metal coop?

[CityGirlintheCountry]

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=98483-25-LW108&lpage=none

Has anybody ever used a metal shed like this as a coop? Does it get too hot and cold for them? How is it so far as predator protection?

I'm wanting to build another 8x8ish size coop, but the cost of lumber is going to run about $700. Eek!

What do you think about this one?

 

[ArizonaNessa]

I would be kinda worried about using a coop made entirely out of metal because it would indeed get very hot in there and ultimately turn into an oven roasting your chickens before their time has come and unless you were to insulate it some way I would not think it would hold heat well in the winter. Just my thought.

Edited to say that my coops are all made out of metal garage doors BUT only the roof and half of the back is solid. The rest is all wire. I don't have any trouble keeping my birds cool but I use lots of misters, box fans, shade screen, and frozen treats.

 

[TexasVet]

Been there, done that. Don't waste your money. Even with mine 1/2 way under a huge oak tree, it gets hot as an oven in there. Roosting at night was OK, but staying in a nest box long enough to lay an egg was murder on my hens. And that's after I cut vents all around the ceiling, glued foamboard to the ceiling for insulation, and put in a window.

Keep an eye on Craigslist. Old storage buildings show up on there from time to time, as do playhouses. Another option is a very large wooden shipping crate (or two); they show up there too.

Good luck!

Kathy, Bellville TX
www.CountryChickens.com

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Gotcha. I wondered about the heat. My current set up are all wooden playhouses and they work great. I was just wanting to add a third, larger coop.
I scan through Craigslist every day. It's just me, so the already assembled set ups are too big for me too load and haul. Stick built I can do since I can carry the parts individually. Oh well. I'll keep looking for scrap lumber. Maybe I'll go dumpster diving.

 

[Judy]

Well, actually, I have two of them, and this isn't exactly Alaska here. But they are basically open air, with large areas for air exchange on all 4 sides, and 1 1/2 or 2 sides entirely made of hardware cloth. Neither gets as much shade as I'd like. I run a fan in each this time of year, and if it's rough out, I hose it down in mid afternoon. It is no warmer in there than outdoors, because breezes come through natural or artificial. Now, these are home built buildings, walk in, with a slanted roof and openings for air along the top edges, like 6" or more, all the way across. I would not try to turn a standard metal tool shed into a coop without extensive modifications.

The only real problem with them is condensation on the inside in cooler weather. That does take some ingenuity to deal with.

If I were rich, I'd probably still make the walls metal, because critters can't climb them, but I'd come up with something else for a roof.

 

[rancher hicks]

I was recently at Home Depot and they have 8x8 "coops" for $1000. If your handy what I've been doing in stocking up on cull lumber at home depot. These are boards that have flaws and are not exactly 4' long or maybe less than 48".
My neighbor has a shed built from pallet lumber. It looks really neat.
Oh and the sheds at Home depot include delivery and set up. I wouldn't use metal anywhere even roof.