It’s a bit of a fixer upper... WWYD?

[JuliB]

Here is my free Facebook Marketplace find. This “doghouse” is 5x7, 2x4 and concrete siding. Owner just wants it removed ASAP... I have a truck and a flatbed, so now I have a dog house, that is larger than my freshman dorm room,
that I want to convert to a chicken coop.

Clearly it needs a new roof, and I plan to fill the opening vent with hardware cloth, as well as adding a hardware cloth covered door. Planning to add a side entrance as well to attach to an existing steel dog run (not predator proof, but okay for daytime use)

What else would you suggest.... perches, some sort of side hatch for egg collection and cleaning? Any other brilliant things I don’t know I need yet?

We are in Florida so we are HOT most of the year. Winter may get into the 30s but we never have snow. I live on 11 acres. Poultry lives in a 3 acre field with lots of live oak, my horse barn and work shop. We have lots of hawks and owls but the trees provide some natural protection. The mammal critters don’t come close to the horse barn, between the horses, the talk radio and the motion detector lights. We do get lots of snakes and a flock of wild turkeys shows up fairly regularly, but so far the domestic birds and wild keep a healthy distance.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Awesome score there!!

How tall is it?
Wondering about ease of cleaning.
How many birds do you plan to keep?
Nest boxes....do you plan on having them inside or outside?

 

[Shamo Hybrid]

It's got potential, kid.

 

[JuliB]

It’s about 4’ at the door. Too short to comfortably walk in. Honestly, I am comfortable on coop space at the moment, but jumping on this because it’s free, aside from repairs and gas for my truck, and because chicken math.

Would prefer to be able to collect eggs from outside, though realistically it may just be jail for naughty roosters.

I put shavings on a tarp and pull out the whole tarp every week in my other coop. Can probably do that here too, or open up the whole left side (farthest from the door) for cleaning and egg collection. There is a beam along the middle but can work above and below.