coop conversion help please

[chasot]

I have ZERO experience(with chickens). I have moderate building skills.
I have avg. to avg.+ $

The good news is a have a small building I THINK will work well to convert.

it has inside measurements of 9' 4" wide , 11' 3" long ,peak hieght of 8' 4"
finished in dry wall, fully insulated, lockable metal door, and one insulated window.

It was a construction office and has and opening for window unit,and 60 amp pannel.

I don't have electricity to it, and don't know if that will be needed,if so I will have to move it to a more convenient local.

1. how do I go about the conversion?
2. remember ZERO experience!!
3. ordered 8 rhode island reds to be here 07/24/08 approx. so clock is ticking
4. how many Hens will fit in this area?
5. oh yes, eggs are the objective!
6. What am I overlooking?

any help most welcome!! chas in GA.( extreme north west GA.

thanks.

 

[BirdBrain]

Looks like you have about 104 square feet there of space....So, I think you have too few birds if you figure on 4SqFt per bird in the coop.

You should order a few more or plan on hatching as soon as things get cooler.

Seriously though, you can fit 26 birds in that space. You might look in to cutting out another window so you can have cross ventilation when things get really hot. You might also consider putting in a box fan in one of the windows to draw hot air out.

You need bedding materials (pine shavings or leaves--no cedar). You need something for them to nest in (5 gallon plastic buckets on their sides with a half lid would work--leave the whole rim intact in case you want to hang a cloth over the opening for darkness). Some sort of roost. You could make a ladder affair that you lay horizontally (2x4's with the flat side up) and attach up high...probably need a ladder or some way for them to get up there. Also you might want to consider cutting a long horizontal door that opens from the outside so you can access nest boxes. If you use the 5 gallon buckets, turn them to the wall on a shelf with room for the birds to walk along between the open nest boxes and the wall (the one with the long door in it).

Don't know if this has been any help, but I hope so. Check out the learning pages here. Also the coop pages have lots of ideas you can glean from.

 

[Chirpy]

Congrats on getting chickens! Your building sounds like it will be great for your hens.

I would definitely add two windows for cross ventilation. In Georgia I'd suggest a ceiling turbine to help vent out the hot air also. Cover the windows with hardware cloth for predator protection.

You can use the buckets, as suggested, for nest boxes or build some out of wood. You should have one nest box for every four hens. (Not that they will use all of them - but offer that if you can.) Nest boxes should be anywhere from sitting on the ground to maybe two feet high, at most.

Have your roosts higher than your nest boxes so that your chickens roost/sleep on them and not in your nest boxes. Your chickens will appreciate high roosts but you will want to give them a ladder type set up or a ramp not for them to get up to them but so that they can jump down from level to level and not hurt their legs/feet.

I'd suggest you spend some time looking through all the wonderful coops on the "Coop" page here and you'll find lots of great ideas on how to proceed.

Good luck.

 

[chasot]

dang! first two post say I should check out the coop page. Did I post in the wrong area?

I would like to set up a long thread for help on this prodject is this the right spot?



Thanks,, Chas

 

[Mahonri]

Giddyup!

This is the place.

You've gotten some good advise here.

Git er done!

 

[chasot]

ok mahonri, here we go!!!

thanks

 

[chasot]

 

[joanc]

Hi-looks like a great building to convert.

You mentioned it had was finished with drywall inside--you may want to cover the bottom 2-3 ft from the floor up to prevent the chickens from pecking at the walls. Chickens peck at everything!!!

Good luck and welcome to BYC. Great site for all you ever wanted to know about chickens.

 

[chasot]

yea!! I got a picure posted.

 

[chasot]

thanks, chirpy and bird brain. I think ( very loose on this) I want about 12 hens in this house. how do I go about planning the lay out?



thanks, Chas