From shed to coop

[SilverDuck284]

Hey BYC,

I'd really like to turn this old storage shed into a coop, so I was hoping someone could give me some advice on how to go about it. Any ideas or tips, insight or considerations would be very helpful! I only have a few pictures, if anyone needs more, or of something specific just let me know! Thanks a ton!

I can only use half of it, its still used for storage.

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

ventilation is going to a big issue...can you cut window and vents in.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Put up a solid wall wall between the chickens and your storage. You'll be surprised at how much dust they generate. A lot of that dust is powdered chicken poop. A door between the two sections would be nice, but the dust is real.

A photo from outside with an overall view might help. General size could help too, but I can get generic. In South Carolina you will need a lot of ventilation. Heat can be a killer. You also need ventilation in the winter to get rid of the moisture and ammonia, but the summer heat is your biggest concern in South Carolina.

Depending in what your roof looks like, you can maybe take out the top 6" of some or all your walls and cover that opening with hardware cloth. You can also or either do roof and gable vents. These openings should be over the chickens' heads when they are roosting and should be open all year long. It's practically impossible to have too much ventilation over their heads, even in much colder climates than yours.

In the summer, you need other ventilation down low, at least as low as where they are sleeping and preferably even lower. You can accomplish this by cutting openings and covering them with hardware cloth. Predators can climb in so whether you install a regular window or just frame out a hole, you still need to cover that opening with hardware cloth. If you just frame out and cover it with hardware cloth, you can cover that with a sheet of plexiglas or something similar in the winter if you need to.

Ventilation really is important.

You'll need a way for them to get to the run. I'd suggest a pop door, maybe 12" square, with the bottom of this opening about a foot off the floor. This gives you room for bedding without it falling out. They will have no problems going up that foot to get out or in, but if you wish you can put a cinder block there to act as a step. You can either do a guillotine type door or just build one with hinges. Either type shoud have a hasp so you can lock it.

I don't know how many chickens you are planning on or the sizes of the coop portion, but put a roost or two across it. Make the roosts higher than anything else you don't want them roosting on or in, like the nests. You'll need at least 8" per chicken on the roost but I suggest being generous with this space. Mine get meanest toward each other on the roosts while settling down to sleep, especially if I have younger birds in the flock. I find it helpful for them to have some room to spread out if they need to. With roost space or just general coop space, I find it best to provide extra room instead of trying to cram as many as you can into a space.

I'm not sure of this is the type of stuff you are looking for. Good luck!

 

[SilverDuck284]

Thanks for all that great info! I will take pictures of the outside outside in the morning. I probably can put in vents, the roof is shingled. The first thing i should to is the wall to decide it, right? The run is alongside the shed, it would be great if i can cut a door out, i was thinking the hinge type. Thanks for the tip with putting it up off the floor, i didn't think of the bedding!

Any other ideas or advice?

 

[SilverDuck284]

Sorry it took so long, we had a lot of rain and then I had chicks hatching! Its been a crazy week. So here's pics of the outside.

I was thinking I can put two windows on the side of the shed and the door above where the cinderblock is.

Here's a pic of the chicks! Since I made you wait, lol.

 

[cfdf]

I built my coop out of a shed 3 years ago. So far it has worked out great. I/We (hubby really did all the work) added two windows on 3 sides and made a welded wire screen door that can be opened during the day to help with ventilation. I use all of my shed so storage area wasn't an issure for me. I live in Texas and the heat here gets quite unbearable in the summer. Last year the temps got in the 117's and people were losing their chickens. I installed a water cooler / swamp cooler and closed up most of the doors and windows to keep the coop cool. It worked great. The chickens hung out inside the coop during the heat of the day instead of staying outside. I never lost a chicken due to the heat. That being said, you really need to put in a lot of ventillation and shade is a must. You can check out my coop on my page. A few things have changed since these pictures were taken. I added more dog runs to expand the run to 500 sq ft. on one side and on the other side the run is about 80 sq ft. We made a shelf inside the coop to hold nesting boxes (nesting boxes are old milk crates). I have also added a small coop on legs inside the larger coop to keep Mom's with chicks in or an injured bird if necessary. The chickens use it to roost on so it serves several purposes. Any way I think you can turn your shed into a great coop. You will of course need to add pop doors. I think I would use the front of the shed for storage and make your coop section in the back. Use the back wall for nest boxes. Also keep in mind that chickens like to roost at the highest points in the coop so if you have beams at the top of your shed they will want to roost there. You will need to put some kind of wire up there to keep them from getting into your storage area. Maybe you could build a welded wire divider with a door between the 2 areas. I've seen people do that with great success. A solid wall would really restrict the air flow so I wouldn't reccommend you do that. You could put your pop door and run going out the back side of the shed with the pop door under the nest box shelf. (That is if room allows you to go that way) There are lots of things you can do with that shed to make it work. Good luck and keep us posted on what you do...take pictures...we love pictures.