Help with new coop please!

[MoonflowerMama]

Hello, we are brand new to chickens and will soon be receiving our baby chick's in the mail. We have already constructed a brooder and are getting ready to setup the coop. We plan on converting an older shed into a coop, but aren't sure about the best way to do it. We've seen on here discussions about flooring, walls, insulation, ventilation, safety wire, poop boards, nesting boxes, DIY feeders and waterers, roosts, height uses, etc. It's absolutely wonderful having so much knowledge and information on here though sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming.

Anyway, we'd really like some help and suggestions on how we should best build and outfit our coop. I'm going to attach pictures so you can see what we are working with. Currently there is no electricity in the coop and we haven't decided if we should run electricity or not. We also are unsure about insulating the coop since we live in Virginia. We are pretty sure that additional ventilation is necessary and possibly need to add more windows. We are also thinking about building a barrier wall inside the coop so that we can separate a small section to store food and supplies in the coop next to the chickens.

Finally, we REALLY want the easiest design for cleanup and functionality while still keeping our chickens happy.

The shed is 12' x 14' on the outside with the inside dimensions being slightly less due to material thickness. We are going to house 15 chickens inside the coop and the side of the shed with the large door will have a run connected to it.

Any and all suggestions are welcome. Thank you everyone in advance!

 

[craigd67]

Wow! That is going to make one heck of a coop. No expert here but if you want to store your food inside I would use the area close to the walk in door. Keep that area free of debris for easy access. Use deep liter method. Plenty of room left for nesting boxes and roost. Looks like it does need more ventilation. You could put some hardware cloth over that window where you could open it. I am assuming you will attach the run to the end with the big square door?

 

[DobieLover]

Wow! What a great shed to convert into a coop!!
I would suggest poop boards for the easiest way to keep the coop clean. I use them, scoop them each morning into a cat litter bucket with a lid, dump full buckets into compost bin. Thick bedding on the concrete floor. Like 6" thick. Rake it back into the landing zone at nightly lock up and head count.
You don't need insulation.
When you reroof (tear off) rip 1-1.5" off the roof decking on either side of the ridge and install a ridge vent when you re-shingle.
I'd run a circuit to the coop. It really helps to have power to the coop to run fans and lights. It just makes things easier.
Staple chicken wire to the ceiling to keep the chickens from trying to roost on the ceiling joists.
Remove the soffits and install 1/2" HC.
I would install top hinged windows. I like them on all walls.
You can click on the My Coop link under my avatar for suggestions on layout.

 

[MoonflowerMama]

Hello and thank you all so much for your responses! Yes CraigD67, we will be attaching the run to the large door. We also were thinking the same thing about the barrier wall location.

DobieLover, we were definitely thinking about poop boards! Thank you for the advice about electric and not needing insulation. We didn't realize that the bedding should be that thick with the deep litter method though...is that because the floor is concrete? Yeah, we definitely don't want chickens roosting on the ceiling joists!

So...about the ridge vent...I never even thought about that before. Do you have any recommendations or other threads on here I could use as a reference? I'm wondering how difficult this may be.

Thank y'all again!

 

[Three Little Bunnies]

I wish my coop was that big!