I am running out of time! How can I (cheaply!) improve this coop? PICS

[Rainbow Advaya]

I am trying not to feel like I'm way in over my head, but I feel like I'm running out of time (and money) getting this coop together and I'm not sure what the best course of action is.

I started out (and still mostly ONLY have) a rugged storage building my late uncle built.

The framing is sturdy, and the siding will work for now, but it's been a project just clearing everything out.

BTW, that tree is THANKFULLY GONE!!

Dennis died over ten years ago but no one has cleaned out the shed since. The people who lived here before I moved in threw some stuff in too. At this point I've removed the majority of the stuff including the rotting wooden pallets that were the "floor". Unfortunately the dirt that's in there is insulation and nail laden. I will have to haul it all out until I get to clean dirt.

My father will help me but he is really strapped for time, and actually has the chickenpox at the moment and isn't really feeling up to anything! He generally always helps me at the last minute, so I expect he will do anything major that needs to be done. He has agreed to frame in a door as the two on the shed now are far from in working order. I have wooden and glass french doors that will make a lovely front and let in sunlight for the chickens. I will probably use just one door and place it in the center and put walls up around them, rather than having the two doors on the front like it is now.

I'm very confused about what to do about a few things:

We have no pop hole. My dad could build me one I guess, but our plan is to enclose the whole coop into a huge chain link dog run, which I will eventually cover parts of in hardware cloth. If I had a pop hole door I could place the run right against the coop and have more run space, but I'd have to cut the chain link and I'd rather not as this is not going to be my permanate coop and I'd really like to maintain the dog run. Is it okay to NOT have a pop hole door?

Secondly, I was planning on leaving the dirt floor (once I hauled out all the unsafe dirt), and just use a wire apron around it. I bought landscape staples, but they come right out of the ground. I dug a trench and then was going to bury part of the wire straight down from the coop, and the bottom flare out sort of like an L shape. However, as you can see, the coop is rather large and this would take a long time and possibly use more wire. Is burying a one - two foot apron 8-12 inches below ground sufficient? Do I need to secure it somehow other than with the dirt? I do have some rocks and such that I can weigh it down with as well, but I'm trying to conserve as much stuff as possible.

Would it be better that I wire the INSIDE of the run from frame to frame and then bury it so that the chickens can still dig and scratch?

And third, how the heck am I going to secure that roof?! There are gaps left and right! I want to just wire the whole ceiling, but the beams across confuse me and make this difficult. I think once I get a ladder and get up there I'll be able to figure it out a bit better, but again, I'd love to hear suggestions.

Honestly, is it best that I finish this coop or just start from scratch? My dad is a capable builder, and I'm an eager learner, but I have begged and pleaded with him and at this point I think he's just too busy to help. My chickens are definitely getting too big to be in the kitchen though!

 

[BankerJohn]

how much do you really want to do? I see an old milk crate that will work for a nest box. I saw rafters that will work for roosts. There is a door to clean out the coop. I'm not sure I would do a whole lot. There is so much character there!
Others will chime in and give their $0.02. Me, I love what you have now!

 

[pulletkeeper]

I think the building is worth working with. The single door in front is a good idea but be careful with glass as I have seen raccoons break glass windows to get into something. Hopefully you have some plexiglass around? You do not need a pop door but they are convenient. Did you say the dog run can enclose the whole building? That would be a good route to take. I also believe you will find a way to reinforce that ceiling once you get up there.

 

[Grungybones]

I would say if it's both time and money that you are short on, I would focus on making the shed predator proof first. with venting and light for the birds. From the size of your birds I'd say they have some time before they will be laying, so egg boxes can wait. I would almost think of the shed as a large brooder, and not worry about a run just yet. This is not how I would normally set up a coop... but you are under special constraints right now. Get the essentials for the birds in place, (food, water, venting, light, and security) then you can expand with the extra time this buys you.

 

[Rainbow Advaya]

Quote:
Whoa! I never even considered raccoons breaking glass. I don't know how I'd go about replacing the glass in these doors with plexiglass, but they are at least old heavy doors. It's not pure panels of glass, but small windows of glass inside a wooden frame. Hard to explain and way too late to take a picture at this hour! I would assume the breakage would be more of an issue if the entire pane was glass without any wood reinforcing it?

ETA: I googled and found a picture of a door that looks a lot like what I'm considering using, except the wood on the doors I have is a bit more dense and thicker cut:

I thought the glass would allow light to get in and let the chickens see out, but I'm really glad you mentioned the raccoons and hope maybe the extra wood in it will help?

Also, I live in Virginia so our winters can be pretty bad but are rarely what I'd say is severe, at least compared to northern New England for instance. There is going to be a six or so inch gap between the ground and the bottom board of the coop and it will be covered in wire but otherwise exposed. I will be using the deep litter method, so it's quite possible that this wire will be covered up, but should this be too cold in winter?

 

[luckyramu]

Your shed will make a great chicken coop. In the pictures of the ceiling, I'm guessing its not 100% water-tight, but then again, I don't see any gaps. I don't think I would do anything with the roof. You could remove the paneling and reinstall it with a screw-gun or just fill some holes with a silicon caulking. For predator proofing.. bury some hardware cloth or dig a trench and bury some 2x6's. Its a little bit of work, but worthwhile, fairly cheap, and sturdy. The idea of using a dog-run fencing type run is great. I visited one similar a few weeks ago and the girls seemed very content. Your shed seems very large and able to accommodate many girls. good luck and enjoy!

 

[stuck-on-red]

if it is raccoons that your worried about i would use some of the wire over the glass on the doors. so even if a raccoon breaks the glass they would still have to deal with the wire. it sounds like you have a strong frame that you could staple the wire to. also if you took out one of the bottom glass panels it would make a nice pop door for your chicks. im in VA as well and new to my chicks. not sure what part of Va your in but if i can help i will!!!

 

[yotetrapper]

Just me, but I would not use the french door. I had a large glass window in my coop, and the birds shattered it!!! French glass doors, while beautiful, I dont think will be particularly "chicken proof".

 

[Rainbow Advaya]

Quote:
Great idea about the wire behind the glass! I'm still amazed about raccoons breaking glass though :O

I'm in Bath county, I don't know if you even know where that is. It's pretty out there! Pretty near West Virginia

I'm definitely worried about raccoons. I had the girls out in a dog crate the other day to enjoy the sunshine and to play in the grass and eat bugs and do their chicken thing, and we were sitting on the grass observing. My boyfriend looked over and saw a raccoon walking towards us in broad daylight! Once he saw we seen him he turned and walked off into the woods. We were too shocked to act since it was such an odd time to see one. I spoke to the people who lived here and they said he was around a lot because they fed him pizza. *sigh* I haven't seen him since, but I swear he magically appeared as soon as the chickens were outside.

I'm actually really worried about weasels. Years before I was born, my grandmother had her entire flock wiped out by a weasel and that was less than a mile up the road.

 

[Rainbow Advaya]

Quote:
I'm really surprised to hear this. The glass in these doors is really very thick glass. These doors are HEAVY!! I could see where a chicken could break normal window glass that's thinner, but I'd be amazed if a raccoon or a chicken could break these. But all these posts are making me doubt myself!

I'll check the habitat ReStore and see what they have. I've had these doors sitting around for ever and I really wanted to use them!

Oh well, I'm sure if not for this, something else at some point.