I'm getting a chicken coop! Need some advice.

[zookeeper15133]

Just keeping it on top.

 

[MamiPollo]

Oh boy. This is really overwhelming.

I am sitting on my money right now. I am going to be very low income over the summer, so if I am going to buy a shed I have to do it now and use that. There is not going to be any money to save until school starts again (I am a substitute teacher).

I don't think I have the tools I need for cutting around corners or punching out anything. I have two saws that I use for cutting branches. I can cut straight across, but I don't think I can turn a corner with either one of these saws.

 

[MamiPollo]

I'm hoping this will work to show you the treehouse. It is hard to post these photos!

 

[MamiPollo]

Oops! Well, that didn't work.

http://s1128.photobucket.com/albums...mamipollo/?action=view&current=treehouse2.jpg

Maybe you can just click through the link. Sorry, would rather post a photo.

 

[latebloomer]

that should be real easy to convert.

 

[teach1rusl]

Is that in your yard??? That looks very doable! What are the dimensions (length/width)???? P.S. I'm currently doing subbing work too (in Jeff. Co.)

 

[zookeeper15133]

That looks real easy to convert. It also looks to be about 6 x 6, plenty of room. Do you have any objections to me making a post on BYC asking for help for you? I'm sure you could convert that and do your run with what you had put away for that other coop.

 

[MamiPollo]

Yes, I would love ideas about how to do it. The simpler the better. Even if it was one way for summer and then I would work on it to expand it during the summer/fall.

It is about 5 ft by 6 ft. and the floor of the deck is about 7.5 or 8 ft off the ground.

 

[MamiPollo]

Quote:
Yes, it is in my yard. No one uses it.

I sub at KY School for the Blind.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

I didn't read through but I think one response...but here is my experience with a dog kennel:

It works great but you MUST and I mean MUST line the bottom part of the fencing with chicken wire or hardware cloth.

Here's my thread: Oh I deleted the photos I just remembered. But you still might get something out of the thread.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=450099

If you don't care to read the thread, bottom line is that you may lose chickens unless it is lined. Also, if you are not moving it around like a chicken tractor, aproning out some hardware cloth on the ground is good to deter digging predators.

I also wanted to mention that you can cut a hole in the kennel so that the coop doesn't take up space if you choose. I just put my coop inside. It was a chick-n-hutch by ware. I like it because I can disassemble the whole thing and remove it from the kennel.

I also placed plastic chicken wire netting overhead to keep hawks and owls out of the pen.

Ok, now to read some of the responses.