leaky shed...to fix up as a coop?

1. My chickens do not eat ants. For the most part, mine do not eat any of the bugs that I wish they would eat (ants, fleas, ticks, stink bugs, potato bugs, etc.). They eat the bugs that don't bug us, such as moths, crickets, grasshoppers, grubs, etc... Ants were bad this year...maybe they won't be bad next year??? Or maybe they won't bother the birds???

2. Mold is not good around chickens. I would definitely scrape/scrub away any mold you can find before putting bedding down. As long as your tarp is well secured so that no new water makes its way into the coop after it's cleaned/dry, and you have ventilation up high in the building, no new mold should grow. Mold can cause respiratory issues in chickens.

 

I have one chicken that likes to eat ants but most of them pass on those sour, stinky things. There are nontoxic ways to stop ants (DE, for example) or garden dust would work too. Ants can be dangerous for young chicks but if you aren't putting the chickens in until they're grown, I wouldn't worry too much about them.

I'd scrub any visible mold off with a detergent like borax and then dry, dry, dry that shed out. Follow with a coat of mold-inhibiting primer/paint to seal the wood and you should be OK. The problem with mold on wood is that it roots deeply and keeps coming back when moisture (even from humid weather or chicken respiration) allows it to grow. So, you have to kill as deeply as you can, dry the wood, and then seal it to keep the mold from getting moisture again.

And, I'm sure you've heard but JIC... ventilate that shed! Most sheds have a tiny little vent near the roof which is fine when you're just storing boxes, not so good when it's full of live animals.

 

Oh, and I forgot to mention that Lowe's puts broken packs of shingles out weekly so if you ask what day they do that at your store and you aren't too picky about the color, you can get a pack of shingles at half price. We happened to get the same ones we'd used on the house and with only the plastic packaging being broken, it was a terrific value!

 

Another excellent source for building materials is your local Habitat for Humanity ReStore. This weekend I picked up two packs of new-in-the-wrapper shingles for less than half price as well as a small window for my coop for probably a quarter of what it would have been new. I also bought a New-In-Box dusk-to-dawn porch light for only $8.

 

i would suggest new roof felt will fix the roof


and you will need to keep ontop of redmite which is done via DE (diatomatios Earth) which will also ellimintate ants and other waxy bugs

and as for teh floor i put a sheet of 6mm marine ply on bottom and top of the floor to waterprrof it


look at my avatar underneath it is my coop page take a look and get some ideas if you want