need advice on chicken coop

[chicken patch]

I have a old green house that is not being used any more and was thinking we could make it into a chicken house with little money and some work.

The green house is 8 x 12 and 7 feet tall has a working front door. it sits on 6"x 6" timber. The floor inside is made of patio stones set fairly close with small pebbles in between the stones.

I was thinking of removing all the old plastic panels and installing a metal roof with a 6" over hang to shed rain. On the outside walls I am thinking I can wrap it fully in wire to keep critters out. On the back wall and half way down the sides I am thinking of putting up plywood sheeting to keep the sun/wind and cold off them. Out front of the "greenhouse or now chicken house" I am considering adding fencing for additional roaming area that would still keep them protected some.

I would appreciate any ideas or thoughts about my plans so far. I would also like some advice on what to do with the floor. Do I need to change it? If so what would you suggest?

Here is a quick diagram of what I am thinking of.

 

[chickenlover09]

Sounds good to me. You can use wood shavings, or just mud as the flooring.
How many chickens do you plan on housing in this?

 

[chicken patch]

Hadn't really decided. Probably just a few, maybe 5? I have never had chickens before so I'd be happy with any suggestion on number of chickens I should have.

 

[chickenlover09]

5-8 sounds good. I currently have 3-4 chickens living in my coop which is smaller than yours (the package said it could fit 9 though). What type of chickens do you want? I have 2 laying hens, and 1 silkie.
Do you live on a ranch, or are you raising backyard chickens?

 

[chicken patch]

I guess it would be backyard chickens. We have 10 acres but it's no farm. I hadn't even thought about the type of chicken.

Here are a couple pictures of what I will be starting out with.

Just thought about the electric in the greenhouse. It was put in to run the aquaponic gardening system. Will this be a problem? Does it need to be removed?

 

[jetdog]

Do not remove the electric, this is one of the handiest things to have for winter to deal with frozen water. Most people wish they had electric it saves from chipping frozen water out.Don't know if it gets cold where you live if not it will be nice for a fan and lights.

 

[iridearoadking]

I build coops to sell, semi custom and custom. I would be happy to share anything I have learned so far. One suggestion is to use 1/2 inch aviary wire (looks like chicken wire but smaller) search the internet, its special order. I also think you would be better in the long run to take up the floor stones and have just dirt with straw. my 2 cents worth

 

[iridearoadking]

Thats not a bad coop just the way it is, maybe some roosting bars (2x2) from one side to the other and and some nesting boxes just setting on the shelves . I use 5 gal pails and cut the lid in half for nesting, My leg bars won't lay anywhere else

 

[cutipatooti]

I have a question. I'm building a small coop and painting it. I'm using a primer first then exterior latex paint. The main body of the coop is plywood and was told priming and painting is the way to go as far as weatherproofing. I have seen a lot of pictures of coops and rarely are the insides painted. Why is this. I would like to paint the inside and nest box for ease of cleaning. Chicken poo is often not limited to the floor. Is it safe to paint the inter with an exterior paint. Should I use a interior paint inside. Should I not paint at all. If so how do you thoroughly clean the inside wood walls.

 

[charliethezero]

I primered and used exterior paint outside as well as on the inside. Let it air out and your good to go. Definitely makes cleaning easier and wood last longer.