coop within a large barn??

[jwchicklady]

if any of you have coops or chicken pens built inside of a large barn could you please show me some pictures? I have a coop out in the paddock, but would like to get more chickens than it can hold. So I have a large barn that had a bunch of our junk in it--we are clearing it out for animals ( I want to get dairy goats and more chickens). So what is the best way to house chickens within a large barn?
thanks for any input.

 

[Vanessabuffsnsilkies]

I would think just some nest boxes along the wall. And put up some roosts near the nest boxes. Hang the feeders in that area as well. That's what I wanted to do with our 15x20 barn but hubby wouldn't give it up so I bought one coop last spring and now another to be delivered next week.

 

[slightlyscrambled]

Our barn is large with a hall way down the middle with a half wall about 3 feet tall, I have about 1/4 of the barn screened off with chicken wire and a framed in door to walk in to the coop. There is also a human sized door in the corner that leads to the run it has a small pop door cut in it for the chickens. I really like having the chickens in the barn because it makes chores much easier. I can feed and water everyone under one roof.

 

[jwchicklady]

how do you keep predators out of the barn?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don't know what your barn looks like, but I would expect it to be almost impossible to predator proof an existing barn.

I built an 8' x 12' coop in the end of a 12' wide shed. Two walls were already solid from the ground up to the top, with an opening at the rafters. I covered those opening with hardware cloth so I could get ventilation above the chickens when they were roosting. That's the left wall in this photo.

The other wall in the above photo is the inside wall I built, again with an opening at the top for ventilation. I put door in it so I could easily get inside the coop without going through the run. I store the feed and other supplies in the shed portion, so I can easily get into the coop with the feed. I put my nesting boxes along this wall with outside openings so I could get the eggs without going in the coop. I never use these outside openings.

This is a shot of the outside wall opening into the run. I tore down the existing end of the shed and built this wall as it was easier than trying to cut holes and frame things up.

I also put hardware cloth from the bottom of the wall on the outside, horizontal to the ground to keep predators from digging under. I did that on all four walls.

 

[JanieMarie]

I also have coops within a barn. I'll get some pics of my set up today and post. Instead of making the barn predator proof your best bet is to make the coops within the barn predator proof. In 20+ yrs I haven't lost any chickens in the barn (just when they free range).

 

[jwchicklady]

I would love to see pictures. I was thinking the same thing, about putting in a predator proof coop or pen within the larger barn. I am a visual person, so like to see how others have done it. my kids tell me i have to get more chickens to keep up with demand for eggs around here--they are selling like hotcakes! So, I have this 30' by 40' barn that is just sitting on my property waiting for animals!
thanks

 

[LynneP]

Check here to see how we built our coop inside our red barn

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=7693

It's like Fort Knox, self contained in the existing structure and with a large roofed run added on. We put snow boards in the run in winter, too. Complete set of pics and explanations of what we had to do. It's working well and we're thrilled with our 12 pretty layers!

We'll be adding a second coop in 2010, with a self-contained hen hospital/segregation cage and brooder space. I love to see pics too so I hope you'll share as you build. If your birds are young in the fall, a self-contained run in the barn, even a temporary one, might be useful and/or a 'huddle box'.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

We had horse stalls in an open front barn. But we are in the south. We get some snow and cold temps but this faces south so you may get some ideas from this. We just framed the front of the stall and put up wire.

And this is the way we did one on the inside. Our chickens in these are free rangers.

 

[JanieMarie]

Sorry it took so long for me to get this posted!
Guess it depends on if you want things like breeding pens or if you're gonna just have a flock of laying hens. You're lucky you're starting out with an empty barn to beging with. That way you can figure out just what you want and design the best way to accomodate. Just remember to allow room for More chickens than you plan for. A couple things you might want to consider are a large storage room. Its amazing how it fills up. A brooder area for chicks and a grow out pen. A separate area for sick chickens or those in need of extra TLC. And a quiet corner for a broody hen if you want them to set.

Heres mine. Looking at it in pics it looks a little... shall we say rustic? Its a 16'x40'. I had to keep the box stalls in there for the horses when it gets real cold. Other than that they're in a separate in and out building. I tend to scavenge for my materials so things are kinda built according to what was on hand. You can see the little pop door for the box stall. Everyone in that pen gets to free range. Here goes:

Looking in the people door I have the main coop on the right and storage on the left

Left side of main coop:

Right side of main coop I have an upper deck brooder area:

Then past the main coop on the right I added a smaller coop and on the left is one of the box stalls that I converted to a pen. Everything in the box stall is removable so it can still function as a box stall in the coldest weather. The little box is for the cats so they can get in to eat but any chickens can't! And then there's my brooder which I can move into my entryway if I have chicks in winter.

Here's looking back towards the people door. Had to put a little door on hinges for this pop door cuz of the window and I really like it. I also have cheap sheeting that I can tack up on the screened areas when it gets real cold and I run a heat lamp:

Here's the outside pens. I set up a smaller run within the larger run for the smaller coop:

So thats what I got. Hope it gave you some ideas. Good luck with your project!