Looking for dog house conversions

[Firefyter-Emt]

I am thinking here about a rather good size, well built dog house we have, Without walking out back to measure it, I think it's 4 feet by 5 feet and a traditional "colonial" style peaked roof.

I was thinking about something on the line of the "Chick-N-Barn" style that has been elevated and a square box run very much like "Dawn419's" set up, very close indeed to be honest.

I am thinking about fitting a roof vent in that style to the roof on it now and adding a hinged roof to one side. I would add a nest box that jut's out from one side and rework the back wall for a clean out door.

Given that, I am thinking on the line of four or five chickens.

Does anyone have photos of these conversions that have been done along these lines. With the prices of stuff now a days, I hate to spend a ton of cash on the coop.

PS, thanks to my buddy Chris with the dog house idea! And I will be calling you about some chicks sooner than I thought it looks!

 

[McGoo]

Here's how we did it.... and it worked well until I got a little carried away...

NOte: we built the nesting box addition and hinged the roof so we can get the eggs easily.
we built a draw for cleaning out the poo from under the roost. (Just make sure your is wide and tall enough so the poo goes into the area and doesn't get stuck coming out.

upside - you can reuse existing material/building and renovate quickly; it's great for a small flock of 4 or 5
downside - it's too small for many more; it's not easily insulated for winter-time; it's kinda hard to clean.

pm me if you would like any more info. And good luck

 

[Firefyter-Emt]

Thanks, your's I had seen and kept a copy of that photo for my "planning".

I was thinking that while I am working on the roof, I might fill the wall with that styrofoam boards and finish off the inside with some of that plastic bathroom type paneling so it's easy to clean. Just a little caulking to seal it up on the inside and I should be good here in NE Connecticut.

Your's is very close to what my plans were too, did you have any other venting? Any heat issues in the summer?

 

[McGoo]

closing in the walls with a layer of insulation is a good idea. I think it would help with heat as well. I don't recall any problems with heat... we have two vents in the front and back - so it was pretty cool. We also placed the coop in the shade. YOu might consider a window in the back or bigger vents in the top.

Good luck.

 

[Firefyter-Emt]

Yea, I was thinking about a mod to the roof to allow closeable venting along the full length of the coop like the Chic-n-Barn design uses.