Buying a coop

[aart]

@aart here are pictures of the eaves.

My husbands concern with this one is it is too close to the house. He was worried about the smell of chicken poop, and asked me to “check with the chicken people” if it will be a problem. As I mentioned before it’s about 20 feet from the house.

Excellent to have open eaves.
Tho it looks like some rot on the fascia, makes me wonder about the shingle condition and if maybe the shingles and fascia should have some repairs done.
Can cover the open soffits with 1/2"Hardware Cloth to keep critters out.
Several ways to do it, I did mine on the outside, see My Coop page.

If you keep it cleanish and choose the right bedding, it shouldn't stink.


What kind of bedding you use may depend on how you manage the manure.
This is about cleaning, but covers my big picture

-I use poop boards under roosts with thin(<1/2") layer of sand/PDZ mix, sifted daily(takes 5-10mins) into bucket going to friends compost.
-Scrape big or wet poops off roost and ramps as needed.
-Pine shavings on coop floor, add some occasionally, totally changed out once or twice a year, old shavings added to run.
- My runs have semi-deep litter(cold composting), never clean anything out, just add smaller dry materials on occasion, add larger wood chippings as needed.
Aged ramial wood chippings are best IMO.
-Nests are bedded with straw, add some occasionally, change out if needed(broken egg).

There is no odor, unless a fresh cecal has been dropped and when I open the bucket to add more poop.
That's how I keep it 'clean', have not found any reason to clean 'deeper' in 7 years.

 

[RubelliteRose]

Another alternative is calling a few shed places to see how much it would be to move your current shed to a better location and then fortifying it so it is predator proof.

 

[Mamatomany123]

Looks great! Excellent example of what you can do with that money. I think you can always do a lot better than spending the $249.99 on something someone built trying to turn a profit.

I agree. I just had to look around. The metal roof I got for free from my neighbor. It was just sitting by her shed. A lot of the wood I got were sitting next to dumpsters of businesses (always ask before you take them)

 

[Ann Perkhens]

Okay. What would need to be done to second shed to make it chicken ready? We can keep the three in their current set up till it’s ready to move in. I know we need a run, I am kind of thinking a hoop with cattle panels might be a good option. It will definitely need to be covered as we have hawks.

 

[3KillerBs]

My husbands concern with this one is it is too close to the house. He was worried about the smell of chicken poop, and asked me to “check with the chicken people” if it will be a problem. As I mentioned before it’s about 20 feet from the house.

If the coop is kept bone-dry, the ventilation is generous, the bedding well-managed, and the chickens are not overcrowded there shouldn't be any noticeable odor except under unusual conditions.

I forget if I already linked you my article on Deep Bedding or not so I'm sorry if I'm repeating myself. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/using-deep-bedding-in-a-small-coop.76343/

I clean my coop 4-5 times a year and never have odor problems.

 

[Lemon-Drop]

Do you know the specifications of the coop? I don’t know the actual size, but i would guess 2-3 chickens for that coop.

 

[21hens-incharge]

So this is where they are currently. It’s very big, especially considering there’s just three in there right now. 8 ft by 18 ft. The covered area is 4 ft by 18 ft. We still need to add ventilation and roosting bars but we were working on the run, which we’d need to do over again. What would we need to do to make this one more secure? Someone mentioned moving it—this one is somewhat unstable, so I’m not sure about moving this shed. It has no floor as well, so I believe it would likely collapse if we attempted moving it.

I’ll attach our other option to another post.

This one has usable materials but is not built well at all. Those walls are scary in how they are built.

This is the other option. It is very close to the house, about 20 ft away from the house. The cabinets would need to be removed, but it might work well. Anyways, this is the other option. I am sure someone could always move this one as well, although we can see this one from certain parts of the house.

This one is built much better. I would use this one.....or tear down the other and use the material I could salvage to build a stronger structure.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Okay. What would need to be done to second shed to make it chicken ready? We can keep the three in their current set up till it’s ready to move in. I know we need a run, I am kind of thinking a hoop with cattle panels might be a good option. It will definitely need to be covered as we have hawks.

I can only say what I would do if it were mine.

Remove lower cabinets. That framing to the left of the cabinet that has the chick feeder base....depending on dimensions it could be nest boxes.
That longer wooden counter could be a poop board.

Upper cabinets might be handy for storage of chicken gear.

The cattle panel hoop run will be a really fast way to build a run.

You will need to decide where that will be and cut, frame and install a pop door.

I like a painted interior but that is up to you if you want to do that.

 

[Percheron chick]

Both sheds are viable options.
To make the first shed work, I would remove the wire on the run. Frame the run in. Buy hardware cloth wide enough to cover the height or remove the chicken wire and scab a narrower piece of hardware cloth to the top. You will need to run 2x4s on the seam to secure it and to not make a weak spot that a raccoon can spread and squeeze through. Ventilation is poor and natural light is non-existent. I would remove some siding up high on the run side. Cover the opening with hardware cloth. The roof on the run will keep blowing snow out. The double front doors look easy to breech. Leave the old doors on. Frame in the doorway. Make a people door and cover in more hardware cloth. Gives you the option to open up the coop in the summer to create a nice breeze or close the solid doors when the weather turns. Take the chicken wire from the run and use it to make an apron around the run. Attach it to the bottom board and just lay it on top of the ground. A stray dog won't be able to dig under the run.
The plusses of the first shed is a nice big roofed run, the shed is extra large for long winters and the upgrades will be quick and inexpensive. $200-300 max. Could easily accommodate 20 chickens.
Shed #2 is definitely better built. Remove all the cabinets and use the wood to build nesting boxes. The windows are nice for some natural light but hopefully they open for some air. Cover in hardware cloth to beef up security. There is no ventilation up high and unfortunately the roof does not give you any overhang to keep rain and snow out. The shed conversion will be cheap. To make a hoop run each panel will make a 4x8 section. 3 panels, $75, will give you a 12x8 run. It will need to be covered in hardware cloth so this is where the major expense is. You can use the hardware cloth from the old run but it's probably not enough. You will need to frame out the end. Covering it will be necessary for use in the winter. Could be a simple tarp up to metal roofing $$. You are limited to 8-10 chickens.

Both options are better than going out and buying a new coop.

 

[21hens-incharge]

If the run materials are managed well the daily work is minimal (seriously I feed, water, toss some scratch and that's it on a daily basis).
I add lots of leaves in fall and garden trimmings, grass clippings in summer. Like aart mentioned just those fresh cecal poops stink.
The birds stir the materials around and natural composting occurs.
Every couple years I rake back the top and remove some good fertilizer for the garden.