does anyone have a big shed half coop half storage ?

[MamaChic21]

Instead of having 2 sheds (storage and coop for chickens) we thought we'll get 10x16 or 10x20 and have a different entry for the coop. If anyone has a big shed like this, can you share your pictures ? and/or would recommend anyone doing this ?

The shed we are considering is an A-frame workshop 10x16 $1,600 and 10x20 is $1,800. I found this http://www.horizonstructures.com/storage-sheds-chicken-coop.asp but it's $12,000

 

[patandchickens]

I guess I sort of have that, in a way. The building is 15x40 and about half the square footage is chickens, the other half aisle and storage of plywood, fence materials, things that were here when we bought the property, etc.

It is very handy in winter (especially if it is on slab or earth floor) because the larger building has a lot more thermal inertia. It also stays cool well into the summer but in the size shed you're talking about and in NJ that would probably not be meaningfully the case. It is also handy because ventilation requirements depend partly on chicken stocking density relative to the total cubic volume of the building, so having half the building's airspace *not* stocked with chickens helps dissipate their humidity and fumes to a significant degree during the night.

Also, it gives you good flexibility to add more chickens just by sacrificing storage space for more pens

The two main disadvantages are 1) your stored stuff will get TERRIBLY dusty unless you build a solid wall between the two halves. And of course if you DO build a solid wall between the two halves then you are largely or completely losing the benefits discussed above regarding ventilation. My suggestion if you're storing dust-sensitive stuff (lawnmowers, hardware, tools, anything you don't want covered with aerial chicken silt) would be to build the wall mainly solid with some good-sized screened openings that can be kept closed most of the year but opened as desired in wintertime. And secondly 2) chickens attract mice and rats, and having a bunch of miscellaneously-stored stuff in teh building can provide real good inaccessible-to-humans places for mice and rats to *breed*. Not only will this increase your rodent population over what it'd be without the storage area, it can make it quite challenging to get rid of the rodents by any means other than poison (which is a bit risky, even to your chickens). I have learned to store my stuff in as tidy and off-the-ground and no-small-recesses way as possible, but it is still quite jolly when I get the occasional rat in there and have to figure out how to catch and kill it.

On the whole I resoundingly DO recommend the "build a large shed and divide it" approach; I'm just making sure you're aware of those two compensatory down sides, so you can plan accordingly.

GOod luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Olive Hill]

If you do I would just make sure you have a solid wall between the storage and chicken areas. Chickens are dusty creatures. There's no way around it. Unless you're out there dusting and you make sure nothing in storage has grooves, crevices, etc, there will be dust build up. I guess it may not bother some, but the chicken dust is one thing I just despise and would be my greatest concern in a shared storage/coop area.

 

[MamaChic21]

I do want a solid full wall between the coop and the shed and different entry to both. I never really thought about the rodents

! Chickens I can deal with, mice, rats and snakes I can't.
My husband found a 3ft snake back there last summer. I read somewhere that snakes hates the smell of moth balls and I think I would be putting it where chickens won't get to it but drives snakes away.

 

[Horizon Structures]

Hi, MamaChic!

I just sent you an email with a price on more of what you're looking for.

FYI for everyone, the $12,000 coop on that page is the brown 12 x 40 about half way down. That coop had a LOT of "extras" on it, including an insulated egg room, extra nest boxes, fancier board and batten siding painted, etc. They are by no means all that much money. Our standard 8 x 8 coop starts at $2,995 including delivery to the east half of the U.S.! That's not a coop/shed combo, but just to give you an idea. Also, we can put in partitions for you, either to the wall height or all the way to the roof.

Our shed coops are fully customizable and all built to order with Amish quality. I'm not trying to hijack this thread, so if anyone is interested in one of our coop / shed buildings feel free to email me (link to the left of the post!) with your name and zip code to discuss whatever you had in mind. You can also call 888-447-4337 or 610-593-7710.

~ Nicole

 

[MamaChic21]

By all means, I love Horizon Structures and the 12x40 including the run is perfect

. However, I have to get what fits our budget. There are lots of sheds and coops with all different sizes and structures but everyone's wallet comes in different sizes too. I have to use and choose what I've got.
I got your e-mail, thank you

 

[mississippifarmboy]

I agree with everything Pat said. Ours is around 30' by 32', earth floor, barn lumber sides on the exterior and has the feed & storage room down the center with coops on each side. The interior walls are wood up about 4' and wire the rest of the way. Everything gets super dusty in the feed room, so much so that I have to use a soft broom and a big duster to keep the worst of the dust cleaned up weekly. Ventalation is never a problem and it is very nice to be able to feed, water and take care of the chickens in the dry.

 

[MamaChic21]

when you mean "earth floor" does that mean it's dirt ?

 

[mississippifarmboy]

Yes, the floors are all just dirt floors. In the feed & storage room it is hard packed dirt but I did use treated 2 x 4's and decking lumber to make four little platform floors. Two on one side under my 30 gallon and 55 gallon feed barrels, another under a big metal cabinet that I use to store medications, extra fedders, waterers, small supplies and such along with shavings and a fourth one in the area I store bag feed and hay.
I checked, but don't have any pictures on this computer of just the floors, but you can see a bit of the layout and the wall ventalation on my page here; https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=17452 and on my barn/coop page here; https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=17452-barn-coop-page
My old coops had wood floors, but I'll never go back to that as the dirt floors work so much better for my money. Everybody is different though, alot more people have solid floors than dirt floors. Just another option for you to consider.

 

[MamaChic21]

I think the shed we're getting has floors, maybe plywood I don't know now but will ask. Thank you everyone for your reply. I'll keep in mind