Looking for advice on turning a shed into a coop

[Folly's place]

I've felt the same way about the automatic doors, and haven't used them at all. My coop, roofed run combination has human sized doors, no little 'chicken doors' either. It's worked well here for our flock.
Outside nest boxes really aren't necessary either, with your nice big coop. You want to go into the coop daily to check on things anyway, so make it simpler by having the nests inside.
Plan on electricity out there!!! In winter, you will want heated bases for your waterers, and lights are so nice to have. Also, if you use electric fencing, the box can be right out there too.
Mary

 

[BarelyCoop]

Thanks for all the info so far everyone! Some follow up questions for suggestions and opinions...

1. Is it necessary to cover the entire run with hardware cloth, or can I use something else for the top half? I only ask because I do have some spare chain link fencing available so that might save me some $$. I'm just worried about the climber predators that might climb up past the hardware cloth and squeeze in through the chain link.
2. Deep litter method, what would be the best material to use over dirt or gravel? I thought that pine shavings or industrial hemp are the best options?
3. Rooster.... yay or nay? Looking to start with at least 10 chickens and will let them free range when I can keep my eye on them. Not interested in brooding or the additional alarm clock in the morning.

 

[K0k0shka]

Hardware cloth vs chain link - this will depend on how much of a risk you’re willing to take. Fishers can climb and squeeze through very small holes, and are formidable predators. You may never see one, or you may lose your entire flock... there’s no way to know until you know.
Rooster - you seem to have a lot of land and no immediate neighbors (that can be seen in the pictures), so you’ll probably be okay in terms of noise. How far from the coop is your house, and are your bedroom windows facing it? With the windows closed, you may or may not even hear the rooster... Get a white noise machine for sleeping, if you don’t have one already. It’s great at masking outside noises (and helps babies sleep better!) Roosters have their merits and can be useful and fun to have. Good idea if you want to free range, to guard the flock.

 

[rosemarythyme]

1. Is it necessary to cover the entire run with hardware cloth, or can I use something else for the top half?
2. Deep litter method, what would be the best material to use over dirt or gravel? I thought that pine shavings or industrial hemp are the best options?
3. Rooster.... yay or nay? Not interested in brooding or the additional alarm clock in the morning.

1. Answer depends on your predator load, predator type, tolerance for loss, overall budget, etc.

My run is covered with just netting, as hawks/eagles are a primary concern. But I have everything from rats and weasels to bobcats and coyotes. However I am home most of the time, which makes a difference, as I can hear the flock's alarm calls and go out to chase off predators. At night the chickens are locked up in the coop (which is completely inside the run) and the door isn't set to open until well after sunrise).

2. Just putting in a bunch of wood shavings is not deep litter (that's more deep bedding). It's a common misconception on here. With deep litter you want to use a mix of different organic materials in different sizes, which will provide drainage as well as promote good bacteria to break down the poop for you. Generally the best base material is chunky, aged wood chips, for drainage/aeration. To that you can add dried leaves, non-noxious weeds, garden trimmings, pine needles, etc.

Even if you're not interested in composting then maybe you have neighbors who'd like to cart away the free compost you'd be producing.

3. I personally would advise against a rooster at the beginning. Maybe once you have a little more experience under your belt you can reconsider. Ultimately, you only NEED a rooster if you want to breed... while a good roo can help keep an eye out for predators, it's not a magic guardian that can stop all losses. Also is it legal to have a rooster where you're at?

 

[Folly's place]

With a first flock, consider pullets only this first year. You will gain experience, and you will have hens next year to help 'civilize' the cockerels.
I have roosters, and love to have them, but it's easiest to raise them in a flock with adults. Some are lovely, and some few will be jerks, so be prepared to invite those to dinner.
Toddlers aren't best with roosters either...
Mary

 

[Folly's place]

Predator protection is an ongoing struggle with chickens! Build as safe as you can, and sleep better at night.
A minimum would be a very safe coop, large enough that if the flock must be 'on lockdown' for weeks, the birds will get along with each other.
Having a safe run for daytime is wonderful, and if you have to make cost saving choices, try for as few as possible. Chainlink is good, especially with hardware cloth as backup. Having a covered run, at least with netting, keeps raptors out.
Electric fencing is your friend! Look at the Premier1supplies.com catalog, call them, and also @Howard E and @cmom have good advice and pictures here.
Mary

 

[pozees2]

My comments about run roof and floor are based only on my own experience in CO, which is the only place I've kept chickens. Our runs are chain link panels all the way around and supported chain link on the top (it is heavy and will sag, we used posts attached to the top rails and crossed, with readily available chain link fence hardware and fittings, cutting the posts to the lengths we wanted). Our main predator concerns here are birds of prey, fox, and coyote, as well as neighborhood dogs and the occasional skunk, but if you have weasels of any type, chain link will present little challenge to them. My recollection is that they mainly hunt at night so if the chickens are securely closed into the coop at night you may be okay. If the run is going to be in the sun in summer, you might consider shade cloth during hot months. We put it up every spring and take it down every fall, and it has to be attached pretty tightly with heavy duty zip ties because we get pretty nasty wind here, probably not as great a concern where you are.
We have used gravel over the ground in some runs, and I have my reservations about it, because of the difficulty of shoveling poop/snow without taking the gravel along with it. The big *but* is, if you have any drainage/flooding issues at all, the gravel will be worth the hassle.

The other thing you might want to consider is, before you add any birds, consider treating all surfaces with mite/lice control - permethrin should work, it's relatively affordable, and you can get it at the feed store and just mix in one of those pump sprayers you would use for the garden - if you do, make sure to mark the sprayer if you have multiples so you don't use it somewhere you don't want the permethrin (it will kill bugs you do want as well as the ones you don't). Do two treatments about a week apart. Don't let cats near the permethrin, it is dangerous to them.

If it was me and I had a baby and a full time job, I'd probably just get pullets at least the first year, see how you adjust to having a flock. I love the boys, love their crowing, the way they call the girls over to treats, and how a good one will be a wonderful guardian, but sometimes seeing the damage a cockerel/cock can cause to the feathers on the backs and heads of their girls can be troubling, and if you happen to have one aggressive toward people, difficult decisions have to be made, and children can be injured. I have three flocks with males and one pair of old ladies that live just with one another, and the old ladies' feathers are pristine. They still lay now and then, they eat grasshoppers in summer, and enjoy their peaceful lives.

I hope you enjoy keeping poultry as much as I do. I find they add immeasurably to our lives, doing their chicken things - there is little in the world I enjoy more than watching a chicken running full tilt after a grasshopper, without a more important care in the world at that moment.

 

[Cryss]

Knowing critters can chew through wood I covered the bottom 4 feet of the walls with hardware cloth before covering with plywood. Between that and the hardware cloth apron I’m pretty confident I won’t find mouse holes in the walls.
You’ve planned well and this is going to be perfect. Keep us updated.

 

[Cryss]

Thanks for all the info so far everyone! Some follow up questions for suggestions and opinions...

1. Is it necessary to cover the entire run with hardware cloth, or can I use something else for the top half? I only ask because I do have some spare chain link fencing available so that might save me some $$. I'm just worried about the climber predators that might climb up past the hardware cloth and squeeze in through the chain link.
2. Deep litter method, what would be the best material to use over dirt or gravel? I thought that pine shavings or industrial hemp are the best options?
3. Rooster.... yay or nay? Looking to start with at least 10 chickens and will let them free range when I can keep my eye on them. Not interested in brooding or the additional alarm clock in the morning.

1. You are right to worry because all kinds of critters climb and crawl in...mice, rats, snakes, mink, fisher cats, young raccoons to name a few. Hardware cloth is pricey but worth the peace of mind. My run is based on chain link dog runs. One run is 10x10 so I bought 2. That made my run 10x30. It is a probed, wrapped top to bottom with hardware cloth, and the top is covered with hardware cloth too. Not only do I worry about hawks and owls but I know climbers can rip through netting. Climbers can include raccoons and foxes. Oh, and bears. That’s why I use chain link. I figure it won’t necessarily keep a beat out but it might slow them down enough that I can intervene.
2.. Good choices. You can also use wood chips you get free by the truckload from local tree services. Less dust, keeps everything dry and odors down, eventually composts into the dirt which you can harvest for your garden, and chickens love scratching in it. Btw this is perfect stuff for the run!
3. Unless you are in a hurry to start raising chicks you have absolutely no need for a rooster. Females are pretty easy to handle but roosters can be a real handful. Stick with the ladies until you’ve had a chance to feel comfortable raising chickens. Meanwhile read everything you can about rooster behavior. They can be dangerous. They can also be wonderful. I hope to have a wonderful rooster one day. Meanwhile I have an accidental rooster that thinks I’m the enemy.

 

[cmom]

You have a nice shed to renovate to make a very nice coop. It should be a fun project. How many birds are you thinking about starting out with? We started out with a single coop but as the years have gone by we have added more. You have a lot on your plate. We are here to bounce ideas off one and another. My pens are larger than the average backyard chicken owner. I have electric wires that goes around my pens and coops that really does a good job so far of keeping out predators. Around a month ago there was a cat prowling around a grow-out coop. It was a foggy night but I got it on video getting zapped by the electric wire. I have several game cameras up to see what predators are lurking around on my property. Here we have a bit of everything but mostly coyotes. I have seen places around the fencing where a predator has attempted to dig but quickly aborted once it touched the electric wire. Once the predators know it's there they don't try again. I do have heavy duty netting covering the pens. I don't worry about predators getting in my coops. I do leave the pop doors open so they go in and out of the coops at will but the pens are secure. I have had my share of losses over the years. I have a some coops with dirt floors. I'm in Florida so I don't use any litter in those coops. I do have other coops with wood floors which I do use litter in. It's easier to clean the poop out. I have poop pits under the roosts with wire over them that I rake out now and then. You can make single hole nest boxes or a larger community nest box. It seem no matter how many nest boxes you have they usually pick out favorites and often times the birds will use them. I have 12 nest boxes in one coop and they rarely use them all. I'm posting some pictures. Maybe they will give you some ideas. Good luck and have fun... Please give us updates.