Coop in the pole barn?

[wateboe]

Our coop is in a pole ban, in fact it is a converted horse stall. We lined all of the open areas of the stall walls and door with hardware cloth to keep the flock in and predators out. The only major adjustment was that we added a chicken door in the side wall of the barn (in the wall of te coop area) so that they can get outside and back in without walking through the rest of the barn. The chicken door was an afterthought. For the first year we just opened the stall door and the barn door to let the flock roam outside, but the mess in the rest of the barn became unmanageable! We added the pop-door this winter and it works beautifully.

We use a movable elctro-net type fence to keep them safe and at home when they are outside. Since the barn had electrical service already, we use a plug-in fence charger (has been very cheap to power) specifically made for that fence.

Since we grow and bale straw on the farm we have plenty of bales in the fall, so we use straw bales stacked around the outside of the stall to insulate for the winter. We also stack bales around the roost area to create a smaller space for the chickens to sleep and stay cozy.

As for rain or cold... our girls NEVER balk at a shower or cold weather! They love to get outside no matter what the weather. Because they are protected by the electric fence and have a big pop door to enter easily they are relatively safe from ground and sky-type predators. The pop door is a a spring system that allows the door to open upward to the outside on hinges, creating an extra little "roof" over the opening. It is a low door but is wide enough to allow several birds to dash in at the same time.

 

[jennmugg]

Thanks for all the great info!

Now I'll show my ignorance about chickens....

Do they just run inside if a predator comes, like if a hawk shows up? I wasn't going to cover the chicken run, I was just going to provide a little lean- to type thing for shade and such. I was going to have that outside with a fence around it, and then the coop inside the pole barn. I'm hoping that's right.

My other question, do they need access to their nests during the day?

 

[wateboe]

Yes, they need access to the nests during the day or they will find other less practical (for you) places to lay eggs!

If they don't have access to the coop during the day they will need some form of cover. They will run for cover anytime they sense danger. My flock run into the coop when any large bird flys over, which is wise because hawks and other raptors find chickens delicious! There are several photos of chicken "tractors" and other pasture structures on this site that might give you some good ideas.

You will find LOADS of helpful people and helpful previous posts here at BYC... welcome!!!

 

[patandchickens]

As long as you don't mind a fine white greasy dust on everything else in the barn, and can predator-proof the coop adequately (existing barns can often be *more difficult* to predatorproof than when building a new freestanding coop), then having the coop in the pole barn is fine. It has some real advantages -- if the bldg is largely closed in, you will get some thermal buffering (i.e. stay cooler in summer and warmer in winter), and it gives you a nice protected place to ventilate to/from so that winter and stormy-weather ventilation are a whale of a lot easier.

While chickens will run for cover when they notice a hawk, people with open runs do lose chickens to hawks from time to time. Deer or trellis netting draped over the run will help a lot. (Although it won't keep the occasional daytime fourlegged predator out).

Yes, they need access to the nestboxes during the day, as that's when they go in (at unpredictable moments) to lay their eggs. Possibly you are thinking of the *roost* on which they sleep? Which technically they don't really need in the middle of the day, but as they need access to the coop (or anyway good shelter with nestboxes) and the roost will be in the coop it's not really an issue anyhow, you know?

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[FlashPointFarm]

All of my breeding pens are in a pole barn. Works great and my chicken friends are jealous!

 

[eigentor]

I'm just in the process of building a coop in our pole barn. Glad to see others have done so.

Our barn has the sheet metal siding that has the ribs bent into it for strength. The problem I'm having is trying to design a door for the chickens.

I was able to cut a 12"x14" hole in the sheet metal, but I'm unsure what to cover the edge of the metal with. It's very sharp and will be a hazard for the chickens.

I bought some plastic side protector that I think may have been designed for glass. It works well on the vertical sides of the door, but not the horizontal - because it needs to be flexible enough to wrap around the curve of the ribs.

Does anyone have ideas on how to complete this? I will try to post a picture.

thanks,
Mb

 

[briana1975]

Quote:
Our coop we are building will have the outside done in the steele siding. My husband will have to do the same thing. If he gets it done this weekend I will post a picture.

 

[Slywoody]

You need to frame it out with lumber, 1x4 or 1x6, inside and outside and in the opening hereby covering up all the sharp edges. I just did it to mine 2 days ago. Wish i could post a pic, but i'm puter illiterate yet.

 

[patandchickens]

Yeah, either use lumber or metal trim (they make metal trim especially for these situations, sometimes you can find secondhand or remnant bits for next to nothing) or a combination of both.

You don't need to wrap anything around the rib protrusions, you just need the whole trim to stick out to cover ribs and all, does that make any sense? (So yes, there will be some airspace. That's ok). If you have doors or windows in your pole building, or know anyone who does, go look at that, it'll be obvious what I mean.

Have fun,

Pat