Is a Lowes shed good for henhouse?

marinas

Hatching
10 Years
Nov 19, 2009
4
0
7
Hi - I am new at this, and wondered if those simple sheds they sell outside of Lowes-
like for around 800$ - would work well for a hen house? I also saw a childs playhouse
for sale recently (wood- but with drywall, is drywall ok? it was unpainted drywall...
that seems possibly kind of poisonous). I don't have time to build a coop or the skills, I mean
hen house- I could put up fencing for the outdoor run. Anyway, about the Lowes sheds?
They have windows, doors, seem predator- armed, are roomy for say 6 hens....I was
thinking those milk/crate things they sell as file crates (plastic, office supply stores) for nesting box?
 
I'm sure it would work great (I'd be really envious actually!) but there are much cheaper options. Also, depending on your location and the type of shed you buy, you might have to weatherize it. For example, one of the little metal sheds would be like an oven in summer and would need to be insulated for cold weather climates. But they could certainly be made to work and it would be nice to have a coop you can stand up in (makes cleaning easier).

ETA: for nest boxes, you don't need to spend a lot of money. A lot of people use items they already had around the house - a covered cat litter box that is no longer needed, a milk crate turned on its side and so on.
 
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Prefab sheds are fine, providing you add a bunch of extra ventilation. (Metal sheds not so good unless you insulate them, though). They are not the cheapest option, but if you can afford it, then great
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Drywall is not exactly a prohibitive problem, but it will not do well with moisture if you are a coop-hoser-out-er. You would be well served to cover at least the bottom 3' (plus anywhere else chickens can reach, like along the roost) with plywood or something, though, because chickens will peck and destroy drywall, also slightly-damp deep-litter bedding against the walls will do bad things to drywall over time.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat, with a drywalled chicken building (*I* didn't do it, it came that way, was a dog building before we moved here) and having found out the hard way about chickens pecking drywall
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I may have the same shed as EweSheep, a beige vinyl that's constructed like cardboard. Each panel is about 2 1/2 inches thick and has an air filled center that seems to act as an insulator. When we were walking into them it was a very hot day and that one was really a lot cooler than all the others.

There's nothing 'cutsie' about my shed/henhouse, no arched doors or anything, it's very basic and unassuming looking. The size is 10 across the front and 8 deep. Big double doors and a pair of air vents high up on the back wall. I didn't get any of the options. I plan to divide it down the middle so each door will open into a seperate section using a 2 foot high length of plywood and chicken wire the rest of the way up.

Georgia in Alabama
 
I purchased a 10x10 shed from Home Depot, probably close to what you're thinking about. I was actually told not to do that again. It was actually a lot of pain to put together. The guys were use to building things from the way they learned and this shed really didn't work that way. They said it would have been cheaper and actually quicker to take a list of materials to the store and buy the materials and then put it together. You can see a pic of it on my BYC page.

This is just what I was told. Hope it helps.
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April
 
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They do have windows for it but you would have to buy at least four to get a good cross ventilation. As for the doors, I make my own wooden door with hardware wire and it works very well. however my shed is a 4 x 7 Yardmate. I loved it and if I get enough money, I will get the 8 x 10 Winchester. We do have the other Winchester for our motorcycle and wood storage under the carport and it is the same age as my Yardmate. Talk about weathering well! As for the Yardmate, i have washed it out three times and it comes out a winner every time! The only thing bad about it, there is nothing you can hang holes from, certainly NOT a roost LOL! So we ended up making a sawhorse roost which it served me well. The feeder is light enough for me to hang by two screws into the wall and it was GREAT!

As for the heat and cold issues, I never had any problems with it since mine is open most of the time. If I need to cover it, the door that came with the shed suffice easily! I remember one month after I had the chickens, I had a damp steamy coop on a COLD day. So I ended up getting a storm window, cut out the panel and made a wood frame work for the storm window and we screw it in. Never had a problem since then! And a doggie door on the bottom.

I can fit in 12 to 15 hens easily with two roosts, a wall pig feeder and waterer.
 
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Home Depot sells the Arrow Newport 8 x 10 metal shed for under $300, and we converted one into chicken digs. Half chicken digs, half storage.

Once you get the foundation in--ours was 4 by 4 treated lumber, it takes a full day for two people to get the thing built. Needs ventilation and windows added, but we like ours a lot.
 
I have a home depot shingled roof shed in southern california. It has one window. Most of the time it is fine, but on hot days 90 degrees & up, it was getting too hot. So installed two 12" x 12" vents (cheap and easy), and that helped. I also found a fan that mounts on the ceiling beam, and I turn that on the hottest days. This keeps the layers and the eggs cool. If you live somewhere cold, I'm not sure if it's warm enough.
 

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