interior design - help! what would you do with a 'blank slate'??

[jmp-pdx]

I have an empty 4x8 shed. The 4' side has a door and it's tall enough to walk inside comfortably (picture it as a giant box).

Need some help designing the interior for easy cleaning!!

Also, what should I put on the floor? It's currently just plywood

Planning on water/feed in the run, thanks!!!!!!

 

[chickencoop789]

Ok, here are some ideas that will make cleaning so much easier:
Removable roosts - you can take them out to scrub clean
Poop board - Don't have to clean out shavings as often, able to quickly scoop out/scrape off droppings
Glassboard/laminate floor - more durable than just plywood and can be hosed down if need be


I know you said that you want to feed and water outside, but IMO it is better to have that in the coop. Chickens wake up super early - ive seen my girls out at like 4:00 in the morning. It would be better to have feed and water in the coop so when they wake up, they can eat/drink right away. That way they wont have to wait a couple of hours for you to wake up and let them out to eat/drink. That's just my opinion but its up to you.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

You could just keep the plywood for now, perhaps painted and covered with pine shavings.
Another option for the floor is a sheet of HDPE. It comes in 4X8. Here's a sheet for 20+ bucks. That's probably cheaper than vinyl flooring.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HD-Polyethy...617?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20b93bc199

Make your roosts higher than the nest boxes and arrange so the chickens don't have to walk under the roosts to get to the nests.

 

[jmp-pdx]

Ok, here are some ideas that will make cleaning so much easier:
Removable roosts - you can take them out to scrub clean
Poop board - Don't have to clean out shavings as often, able to quickly scoop out/scrape off droppings
Glassboard/laminate floor - more durable than just plywood and can be hosed down if need be


I know you said that you want to feed and water outside, but IMO it is better to have that in the coop. Chickens wake up super early - ive seen my girls out at like 4:00 in the morning. It would be better to have feed and water in the coop so when they wake up, they can eat/drink right away. That way they wont have to wait a couple of hours for you to wake up and let them out to eat/drink. That's just my opinion but its up to you.

great, thanks! I leave the door open so they can go out as soon as they get up... but I plan on doing a PVC feeder and they're small so it wouldn't be a problem to put it inside. Right now they're in a small A frame prebuilt thing I got off craigslist, so they'll be in chicken heaven in a 4x8 setup!

 

[jmp-pdx]

You could just keep the plywood for now, perhaps painted and covered with pine shavings.
Another option for the floor is a sheet of HDPE. It comes in 4X8. Here's a sheet for 20+ bucks. That's probably cheaper than vinyl flooring.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HD-Polyethy...617?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20b93bc199

Make your roosts higher than the nest boxes and arrange so the chickens don't have to walk under the roosts to get to the nests.

good advice, thanks! didn't think of that. And that is cheaper than linoleum. I'm going to watch CL for a week, but so far there's nothing there...

I'm thinking of two 6' roost bars on the long wall and 2-3 nest boxes (not sure where) plus the PVC feeders. Am I forgetting anything??

 

[chickencoop789]

great, thanks! I leave the door open so they can go out as soon as they get up... but I plan on doing a PVC feeder and they're small so it wouldn't be a problem to put it inside. Right now they're in a small A frame prebuilt thing I got off craigslist, so they'll be in chicken heaven in a 4x8 setup!

Alright. Im sure they'll love it!

 

[aart]

great, thanks! I leave the door open so they can go out as soon as they get up... but I plan on doing a PVC feeder and they're small so it wouldn't be a problem to put it inside. Right now they're in a small A frame prebuilt thing I got off craigslist, so they'll be in chicken heaven in a 4x8 setup!

What about predators?

Think about how they will get down from the roost without flying into a wall, 4x8 isn't that big.
My coop's 6 feet wide, roosts about 3 feet high and I had to put in ramps, which take up floor space.

Might be better to put the roosts on the 4 foot wall, so they have 8 feet(well, 6 feet) to fly down.
Nests and poop board under roosts maybe.

How many birds you plan on keeping in there?