and supplies without worrying about chickens 'escaping' when you open the outer door.


Metal cans for feed storage is a necessity IMO...keeps the mice out.
Bedding bales in plastic they don't seem to bother.