Help me turn this into a coop/run

[Coop de Grille]

We close on our new house in May and will be moving in over the summer. I want to turn this shed and old dog pen into a chicken coop/run. I have never had chickens before so I could use some help. I want to extend the run up to the shed and have a chicken door off the side so they can exit the coop into the run. The front door I want to leave as is so I can get into the coop for cleaning.

If I make the run 6-7 ft high and close in the top do I still need to lock the girls up at night?
What is the best place to put the nest boxes?
How many windows/vents do I need?
How many chickens can I comfortably keep without being over crowded?
I want to let them free range during the day, do I just leave the door open and let them come and go as they please?

I would like to start with 6-8 chickens. I know me and that number will likely increase with every trip to TSC

 

[AHappychick]

I would always close them in at night it is much safer and very hard to compleatly predator proof a run, but it IS possible. If you do use hardware cloth and electric fencing.

As for the free ranging unless yo are willing to loose a lot to predators I would not recomend unsupervised free ranging as I see no fences or any real shelter from the hawks and stray dogs and such.

That will be an awesome coop though and plenty big for 6-10 chooks

 

[zatsdeb]

looks like a great area to fence off and put lots of chickens in there!!!
if it is closed good and nothing can dig under you could leave them out, but they usually go in at night anyways, we close our up in winter to keep it warmer at night.
nesting boxes should be low enough so they can get in but easy to reach and gather eggs. some people make nesting boxes with doors on the outside to collect without going into the chicken house, there are so many designs on her, you can go to coop designs and check out what others have done. roosts should be high enough that you can get under to clean better, we do ladder type.. so they can climb up higher but stagger so they are not directly above each other for poops sake! don't want them to get pooped on!
you should get lots of great ideas here!

 

[teach1rusl]

Is the building 8 x 8??? It's hard to tell it's size, and of course that will indicate how many chickens you could comfortably support. It looks like it has at least one window (on the dog run side???). IMO, windows are great!! If you're in an area that gets winters, they help warm up the coop over the course of the day, and in summer they give great ventilation. But you don't NEED windows. You do need decent ventilation though. And it would be best to place it up high, as close to the roof/ceiling line as possible.
How much ventilation you'll need really depends on how many chickens you will have and how large/small your space is for them. For example, my coop is 6 x 8, and I have 5 hens. Many folks would say that I could keep 12 hens in there easily (which to me would be WAY crowded). Think of the difference in the amount of moisture created through droppings and respiration. I would need a LOT more ventilation than I currently have if I had that many birds in my coop. I don't have the link handy, but you can do a search on ventilation. Look for Pat's Ventilation link...lots of ventilation basics and guidelines. You won't regret designing plenty of ventilation, and making some of it closeable.
Nest boxes can go pretty much anywhere, although most suggest not in the path of direct sunlight, as many chickens like their nest boxes to be a little darker or privacy. My girls' boxes are pretty bright and they don't seem to mind though. I like my nest boxes elevated about 2 ft., so that no floor space is lost. But many put them on the floor.
Your run area looks like it would be tough to cover due to the trees growing up through there, unless you were moving it, or removing those trees? My run is covered, and I still do close my girls in the coop at night (although I don't use a lock). I want to take as few chances as possible. Is that grey thing sticking up in front of the building an electrical outlet??? Access to electricity would be GREAT!!! Available light is always welcomed, and you could always do an auto door!
Congrats on your new home!!!

 

[WestKnollAmy]

Maybe this will help you get a few ideas....

Notice it has a hardware cloth door so in the heat of the summer I can have all 3 windows open and the door open for air. I have a strong lock on the hardware cloth door to deter predators. The window screens were taken off and hardware cloth was put over them.

This is the back of my Silkie/Cochin shed. I have pop doors that I open every morning and close at dark every night.
I have 4 runs coming out from the shed, one is covered because of the youngsters growing up that I don't want hawks to try and get.
The inside is divided into 4 coops. The walls were added inside after I put sheets of insulation against them. The ceiling has a bit of insulation, too, to help cut out some of the cold in winter.

 

[Coop de Grille]

Thank you everyone!

I dont have access to the house yet and I didnt think to measure the shed the last time I was over there. I like the idea of hardware cloth over the windows for added ventilation. The house is in South Carolina so ventilation in the heat of the summer is necessary. I wonder if I can make a screen door out of the hardware cloth so I can open the front doors and air it out. Hmm... good thing I have a handy hubby lol...

 

[WestKnollAmy]

Oh yeah, if you are moving here you will need to have ventilation! I live up near the mountains and still it is so hot at night that my birds are panting long after the sun goes down. I want to add some vents to the roof, too. I don't worry about the cold nearly like I do the summer heat and humidity.
You can check out my website for more photos of all the coops. It is the housing page. Plenty of ideas because you will never have enough room for all the chicks and chickens you will want to get. I started with 7......several years ago. I now have well over .........never mind, I don;t want to scare you.

 

[nancypo]

I would get some books on raising chickens too, one of the newer one that have coop ideas. Good ventilation, but no cold drafts, light and easy cleaning! Got to keep the girls clean. I recommend the deep litter method from what I have read...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1560-DLM

 

[nancypo]

Make LOTS of access doors for maintanence.... some can be small for just collecting eggs, etc.

 

[chickenannie]

If you want the birds to free-range, keep them locked up (in the run/coop area) for 3 weeks. They will learn that this is "home". Then, you can open the run door and let them free range and they will walk their little selves back into the coop at night. It can help to start (after 3 weeks) by just letting them out in late afternoon, when they won't range far. Gradually let them free range earlier and earlier. They are critters of habit and like to sleep in the same spot each night. Do a head count each night -- if one decides to sleep outside it's best to find it, and put it in the coop. If they sleep elsewhere for one night, they will keep returning to their new spot. This advice is for free-ranging only (outside the run). Habit is how you train a chicken. You can also make a certain "call" each evening when you put food or treats out for them.... "here, chickie, chickie" for example. They begin to associate your call with food and/or treats and will come running from afar. This call should not be frivolously 'wasted' or it won't work. Every call a treat. chickens loooove treats. Be careful though, too many treats can result in fat chickens which get health problems.