Coop Design - Metal shed remodel. Help please!

[Pharmerchick]

Thanks everyone so far for the replies! I know I'm going to have to do a lot of ventilation for sure, because in addition to just being in TX, our shed is not shaded. I can remove a couple of the walls and let it be open air if needed, I'm sure that will be easy to do. (Cover with hardware cloth?) Just have to think of a way to make it easy to close up those walls when it gets cold.

@slipswife you bet it is easy to get caught up in the idea of a cute coop, but I'm like you and don't want to spend so much money! I just want to keep them alive and healthy.

So here is a pic of the shed. It is roughly 7.5 feet wide and 15.5 feet long.

Some ideas I've had so far:

FLOOR: I want to do deep litter. I was intrigued by DarkMatter's coop with the sunken dirt floor. I might could replace the wood beams this is sitting on with some brick we have lying around our property and do that. Possibly the contact with the earth instead of a wooden floor would help with temps? Plus it keeps us from having to replace the floor after we tear it out (it's rotted in places too)

I also came across someone else's coop where they put a wall 3 feet in with a door and the nest box access. I really like this idea, since I could keep food and stuff down there. Trying to figure out a way to combine these two ideas. Guess just cut the floor short and put bricks underneath the edge there so I have a brick-lined pit under where the birds live? Does that make sense?

RUN: the shed sits at the top of a hill so I was wanting to angle the roof of the run down so rain runs off the side of the hill. But the size run i want can't all go straight out the west side because of the way the hill slopes. I have to make the run on the west and south sides. So I'm trying to figure out how to get the rain to not puddle on the run roof where the shed roof meets it. I thought I might put a gutter there to catch runoff just at that spot and divert it into a rain barrel.

VENTILATION: I probably want to leave the north wall alone, for the winter, wouldn't you think? The gables are just covered with plastic corrugation and particle board so I was going to replace those little triangles with hardware cloth. We live on a hill and we typically get a west-east breeze, so would that be a good idea to have those two walls just screened in entirely? And then, when the cooler weather sets in, how shall I keep the birds draft free while retaining enough ventilation? I don't plan on having more than 12 in there.

 

[Pharmerchick]

INSULATION?: I'm on the fence about it. My understanding is that in the winter the difference in the heat inside vs cold outside can cause condensation on the inside of the coop walls. I really don't think a) it gets cold enough here and b) it's going to be warm enough in the coop to cause this. Hang me out to dry on this one or not but I do not plan on putting heat lamps out there. My feeling is that if I keep it draft free they will be fine. Chickens are outside animals and can deal. Is this flawed thinking?

 

[aart]

Actually insulation helps more with keeping the sun from heating up the interior of a coop than with cold...but if it is going to be open air, then it's just a waste of money.

Which side of the shed is the door on...E,S,N,W?
A pic straight on to the door would show us what looks like a big slope to the left(when facing door).

 

[Pharmerchick]

Oops aart. I thought I mentioned that. Guess I forgot to put it back in when I was editing the post. The door faces west. And you are correct, the ground slopes down on the north side.

 

[aart]

Putting the run to the north would not be easy because of the slope, but it's doable and would offer some much needed shade. Especially if you do the dug down floor, your chooks could have a 'walkout, earth bermed' coop!
Could even insulate that south wall and roof to help reflect the heat, make the other walls all mesh for ventilation.
Just some ideas.

 

[Pharmerchick]

I was planning on making the run on the south and west sides because that is my level ground.

Good idea about insulating the roof at least. Thanks!

I just realized you may be thinking I'm going to dig way down under the coop. With our hard clay soil I'm afraid that's not going to be easy. I was just thinking about replacing what the shed is currently sitting on with bricks and taking out the floor.

 

[aart]

Are you going to roof the run for shade?

 

[SlipsWife]

You lost me at directions

I think it would be a good idea to insulate the roof if possible. Definitely put up a shade screen or something to provide shade in the run. I saw a similar coop where they built a wall a few feet in from the door out of screen and 2x2's (I believe) and added a screen door. They propped the larger door open during the summer and then closed it during the winter. It offered a storage area in the front, feed in metal trash cans, bedding, water proof boots. Then you would only have to add ventilation to the opposite wall (now, that takes me back to 'you lost me at directions' since I'm confused on the direction that everything is pointing and which way your wind normally blows, not because of your description but probably because my son keeps talking to me...lol) I personally don't feel like you have to put to much thought into where/what direction the ventilation is as long as it's there based off of our personal experience.

We found the easiest way for us to put in a run was to use the 10x10 dog kennels we already had. We had 2 (8 10ft panels), so we left the panel off of the wall next to the coop where their cut-out is, the first 3 panels make a 10x10 run attached to the coop (where we added the shade screen made for the kennel) with the door in the middle of the second part which is 20x10. This set-up allows us to close them off in the coop/smaller run area if we need to use the bigger part for something else. When the chicks were smaller and we were just using the small run for them we had to add hardware cloth to the bottom to keep them in. Once we opened it all up for them, the were to big to fit through the chain link. They sell brackets to attach the panels to your shed but we didn't need them.

With just 8 chickens we only clean out the coop bedding every 4-6 months. Our girls spend most of their time outside. We set up a heat lamp last winter for the bitter cold days but I really don't think it was necessary. We haven't used one this year and everyone has been fine. One of our girls doesn't roost (a bantam cochin) so we worry about her being by herself but she's fine. She sleeps in their nesting area (even though she's never laid an egg).

 

[Hokum Coco]

I was planning on making the run on the south and west sides because that is my level ground.

That should make an excellent coop. I would do the same in regards to the run.
If your budget would accommodate it I would basically build a deck and elevate it about a foot off the ground on cinder blocks and mount your coop on that. In a perfect world I would let the chickens have access to the shade underneath but that could cause problems if they began laying under there where you coop is so large.

Your building looks fairly sound and it would be in my estimation money well spent to restore the floor. If left in its current state it is not going to get any better. With a dirt floor and chicken manure (which is caustic) and metal you may be setting yourself up for a rust issue in a hurry. If you do decide on the dirt floor good drainage would be a priority. Also I would recommend a wire apron to guard against digging predators.





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[Pharmerchick]

That should make an excellent coop. I would do the same in regards to the run.
If your budget would accommodate it I would basically build a deck and elevate it about a foot off the ground on cinder blocks and mount your coop on that. In a perfect world I would let the chickens have access to the shade underneath but that could cause problems if they began laying under there where you coop is so large.

Your building looks fairly sound and it would be in my estimation money well spent to restore the floor. If left in its current state it is not going to get any better. With a dirt floor and chicken manure (which is caustic) and metal you may be setting yourself up for a rust issue in a hurry. If you do decide on the dirt floor good drainage would be a priority. Also I would recommend a wire apron to guard against digging predators.

What I was hoping would work, is if I tore out the plywood floor, and set the shed's walls on bricks/cinder blocks to elevate the metal parts so there's no contact with the ground. I would also bury a barrier around it. Then I could fill that space with my litter. Does that make sense? It works in my head. But, in my head, I can also rollerblade and breathe underwater


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Are you going to roof the run for shade?

Yes definitely. Also to divert rain water so it won't be muddy. I could put a rain barrel at one end to collect!