Making use of a little side niche in my coop/run

[NestingMillenial]

Hi all, I'm hoping you can give me ideas on how to use a little pre-existing feature in my run/coop.

I have recently moved and I am updating what I believe was a large catio into a coop/run. The catio shares a wall with an adjacent small shed, so the previous owner cut a little window in that wall to have the two spaces communicate. That window is a rectangle that's 22" large and 24" tall and 2 ft high from the floor.

Originally, I planned on using the shed as the coop, the catio as the run and that little window as the door between both. However, I live in AZ: it gets pretty hot and that shed doesn't have great ventilation, so instead, I am currently planning on letting the chicken roost in a corner of the run that's more secluded but would still have way better ventilation than the shed.

I could just board up that window and be done with it, but I was thinking that there might be a better use for it.
Another idea I had was to have the nesting boxes embedded in it -> I could divide that space into 4 parts, and build a backing that would hang into the shed (I could get the eggs from there too, though not sure if that would actually be more convenient to be honest). If I do that the nesting boxes would end up 11" wide, 12" high and something like 12" deep (or more, it would be easy to make that up to 16" deep or so). Would that sound appropriate?

If not, is there any other use for a little niche/nook of those dimensions, be it for storage or to enrich the run in some way? If you can think of something let me know!

 

[cavemanrich]

Without pictures, Its difficult for myself at least to envision everything, and make suggestions.
One note on the height of nest boxes. Make sure they are high enough for hen to be able to stand up, when laying egg. Consider there will be nesting material, which should be taken into consideration of available height.



WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[NestingMillenial]

Right, I should have included pictures! Apologies.

Ok, so this is me standing in the middle of my coop/run/ex-catio and looking at the back - I'll unpave it, and get rid of what I assume was the cats litter box at the end there. Then I'm thinking of making a ladder roost in the corner (sketched in red here) and I'm thinking of maybe adding a little partition/wind screening for the upper two roosts (in green). I'm not sure that would be necessary but that way they may choose, I suppose.

The "niche" I'm trying to figure out is on the left there (hole = entry into adjacent shed). Here is a close up with the dimensions of the whole thing in yellow.

My initial idea was to make it into nesting boxes - that would make then 12" tall if I divide horizontally, and 11" wide if I divide vertically, and as deep as I want to build them (I could make 1 big one and 2 small one and let them choose whatever they prefer, as it shows in pink right now).

Or I could use it for something else entirely (any idea welcome!) or just board it up. I thought there might be things I am not thinking about you guys would!

Hope this helps and I'm all ears!

 

[cavemanrich]

Great picture, Now I can see some opportunities.
I would leave the litter area as is. This way you can scoop out the gumdrops with a litter scooper. I would also leave those stone pavers in place.
You can change out the litter medium with fresh if you feel it necessary. If so,, choose some Sweet PDZ . Good stuff.
You can sprinkle/drop a variety of things over the stone pavers.
Wood chips, pine bark, hay, EXT. Then changeout cleaning is a snap.
You are in a warm climate, so wind drafts are not really much of an issue during cold periods. I would just have a tarp to place/hang when needed on the lattice wall on right side of picture. (just in roost area)
Now to the nest box. I am assuming you will have a relatively small flock. It is common for peeps to make one large communal nest box. If you do make multiple,, usually chickens will only use a couple and rest stay vacant.
Another option for the 22 x 24 opening.
Place a hinged door over it, and keep your feed and supplies there. If it is well sealed everywhere, it will keep rodents out.

 

[perkolator]

If you're determined to divide it, I would go vertically, which will give you a narrow 10-10.5" wide opening once you factor in the material in between. That's a fairly narrow opening, but might be ok since most chicken doors are fairly small. I'd likely plan to expand the box inside the shed, to get a minimum of 12"x12" interior footprint, but to me a 14-16" cube is a better size for full-size breeds to be able to turn around.

Dividing horizontally is likely going to be way too short, giving you only 11-11.5" height; most chickens are well over 12" tall unless you have only bantam breeds.

Another option is no dividing the nest box, just make it one big one. Maybe lessen the height by adding some wood to the top and bottom, for more privacy and to retain bedding inside. Add a small roost bar in front to jump up/down to the opening.