converted oop on the frits. what to do?

[springchick91]

i whent to check on my chickens in the coop we have right now. its a converted horse run in . but its starting to fall apart plus we found mice and mice carry problems. i was thinking of taking it a part and see what i can salavge cause in no way am i cappable of buying a coop (too expensive) but i cant really get any plans eather that can accomadate my flock of soon to be 18 chickens. i want one that would be
1 easy to clean
2 be able to comfertly accomadate my lovlies
3 be prety easy to make. like tonsss of pics and be simple to fallow.
i hope someone can tell me about some where with a pretty nice coopplans/ ideas.

 

[quiltnchik]

Have you thought about a hoop house? https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=172799&p=1

They are relatively inexpensive (less than $100) and work great. We finished ours this past weekend and my chickens are loving it!

 

[springchick91]

i havent but i need help maybe i should add pics

 

[springchick91]

i just got some pics to show what i mean by the state of the place.

back wall and side wall . you see on the wall to the side is a stand the boxes on it are nest boxes

the rods that u see on the side are some rost . not my set up my step dad set it up .

see one of the food barrels and the other end of the roosts

food barrels the flat lidded one has there layenna

ledge that they use to get up on there purch

thats the outside of there run i dont really like there run outline

this is the wall of the roof that covers part of there run

not a very good pic but thats ruffly what there area they get to raom in is

the gate that is used to get in to there run

thats an ouside pic of the run

 

[springchick91]

please reply . it would be greatly apreshiated.

 

[Doopy]

You sound like you're concerned about the coop but you did not tell us if you think it's going to fall down or if the chickens will not like it or maybe the roosts and nesting boxes are not good enough.

I think the coop looks pretty good. It's big, it has a roof, it has some nesting boxes, it has a roost, and it has a great run. Believe me - the chickens will not care one little bit about the condition of the coop. If you had a brain the size of a small grape you wouldn't even notice the condition of your house. This is just my opinion but if it was me I would start with one thing and fix it. Then move on to the next one thing you want to do with the coop and fix it.

Inch by inch the job's a cinch,
Yard by yard it's much too hard.

The rats are a problem. Make 3 or 4 rat poison boxes out of wood about 2" wide x 2" tall x 18" long. Make the top removable with two wood screws. In the center (on the inside) nail a small jar cap or a small spray can plastic cap to the bottom. Put some DeCon rat poison in the tin cap inside. Don't put much in there (just two or three little pieces) or else the mice will remove the poison and stash it somewhere where the chickens might get to it. You want the mice to eat it right there inside the poison box. Place the boxes down on the floor in the horse barn along the walls. Try not to put the boxes inside the chicken area. Check the boxes once every week for missing poison. Do this all year around because mice and rats always want to find a nice place to live.

You could also put out rat traps and use peanut butter for bait. But a rat trap will break a chicken's neck if they get to the trap.

Good luck and let us know how things are going.

 

[Woods_Woman]

I too think it looks fine, very large and spacious. As the previous posted stated set out some traps and catch the vermin. Fix it up slowly and as a little money permits. If it is a new coop/run you want try using recycled materials to cut the cost, you'd be surprised what one can find laying around the property. Good Luck, but I myself like what you already have going on.

 

[springchick91]

The major problems taht i have with it are:
1) its not insolated(my roo had his comb frostbitten even with a heat lamp)
2 it starting to lean on one of the walls
3) the rooafing material is starting to sage due to the roof leaking.
4 its hard on my chickens to hop up and then have to fly down every day and i dont want them to get injured.
the other thing is it going to be big enough for 18 plus (i plan to evenyually have 30 to 35 hens)

 

[kyoko900]

I would say from what you've said. you can fix it, it's a great coop when it's fixed. My grandmother kept chickens in a barn like your horse shed, it had the same troubles with the roof and wall. The wall was made worst be the fact it was on a mountain but anyway.
What you need to do is find out if the wall is a load baring one. (meaning it holds up the roofs weight) if it isn't one, the buy some boards 4x4's i think or something strong like that, and cut a angle at one side and use it to hold the weight of the wall and keep it from leaning more.
But if it's a load baring wall then your in trouble and so are your chickens because if it gives the whole place will come down.
For the roof buy new shingles or medal, fix the leak and if you can, replace the wood that is bad, but when you do put a strong board next to the one your replacing to hold the roof, or have a pro do it for you. someone that has built a house or some like that can do it.
The isolation you can add more hay, or buy some there's this foam stuff my dad use on the barn, but i can't think of the name. But do that last, cause if the wall is bad it'll be useless to isolate just to have the place fall down.

 

[Zahboo]

I think instead of starting over if it's big enough just reinforce the wall that's leaning and redo the roof with OSB and shingles/tin. You've got a good foundation and I think it looks great. I understand the budget part. Just do little by little until you are satisfied. For the roost maybe building a ramp up?