Converting a garden shed to a coop

[Hugz21]

I have some new chickens! 4 babies, sexed female, from a commercial hatchery. Got them as day olds and they 6 weeks old. My current coop is 12 months old. It is a small commercial coop/tractor that moves around my yard. It currently houses 1x 1 yr old Buff Orpington and 2x 6 month old ISA browns. I also have a run made of chicken wire and polypipe. While we’re in COVID-19 lockdown, I’m planning on upgrading the coop situation and integrating the new chickens with the older chickens. It’s winter here in Australia so I’m going to try and wait until my younger birds are a little more feathered up and a bit bigger. My current coop is fine for 3 chooks but way WAY too small for 7!

SO I am planning on converting part of my metal garden shed into a coop. I thought I would use this as a process blog, of sorts. Over the weekend, I cleaned out the shed, moved all the tools over to one side, threw out a bunch of rusty paint cans and organised the rest of the junk. Here is the result.

My plans are:

• put a false wall across to separate the shed/tools/garden chemicals form the coop bit.
• Add a new people door to the coop side of the shed
• Make a new permanent run on the side of the coop
• Install nesting boxes and roosting bars inside the coop
• (if isolation continues longer) Make and install grazing boxes with herbs/sprouts etc.

I want to do all this with (as much as possible) – scrap timber that I already have, free old pallets from Bunnings and cannibalising my current coop and run, to save on costs. I’ve done lots of reading and research. I’ve got about 3 weeks before my babies outgrow their current “grower” accommodation.

Any additional advice would be greatly appreciated.

Wish me luck!

 

[mailmamm]

Lots of ventilation. Metal can get hot in most environments. Remember to make it easy to clean. Enjoy watching your babies grow. I have four eggs ready to hatch this week. So eggcited! My first ever hatching.

 

[Hugz21]

Lots of ventilation. Metal can get hot in most environments. Remember to make it easy to clean.

Yes! Ventilation! There will be a bunch of ventilation holes/windows and, before summer hits, I'll be putting a whirly bird in the roof.

 

[aart]

here in Australia

Does it get real hot in summer?
(doesn't all of AU?)

Here's great thread about converting a metal shed in a hot climate:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/from-tool-shed-to-coop.1321135/

Here's how to add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[Hugz21]

Does it get real hot in summer?
(doesn't all of AU?)

Here's great thread about converting a metal shed in a hot climate:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/from-tool-shed-to-coop.1321135/

Here's how to add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

Thanks! Updated my profile and checked out that thread. Much appreciated.

 

[Hugz21]

This is my design for the coop and the extra stuff I ordered. This only shows 3 out of 4 walls. I drew the forth wall up with the plan/blue prints last night and promptly forgot to snap a picture of it. This also doesn't show the run - which will be attached on the left hand side, where the little arch door will be. Run plan to come. The right hand side is the partition wall to separate the coop from the shed/tool storage part.
The cross-hatching represents either chicken wire or hardware cloth, depending on the height of the space.
My dad has an angle grinder to help me cut the door holes and ventilation. All the things will be attached to the walls of the shed with pop rivets.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Following! I'm looking at possibly converting a second shed. Will be fun to watch your progress!

 

[Hugz21]

Chicken Coop– Construction Montage!
The first step was to clear out the garden shed and give it a good clean.
Outside – including removing the glass louvered window, but leaving the frame in place (this became really darn important later!)

And Inside. I wiped down the interior walls and washed the floor with sugar soap to ensure any chemical residue like lawn mower fuel or pesticides, that could be potentially harmful to chooks was removed

The concrete floor was, thankfully, already sealed so that saved me a step and a bit of time.

Next, I marked out the door holes and my handy dad cut them with an angle grinder slit blade.

We then rivetted aluminium channel over the cut edges for stability and for something flat to attached the door accessories – hinges and latch – to.

Modular shelving units were attached to the back and side wall as guides for window placement

Dad cut the window/vent holes which we then covered with PVC coated mesh attached with pop rivets. As the rivets were too small to hold the mesh securely and I’d forgotten to buy big washers at the hardware shop, I just cut squares of tin from the door hole and drilled appropriate sized holes in them. They worked so well that we didn’t bother attempting a different technique. Also. YAY for recycling!

I measured and cut mesh to fit the top panels of 2 aluminium gate frames and used the shed tin to fit the bottom panel. Both were attached with pop rivets.

We hung the gates with brass hinges and attached latches, using the aluminium channel as anchor points. For the door to the run – remember that window frame I mentioned earlier – it just so happens that the frame of that, flipped upside down is The Perfect chook door size! Saved us some work and extra aluminium channel! Again, isn’t recycling awesome?!

View from where the run will be. Window covered in mesh. We had to moves some pavers as they were preventing the door from opening properly.

Close up of the latch, also showing some rubber tubing I slit open and stuck over the cut edge of tin with contact adhesive.

For the internal partition wall, I had sprayed 2 sheets of MDF with waterproofing spray, left to dry. Painted with BULLSEYE123, then covered the bottom edge with self-adhesive vinyl contact. I affixed aluminium channel to the floor with contact adhesive and placed each panel into the channel. They are supported at the pack (in the shed bit) with 2 right angle brackets riveted to the shed walls. I then filled the little gap between the MDF and the edge of the channel with wet area silicone. (I can get pictures of any of this if anyone is particularly interested)

The 2 panels were stabilised with another piece of aluminium channel and some mesh between them,

and across the top to fill in the triangle roof line bit (are you impressed with my fancy architectural knowledge?)

The last bit was to affix the nesting boxes – big plastic buckets I retrieved from my office rubbish pile - and the mark 1 roosting bars (they were too unstable and I had to rethink)

I've made a few other tweaks to this design such as putting some rubber matting over the latch hole, added a pop door and changed the roost arrangements. This is the coop with Amber and Coral checking, my ISA Browns, checking out the situation. I've got sand and industrial hemp coming to replace the (apparently horrible!!!, who knew?!) straw.

 

[Hugz21]

Chicken Run – Build Montage!

First there was a plan – a super basic plan

And more planning

And a bit more.

For all the planning…. I mostly just “winged it”.

I started by marking out the positions of the 240cm star pickets, 90cm apart. I pounded them into the ground with a sledge hammer until the tops made a straight line from the top corner of the shed roof top of the patio support, using a string line as a guide. Measured, rolled out and cut panels of 90cm wide mesh, with an extra 40 cm at one end. 10cm deep and 30cm across to form a predator apron.

I then used a spade to dig a trench down the length of the side wall.

I also mapped out the location for a central supporting pole (old basketball hoop), dug a hole and set it in quickset concrete.

Each mesh panel was attached to the next and to the corresponding fence post using zip ties, then later reinforced with wire lacing. The mesh was attached to the patio, the shed and the fence using the tin squares/pop rivet technique that worked so well for the coop. I made the panel closest to the house incomplete for an “easy access/treat door”. The box drain in this location was used in place of the predator apron

A roof was made of overlapping panels of supanet bird netting – the reviews say the dimensions of the holes deter snakes as well as predatory birds like hawks. Net was secured with zip ties on the mesh side and pop rivets on the fence/shed side. As you can see, some *ahem* judicious pruning of the tree was required to accommodation the netting

I also installed a shade sail using pad eyes and turnbuckles. (no photo of this as it hasn’t stopped raining since I installed it!)

 

[Hugz21]

Mark 2 roosting bars

Much better

Though I am concerned about the 2 levels, as I've heard this can cause fights. We'll see how it goes. I am going to need another roosting arrangement as my littlest feathery kids are growing so fast!