It has potential, but I need your HELP! (pic heavy)

[kmwright]

My husband and I are on vacation next week, and I really want to get started on moving the girls in to our back area of the yard. I think it's perfect for them, but I don't know where to start! We live in Northern California, we have manageable winters, but hot summers. The area is surrounded by fence, a 4 foot at the back, 6 foot on the sides, and a short 2 foot chain link in the front. My main concern is how to cover the run. We haven't had any predators, but I know there is a possum in the area and I'm afraid he'll get to them. So....here are the pictures. I would appreciate all the help I can get!

Overall of the area

Shed - the doors are crappy and don't roll well so I would really like to rip them off!

Inside of the shed. We built it on a plywood foundation so there shouldn't be any concern for rodents getting in underneath....

Another view, inside of the shed

One end of the "run"

Other end of the "run"

And finally....chicken butts!

 

[sydney13]

if you want to make it really safe then cover it with hardware cloth but that would be alot of work and super expensive so i would recommend you just lock them in each night and cover the run with aviary netting to be hawk proof during the day

 

[Happy Chooks]

Hiya neighbor!

I'm near Auburn.

I'd put a roost on the far side of the coop, 2 boards running the whole length of the shed. Put the back roost higher than the front roost. Build it workbench style and secure it to the plywood floor so it doesn't tip over. (put a solid sheet of plywood under the roosts for a droppings board for easy cleanup) Nesting boxes can go on the sides by the front wall. (that way they'll be darker than the rest of the coop)

I have no idea what to do about the doors. If you could build a door that will attach, but also has the pop door for the chickens in it, that would work. But as far as how to attach it to the shed, no clue.

With the run being 4 ft on 1 side, I really don't see how you can cover it. So either you need to raise the 1 side to match the other, or not cover it. My run is not covered, and my hens do fine, but I do really have to be careful with the babies. (the hawks around here nab them fast!) You could attach a tarp over where the kiddie pool is to give them more shade. (Don't get rid of the kiddie pool, they make great brooders!)

 

[WingingIt]

You could pound some poles into the ground beside the short fence sides and run a pipe across them, making those sides six feet tall, too. Then you could cover it by running it from the back fence, over the pipe, over the shed to the other side (and then over the pipe and down to the short fence). I'm trying to figure out what to do about the doors. We had a storage shed like that once and I couldn't stand the thing, was forever banging my head.

 

[Dingleberry]

Quote:
I second that. It looks very promicing. Get rid of the doors and make plywood ones.

 

[Mark & Nique]

Does that metal shed have any ventilation? (You mentioned hot summers -- we have them here -- South Carolina -- too.) I like the idea of ripping off the sorry metal doors...perhaps do some price checking to see how much it would cost to add wooden doors + ventilation/windows vs. the cost of a wooden coop? (With the economy down like it is now, it is a buyers market!)

Good luck!