Coop construction thoughts and advice

[BarefootbyNature]

Hi friends! I’m hoping to get some advice on my soon to be coop

I bought my house in october and it has a shed with a concrete pad that seemed to be used as a dog run/house. I plan to turn it into my coop and run instead of tearing down and starting from scratch.

The plan is to extend the fencing behind the shed anf tree so the chickens have a bit more area to forage as well as a natural shaded area. My question is mostly about the concrete section: the pad ends at the front of the shed, and behind the shed there’s an area filled with large river rocks. To level it up to the concrete and bottom of the fence. It's just dirt underneath. The current fence posts are cemented in the ground all around so removing or moving them will be the world's biggest PITA, so I can’t easily move the fence, buuuuttt I can add new posts and open a section to extend it into a back area around the tree. For more room to roam

Will the concrete area cause any issues for the chickens? I do plan to add sand over the concrete and straw/shavings. And what’s the best way to set this space up so it’s healthy and comfortable for them, while also preventing escapes and keeping them safe from predators? Do I need to line the walls of the shed immediately or will it be okay to leave it as the metal panels for now and add boards along the inside later when i can? Do I need to remove the rocks? Do I need to cover the top of the fenced area with wire fencing or something else?

Thanks so much for any help!

 

[rosemarythyme]

The concrete should be ok since you mention you're going to expand the run area to encompass more space, which means the birds will have access to dirt to dig around in.

What were you planning on lining the walls of the shed with? The run fencing, assuming you want to reuse any of that fencing material, would need to be beefed up - ideally you want holes no larger than 1/2". Covered, if climbing or aerial predators are an issue.

Do you have any photos of how large the rocks are? If they're very large it'd probably be best to remove them, or at least enough to form a layer several inches deep with soil or sand.

 

[BarefootbyNature]

The concrete should be ok since you mention you're going to expand the run area to encompass more space, which means the birds will have access to dirt to dig around in.

What were you planning on lining the walls of the shed with? The run fencing, assuming you want to reuse any of that fencing material, would need to be beefed up - ideally you want holes no larger than 1/2". Covered, if climbing or aerial predators are an issue.

Do you have any photos of how large the rocks are? If they're very large it'd probably be best to remove them, or at least enough to form a layer several inches deep with soil or sand.

Thank you so much. That’s really reassuring about the concrete since they’ll have access to dirt and grass in the expanded run. I was worried it'd be bad for their feet.

The plan is to keep the existing fence and add another section that extends behind the shed and around the tree so they’ll have more foraging space. We are also planning to add an additional layer of fencing to the current fence, either with poultry fencing something to reinforce it. Predators in our area include opossums and raccoons, though I have not personally seen them on our property yet. We do see the occasional hawk. We have a lot of large trees, so I am hoping that helps deter swooping, but I am still planning with aerial predators in mind.i was considering a hoop type top maybe on the concrete part and a tet that attaches to the tunk of the tree and meets the fence we add around it on the back part, if that makes sense (kind of like the top of a circus tent-ish?)

One of my bigger concerns is a neighbor’s dog that tends to roam. He has not shown true aggression, but I do not fully trust him, so predator proofing and escape prevention are high priorities. We will be installing a full perimeter fence on our property as soon as possible, which should help significantly. There are also some feral cats in the area, though they do not come into our yard often. Our dogs seem to keep them away.

As for the shed itself, I was planning to line the walls with plywood or something similar, partly for insulation and partly to make it more coop friendly, but I am still researching the best option. I can snag some inside pics as soon as I can tomorrow, we had a pipe freeze today and that's been a whole watery mess

The rocks behind the shed are baseball sized or larger. I do not have photos at the moment of those either. If I remove the rocks, it looks like there will be a small gap at the bottom of the fence, so I will need to address that if that's the case, possibly by burying hardware cloth and backfilling with soil or sand?

I know chickens can fly short distances, so my main goal is creating a setup that keeps them contained and safe. I just want happy and healthy birds

 

[rosemarythyme]

We are also planning to add an additional layer of fencing to the current fence, either with poultry fencing something to reinforce it. Predators in our area include opossums and raccoons, though I have not personally seen them on our property yet.

"Poultry fencing" usually means chicken wire, which isn't predator resistant. You'd want to reinforce with 1/2" hardware cloth or welded wire as raccoons at the very least can reach into openings and tear chickens apart.

As for the shed itself, I was planning to line the walls with plywood or something similar, partly for insulation and partly to make it more coop friendly, but I am still researching the best option. I can snag some inside pics as soon as I can tomorrow, we had a pipe freeze today and that's been a whole watery mess

Yikes on the pipes! And yes I'd be curious to see what you're planning for the coop, as in most climates insulation isn't necessary and space in walls can just become rodent hiding spots.

The rocks behind the shed are baseball sized or larger. I do not have photos at the moment of those either. If I remove the rocks, it looks like there will be a small gap at the bottom of the fence, so I will need to address that if that's the case, possibly by burying hardware cloth and backfilling with soil or sand?

I'd fill in with soil or sand, to make it even as possible. Attaching a hardware cloth apron around the perimeter should help with any potential predator digging issue. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/new-coop-project.1169916/page-2#post-18481208