Converting Old Shed into Coop

oaklandtara

In the Brooder
May 28, 2017
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Hello! I'm brand new to the forum. I live in a city where chickens are allowed (and I hear our neighbors gently clucking as I walk the dogs), and my family is ready to finally start this adventure ourselves. We have a big lovely backyard, and I'm wondering if we should build or buy a coop, or if there's any hop of converting an existing old shed into a coop.

The shed's in good structural shape, with glass windows and a fiberglass roof. It'd need a door built.

My biggest concern is: It's been used by rats, which is disgusting. You can see their droppings everywhere. Am I nuts to think the shed can be cleaned enough to safely house chickens?

I'm also including pictures here to get thoughts on if it looks like a good structure to convert, add some nesting boxes, a good door, etc.

We're still in the brainstorming stages of all of this, so thoughts / suggestions welcome!

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Looks like a perfect building to be converted into a coop to me.
It you already see rat dropping you will for sure see them once the chickens do come.
You may want to work on trying to get rid of them first, which is almost impossible but....

Rats can and will chew through wood...look into getting some hardwire cloth to skirt the entire shed.

Welcome to BYC.
 
Get a rat proof feeder if you know they are already around. They cost more than the cheap plastic ones but should last basically forever and the feed won't draw rats to your coop. The chickens won't waste as much food either. Might spray the building and floor down with some bleach to disinfect it and a coat of paint inside. Hardware cloth over the window openings for screens.
 
@Melky commenting on it is how it bumped back up...
...but it appears she has deleted that comment, I should have quoted it.

Ahhh, I see, now ... the ghost post, on a ghost thread ... ;)

It is strange, and confusing with those pictures showing up from the past ... I'd think that they would be new ... after clicking on a few pictures, most are old, and like this thread ... go to old, unfinished threads, where we never find out what happened!

I don't bother with those pictures anymore!
 
Huh...odd to see this 8 month old thread pop up.
Looks like @oaklandtara never came back after starting this thread.
Too bad, looks like it coulda been a great project.
 
:idunno@aart behave yourself now. Random pics is what brings people to it. You never know what year you will be catapulted back to. @aart better stop living in the past. :gig
 

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