Crate chicken coop

[ncblu3221]

Hi everyone! I've been talking about having chickens for years AND FINALLY!! I brought my own house and have the space to do it on my acre of property!!. This will be my birthday present to myself in March. I will start with 2 chickens and go from there. I got my hands on this huge crate and want to make a coop out of it. I plan to cut the walls in half and make it have a slanted roof. Any tips would be wonderful.

 

[Shadowfire]

You will need to seal up some gaps; weasels (killers- they can wipe out over 70 birds in one night, the little turds wave back and forth like a cobra to intimidate their prey, killing way more than they need, just for fun.) I have to go but I do have some helpful tips for you.

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

It looks awful small, how many chickens are you planning for besides the first two? Two is a bad number if one dies the other is alone. Chicken math is real I started with 7, now I have 12 and 12 ordered for the spring and building a new coop.... The footprint of that box looks about 4'x4' which is only 16 square feet or maybe 6x4?

You have an acre, go big you will not regret it. Where are you in the world? Big differences in needs from canada to california...

Gary

 

[21hens-incharge]

What dimensions is it?

I think you would get awesome space laying it on the "front".

What an awesome score!

 

[ncblu3221]

It looks awful small, how many chickens are you planning for besides the first two? Two is a bad number if one dies the other is alone. Chicken math is real I started with 7, now I have 12 and 12 ordered for the spring and building a new coop.... The footprint of that box looks about 4'x4' which is only 16 square feet or maybe 6x4?

You have an acre, go big you will not regret it. Where are you in the world? Big differences in needs from canada to california...

Gary

Its actually huge, like the width of a truck bed an as tall as a ceiling. So probably 5 w x 8ft tall. I want to make one 6x4 but I actually have 2 of the boxes and will give one to my friend who is also making a chicken coop. I'm in texas. Maybe I will get 3 chickens I just dont want to be overwhelmed

 

[ncblu3221]

You will need to seal up some gaps; weasels (killers- they can wipe out over 70 birds in one night, the little turds wave back and forth like a cobra to intimidate their prey, killing way more than they need, just for fun.) I have to go but I do have some helpful tips for you.

What should I seal cracks with?

 

[ncblu3221]

What dimensions is it?

I think you would get awesome space laying it on the "front".

What an awesome score!

I havnt measures it but it's as tall as my barn shop ceiling and wide as my truck bed I basrley got it off my truck.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I havnt measures it but it's as tall as my barn shop ceiling and wide as my truck bed I basrley got it off my truck.

That is still a good size.

To seal it up from predators there are a few options.
First know what predators you may be dealing with. Some people have everything from weasels to snakes and bears.


What part of the country are you in? You said barn so I assume you are not in town.
Pretty much any hole or crack 1/2" or bigger will need hardware cloth or more wood to keep weasels , rats and snakes out.

You will need ventilation no matter where you are. There are really good articles written by some really knowledgeable people here.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/

Also tons of coop ideas in the coop pages.

I look forward to seeing your progression.

Be sure to post pics and ask questions on anything that gets tricky. There are always people ready to help.

Oh one thing that occurs to me......if you were to lay it down.....the boards that run horizontal would be vertical...... That would make it easy to give it a board and batton look. Here are a couple short videos if you want to see what that looks like while closing gaps.

Ok one video and one page showing what it looks like.

https://cabindiy.com/how-to/board-and-batten-siding/

Wishing you happy building!

 

[aart]

I would use it laying on it's side....so the floor is ~4x8.
Get your tape measure out and check the dimensions.
Then raise the 'roof' with mesh panels for lots of ventilation.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Not sure where you are in Texas, there is a difference in the Gulf Coast and the western mountains but not all that cold anywhere. Heat is more likely to be your problem. I'm not convinced you need to seal anything except for rain. Cutting more holes for better ventilation is more likely. Pick-up beds come in different sizes but I'll assume it is close to 5' x 5' x 8'.

I'm going to suggest something different for you to think about. I think I'd lay it on its side and elevate it. The wood is not treated so it does not need to be touching the ground. Put in your nests, roosts, doors, a window, and all that. Build a separate sloped roof over it, with overhang to keep the rain out. That should give you a shaded spot under the roof but over the coop which should help keep it cool and allow good ventilation. That might be easier to do that cutting the box in to on a slant to get a sloped roof. I'd think about cutting a hole maybe 12" x 24" in the top of that box but sheltered by the roof and covered with hardware cloth (opposite end from the roosts) to increase ventilation.

That's a great resource, good luck!