Converting a shed to a coop

[chachie]

Good day everyone,

Been a while since I posted last but I'm back. After a successful season last year keeping 4 hens in a tractor, the wife and I would like to up the ante and have a year round coop and possibly more hens.

At first I was thinking of building from scratch however we do have a old shed on our property which isn't really being used to it's full potential. Currently the shed stores my lawn tractor, seasonal stuff like lawn chairs, outdoor toys, etc...

After cleaning out the shed I believe a could use old pallets to construct 2 walls to partition a section for the hens. I could then put a automatic door which would lead to run.

For the run I would have chicken wire along the inside of the pallets as well as overhead. The wire would also be buried into the ground to deter digging. I figured the pallets themselves would be tricky for a raccoon to reach through and the wire would be an added deterrent.

For heating I would use a heat lamp and line the pallets with plywood or press boards to keep the heat in. Is a heat lamp sufficient to keep them warm throughout the winter (in Canada)? Maybe I don't need a lamp due to body heat? How warm do they need it to be? Maybe I need insulation? Are these things expensive to run?

For Food/Water, I'm planning on some sort of DIY auto feeder and waterer as shown on this site but haven't decided on an exact design yet.

These are my initial thoughts for now. Any thoughts/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[mfaith694]

That sounds like a great idea!!! One thing to keep in mind when you are making a run, I honestly don't know if you have mink, but if you do, they can fit through a square inch so watch out with your netting and the ground. Otherwise it sounds like a great idea and a good use of materials.
Good Luck!

 

[graciecat]

That's pretty much what I did! I didn't have a shed but I was going to buy one. I ended up finding a guy to build one on my property for a lot cheaper. (We are handy with a hammer but we have another BIG project going) (I went a little chick crazy at a bad time) We just added a very secure outdoor run and put a little door for them to go in and out. We only have hens and a few ducks. I haven't finished the inside yet but here's a pic of the outside.

 

[YardBirdMom]

Oh I like your set up!

What size is your coop? What did they charge to build it?

We converted an old 8x12 storage building into a coop, but are already planning another, larger coop with a separate run. The first one will end up being my broody pen and the larger one for the rest of the
flock.

I told hubby tonight I can see this turning into an addiction lol

 

[graciecat]

It's 8×12 too. The run is 12×12. I have 11 hens and 3 ducks but it looks like I will be selling one duck. I ended up with 2 males. I'm looking for another female but it won't be easy around here. My hubby is not on board with my new hobby lol. This will be it for a while.
The guy charged 1,500 to build it. A kit at Lowe's was 1,500, had bad reviews and was going to be difficult to assemble. An existing shed was going to be considerably more. Of course, once it was built Craigslist had about a million for much cheaper.
We built the run ourselves with 2×4's and hardware cloth.

 

[graciecat]

Check this out. I went by these "rules"

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2013/07/11-tips-for-predator-proofing-chickens.html?m=1

 

[Lurch77]

I'm doing something similar. We have an 8x12' garden shed that is also used for things like the lawn mower and garden tools, etc. The shed had a waist level shelf across the inside back wall that was the width of the shed (8') and 2' deep. I removed that and replaced it with a 4' deep shelf. I've started enclosing it to make it into a proper coop area for the chickens. Total inside dimensions of the coop area are 4'x8', and about 4' tall. I know this somewhat short height is not ideal for ventilation, but I will figure out something.

This setup allows me to still store things like the lawnmowers and such below the coop, and the loft above the coop is still there for additional storage. When it is complete we will have a chicken coop without having to build a stand alone structure, and without using up too much usable storage space in the existing shed. This is only for 4 to 6 hens. It's a bit over sized for that small number of birds because our northern WI winters will sometimes dictate that they remain indoors for extended time frames. The run will be attached outside in a very similar design as graciecat's picture earlier in this thread.

 

[SoulFlowerChick]

This is what I am planning to do, as well. I moved into this home that has an empty shed in the backyard that I am intending to use for chickens. I like the run setup. I'm thinking of getting five hens. We're in Minnesota, so cold winters are a concern, but growing up in central Wisconsin, our chickens weren't around a heat source, once grown. Anyone had experience with that?

 

[Mother Clucker 69]

Can I see any pictures y'all may have?

 

[mowin]

Good day everyone,

Been a while since I posted last but I'm back. After a successful season last year keeping 4 hens in a tractor, the wife and I would like to up the ante and have a year round coop and possibly more hens.

At first I was thinking of building from scratch however we do have a old shed on our property which isn't really being used to it's full potential. Currently the shed stores my lawn tractor, seasonal stuff like lawn chairs, outdoor toys, etc...

After cleaning out the shed I believe a could use old pallets to construct 2 walls to partition a section for the hens. I could then put a automatic door which would lead to run.

For the run I would have chicken wire along the inside of the pallets as well as overhead. The wire would also be buried into the ground to deter digging. I figured the pallets themselves would be tricky for a raccoon to reach through and the wire would be an added deterrent.

For heating I would use a heat lamp and line the pallets with plywood or press boards to keep the heat in. Is a heat lamp sufficient to keep them warm throughout the winter (in Canada)? Maybe I don't need a lamp due to body heat? How warm do they need it to be? Maybe I need insulation? Are these things expensive to run?

For Food/Water, I'm planning on some sort of DIY auto feeder and waterer as shown on this site but haven't decided on an exact design yet.

These are my initial thoughts for now. Any thoughts/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Did your tractor have heat and insulation? I do know some in Canada do add heat as it gets stupid cold, but I guess that would depend on where in Canada you are.
Pics of your shed would make it easier for us to give advice.