Looking for advice on turning a shed into a coop

[rosemarythyme]

I don't mind them being aggressive as I would primarily be getting them for protection so I think aggressiveness might help.

You mean people aggressive? Guess it's not a problem as long as you don't have visitors that it might attack (friends or family's kids for example). While you may be comfortable warding off an aggressive roo, there are some liability concerns if it goes after other people.

Is it better to just get a dog at that point that does well with chickens?

If predator protection is your main concern but you still want to free range, then a well trained dog (or dogs) is probably your best bet.

That said, do you have the time to train a dog with your schedule and a baby on the way? It can take up to 2 years to train a LSG to be reliable with a flock. You'd also have to train the dog to know the boundaries of the property as some breeds have a penchant for wandering.

 

[Peterpam33]

Hey guys! Been lurking here for a bit trying to absorb as much info as possible, but at this point I think I may need some more direct advice for my situation. I'm trying to repurpose an existing "shed" into a coop this spring. It was on the property when I bought the house, seems like it may have housed some kind of animals in here at one point. This is in southeastern PA, so we do have plenty of hawks, foxes, and black snakes. Temperatures in winter time are generally in the 20's. I used to do home renovations before so I see great potential here (as bad as it may look at the moment). Approximate size 18x10:
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(images of other angles attached)

At the moment my plan is to layer the walls with plywood on the inside to cover off the gaps in between the existing boards. Then build another ~4ft wall on the left side of the opening and add a ~6ft door to cover the rest of the opening up. Line some nesting boxes on the left side of the shed with access from outside (I have a path that leads to the left side of the shed so that would be easiest side to access). Build the run to the right of the shed completely fenced in (not fencing the front entrance in for easy cleanup).

My primary concern is the floor situation... which is dirt. I'm trying not to break the bank here and reuse anything I have laying around, so going with a wood or concrete floor is not preferable. Not sure how appropriate deep litter method would be in this case, but that is what I'm leaning towards at the moment. My wife and I have a newborn and full time jobs so spending a lot of time caring for the chicken coop is not in the cards.

We don't really have a set budget, but ideally the less we spend on it the better, and I just want to make sure that the money spent goes towards the things that actually matter. Any advice appreciated, thanks for reading!

Wr turned our shed into a coop as well. We made the second floor, ladder etc out of skids. The best part was using linoleum flooring. So easy for cleaning. We put a rope on the upstairs flooring so I can slide out and clean. We got it for free from reuse centre. Not sure if you have them but flooring place may give you a scrap peice as well.

 

[BarelyCoop]

Thanks again all! Looking over the replies I think we will opt with no rooster initially and see how it pans out.

Currently putting a list of needed materials together (while identifying what scraps I have to reuse) and am thinking about ~16x16 run for 10 or so birds (realistically a few inches smaller due to material overlap). This way I can get 48" hardware cloth and spacing 8' lumber with minimal cuts and waste. Will use 24-36" hw cloth for the apron/skirt around the coop and the run. Looking at the sketch now it makes the coop seem so big, which I don't mind since it will give them the room to roam around when they're stuck inside during bad weather.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Thanks again all! Looking over the replies I think we will opt with no rooster initially and see how it pans out.

am thinking about ~16x16 run for 10 or so birds (realistically a few inches smaller due to material overlap). This way I can get 48" hardware cloth and spacing 8' lumber with minimal cuts and waste.

You may end up with one anyhow (since sexing isn't an exact science). If you do and he works out, then that'd be great. If you decide you want a roo further down the road, there's always plenty of males in need of rehoming simply because the owner can't have roosters.

Your run plan sounds pretty good and efficiently uses materials to boot.

 

[Friendly_Lurker]

My coop is a converted shed. The window had chicken wire over it, there’s a whole cut into the back with an automatic door in it, hay on the floor and nesting boxes.

 

[aart]

I haven't seen the inside get muddy at any point at all but on the flip side I had no business going in there at all so my observations are limited in scope.

Good time to go look for water flow patterns is when it's pouring rain......now you have a reason to do so.