Interior Layout - storage room or more coop space?

[wildorchid053]

i love my storage space it has closet doors that hide the aluminum trash cans that hold their food so mice can't get it. it has a light socket on the top half incase i have a broody with chicks out of season and it is a chilly night i can warm them. i keep their shavings in there.. it snows here and there is nothing worse than the wind blowing snow in your face and you have to go back and forth to get that stuff. it is only 4'x 2 1/2' but it holds alot.. i have a snow scraper for scraping the 2x4 roosts in there and their grit and calcium.. i vote storage space!!!

 

[Chicklette 1]

I am in the same situation and my coop is 8X12 but I am thinking of putting my garbage cans with food etc. in one area with a poop board over them and i found a perfect cabinet with doors at the Habitat store to put all the bottles boxes, etc. into. It has a drawer which is good for scrapers, scissors, etc. The worst thing is that some of the dust will accumulate on these things but that's part of chickens and I really do not know how to prevent it without making a separate walled in area with a door. I'd rather not lose the floor space. I can also keep things in plastic containers with covers.
This is my second coop and for the first one, I set one of the small upright Plastic storage sheds I bought at Lowes across from the gate to the pen and I have some large things in there. I am in KY and we had snow and ice, etc. but this worked out very well because it was almost adjacent to the coop. I am still thinking through the new 8X12 as to the interior.

 

[RiddleMe]

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I like that idea, probably easier than building a true wall and easy to remove! Plus it let's me get the shed built and try out both options without commiting to either - now that is an idea I can really get behind!

 

[RiddleMe]

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Good point, I was actually going to install a hinged section for exterior egg access, but that would give the same access without putting another hole in the siding!

 

[ralleia]

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Good point, I was actually going to install a hinged section for exterior egg access, but that would give the same access without putting another hole in the siding!

That *is* an intriguing idea. But what are the advantages to doing this? Avoiding stepping into the coop and getting "mugged" by hens hoping that you brought them something? What else?

 

[RiddleMe]

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Good point, I was actually going to install a hinged section for exterior egg access, but that would give the same access without putting another hole in the siding!

That *is* an intriguing idea. But what are the advantages to doing this? Avoiding stepping into the coop and getting "mugged" by hens hoping that you brought them something? What else?

Actually, for me it's so my 80 year old neighbors can come collect eggs occassionally when I'm out of town for the weekend without having to enter the coop.