Corn Crib Silo for a Coop

[DyaSna]

I am a newbie and we have a corn crib silo that I want to use for the coop. I know we will have to hard wire over the crib fence as they are too big to keep any weasels out, however it has a good concrete floor which I think it worth using instead of using it as a run.

We are going to build a coop inside the crib, so the girls will be safe at night. I have roughly 80 SQ FT to have in the silo. There is a lot of discussions on sizing, does it make a difference if I have a lot of vertical space by the way we build their roost? I think it is best that I have a tall walk in coop with a standard door. I know we will have 12-15 chickens at a time, but would like extra space to keep 20 as our daughter will be 4H. I would really like to use 50 sq ft. which will work for 12-13 chickens, so they have some run space in the silo, plus we will have an exterior run that we can open and close. I don't think I can get enough space making an elevated coop.

I know if I outgrow the coop inside the silo, building on will be more difficult and my husband probably wouldn't be happy with me--but he'd do something. I thought about letting them run in the silo and just having a small run under a coop for them if I built outside the silo. I just think them being inside the silo with the concrete floor would be best. If I could gain vertical sq ft that would help me if I did get to 20 chickens.

Thoughts??

 

[DyaSna]

 

[Alaskan]

It is 12.5’ is diameter and we live in northern Indiana. We are going to build an enclosed coop inside, remove these older boards that I guess they used a long time ago with corn.

Eh... I would still make the entire thing into a coop... and then connect a run.

I just can't envision getting enough space if you put the coop as a separate thing inside the silo.

Especially if you have any kind of winter with snow and wind... a big coop is nice. And 12 foot diameter isn't all that huge, especially since you said that you might at times have up to 20 chickens.

Eventhough the standard rule of thumb is 4 square feet per chicken of indoor space... I find that with nasty weather 8 square feet per chicken of snow free space is the minimum.

 

[Alaskan]

A circle with a diameter of 12.5 has 123 square feet... divided by 20 chickens and you only have 6.15 square feet per chicken.

Way better than your minimum of 4 square feet per chicken... but not all that much.... if you have winters.

 

[DyaSna]

I am going to get a picture and post, but they are very tall, and I plan to put a wire rood inside so that predators can climb up and get in from the top. I do think I could separate into 2 floors of roosting space on one side and then the nest boxes on the other with a ladder and put feed and water under there for them.

 

[Alaskan]

View attachment 1797590

What is the climate like where you are at?

It doesn't look all that tall to me... how tall is it?

I would see if more slats could be added... and make that entire thing the coop... add on a run.

 

[DyaSna]

Sounds as you have figured this out well Welcome to Backyard chickens have you looked in the coops forums of the site tons of info but hardware cloth is the only way or electric fence to deter predators

Thanks and yes, I will only use hardwire for sure but we can go to a charger if necessary. Since we own horses, I actually have a charger not in use.

 

[aart]

There is a lot of discussions on sizing, does it make a difference if I have a lot of vertical space by the way we build their roost?

Vertical space can help, especially for ventilation and air quality.
And depending on the floor space, roosts and poop boards up higher can help...but not much.

Waiting for pics and dimensions....am assuming silo is round, so what is diameter?

Oh, and...Welcome to BYC! @DyaSna
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, (laptop version shown), then it's always there!

 

[N F C]

Sounds like an interesting project, I'm going to follow along and see how this works out.

 

[DyaSna]

I am going to get a picture and post, but they are very tall, and I plan to put a wire rood inside so that predators can climb up and get in from the top. I do think I could separate into 2 floors of roosting space on one side and then the nest boxes on the other with a ladder and put feed and water under there for them.