Garden shed to coop: advice?

[pennyJo1960]

I actually use home depot buckets will horizontal nipples I put aquarium heaters in them if we get that cold here. We do not have severe weather here often beyond rain
I buy allot on amazon can you tell

 

[Justso]

Screw and washer like this! Yes it's important, you can't believe how crafty raccoons can get.
I'm jelous of that space too.

 

[Justso]

And btw
1. I'm okay at handy but not great
2. Pre-drill holes before screwing, it makes life easier.
3. Don't let ANYONE shame you for your work. It's yours and done with love.

 

[4 ever Orpington]

Hi everyone,

After searching and searching and researching and reading, I am fantastically disappointed to learn that there really isn't any "easy" option for getting my growing number of birds into a better space. They're just not made. So, fueled by frustration, I'm looking at converting my garden shed into a coop. I don't know how it happened, but I just spontaneously came into possession of three adorable new baby chicks , but they're getting close to that all-feathered up stage and they're going to have to leave my art studio soon. I'm an awful person and just "assumed" there would be a pre-built option for someone like me, so here we are. I already have two adult hens, so this shed space would need to work for five hens: two orpingtons, a welsummer, an ameraucana, and a wyandotte.

Let me preface by saying that while I am crafty, I am not "handy". I have not put a screw into wood. My husband works 12-16 hour graveyard shifts, and he does not want to do this project, so I am on my own. I just don't know where to begin. I know they need a place to sit to sleep, something to catch droppings, and a place for them to lay eggs. The shed has windows with screens on them, so I have that going for me, but I don't know if more work is needed for ventilation to be right proper.

I have looked at a good number of threads on this site trying to learn what folks have done to make their sheds into coops, but man, everyone has a different shed, and everybody has a different way of doing things. My shed is no different... In fact, in the photos I will attach for perusal, it is in fact only half shed. The other half is a SAUNA (that I don't even use.. it came with the house). Conveniently, that means it's hooked up to electricity, it has its own outlets and lights!

If anything, if I end up trying to hire someone to fix this up for me because I don't have the tools or the courage, I would REALLY appreciate ideas, so that I can tell someone else what goes where, and what I'd need to buy.

I live in Minneapolis, MN.

My deepest and sincerest gratitude toward any and all replies.

 

[SarahLadd]

These are all great ideas!! I have a heated, hanging water bucket fitted with nipples already, so I've got that covered. My two hens made it through a super brutal Minnesota winter last year- -40f average temperatures for over a WEEK- and the bucket never froze.

Is there a specific kind of paint I should use? Should I be looking at installing insulation and putting board up over it on the walls? I'm actually worried about cooking them in summer, less cold... It gets pretty darn wintry, but it's also been stupid hot this summer, too. I'm really blessed I haven't had any health issues so far with either of my grown hens.

 

[CapricornFarm]

I use exterior paint and buy oops paint in yellow if possible, my favorite color for interior. Semi Gloss is best for scrubbing.
Personally i prefer big tree limbs for perches, i think they are more natural. I like to peel off the bark so less hiding places for bugs. Does your shed have any vents? If not, you might want to add some. Good ventilation is key to protecting against frostbite.
Most people do not insulate coops, since chickens have feather insulation. Please do not use heat lamps, too many coops burn down. There are specially made pet heaters if you really feel that it is too cold for them. But if you insulate, the building retains heat in the summer as well as the winter.
Good luck with your conversion.

 

[pennyJo1960]

These are all great ideas!! I have a heated, hanging water bucket fitted with nipples already, so I've got that covered. My two hens made it through a super brutal Minnesota winter last year- -40f average temperatures for over a WEEK- and the bucket never froze.

Is there a specific kind of paint I should use? Should I be looking at installing insulation and putting board up over it on the walls? I'm actually worried about cooking them in summer, less cold... It gets pretty darn wintry, but it's also been stupid hot this summer, too. I'm really blessed I haven't had any health issues so far with either of my grown hens.

May have to add ventilation but face that a bit later can you open the windows they have? those are great and if they open you can have them open most the year

 

[pennyJo1960]

Sarah Cap is the one I asked to help we are both old females that build

 

[pennyJo1960]

goodnight everyone this old lady needs sleep morning come early

 

[SarahLadd]

I use exterior paint and buy oops paint in yellow if possible, my favorite color for interior. Semi Gloss is best for scrubbing.
Personally i prefer big tree limbs for perches, i think they are more natural. I like to peel off the bark so less hiding places for bugs. Does your shed have any vents? If not, you might want to add some. Good ventilation is key to protecting against frostbite.
Most people do not insulate coops, since chickens have feather insulation. Please do not use heat lamps, too many coops burn down. There are specially made pet heaters if you really feel that it is too cold for them. But if you insulate, the building retains heat in the summer as well as the winter.
Good luck with your conversion.

If my river birches drop any more big ones, I'll keep that in mind.

I wasn't sure if insulation helped keep the shed cool in summer, nuts to that then!

I got a radiant heat panel recommended by "the chicken chick" off of amazon last year. It looks like a flat panel TV, and they would take turns deciding who was gonna sit next to it. I put a temperature probe inside the coop to monitor the temperature via a bluetooth display inside the house, and according to the probe, it raised ambient temperature inside the coop by about 4 degrees. I'm not sure if it made a difference, but I'll probably be putting it back up for them to choose if they want to cuddle it.