Need advice on converting shed to coop

[Steven Bussell]

I second just put the HC around the primer outside. I would.
I wouldn't use the HD on the inside walls ... I would prime and paint the walls and new wood you use on the floor before covering it with flooring.
I'm glad I did... It makes it easier and faster to clean. And that gives you more time to enjoy them .
Great bones to work with... You'll definitely be able to add more birds if you want.

 

[Korzak]

Roof is on the list!! Needed to tarp it to be sure it was still going to be dry. We're going to pull that off one weekend and put up metal roofing over the old stuff.

Thank you! So if we have a hardwood floor base we don't need to worry about critters chewing up from below? We can just do an apron and be okay?

 

[Korzak]

Also, we're busting up some old heavy wooden furniture. What do you think about recycling these into nesting boxes? Is wood a bad idea for materials?

 

[aart]

So if we have a hardwood floor base we don't need to worry about critters chewing up from below? We can just do an apron and be okay?

The apron should keep anything from getting underneath to chew thru the floor.

 

[Korzak]

Okay, the roof is up. New plywood plus corrugated metal over that, with drip edge.

Frame of the coop box is done. Need to figure out framing for the human door, pop door, and nesting boxes. Then prime it and put up the hardware cloth. Oh and vinyl flooring.

 

[sealer39]

Progress!! It’s looking good!
Framing for the door should not be that hard. I can’t tell if the door in the pic is correctly framed in, but it looks like a standard door. I’d just buy a cheap exterior door of the correct dimensions to replace it. Replace the wood of the frame if needed or rebuild it. Your basically just building a box for the door. A good level, reciprocating saw, shims and YouTube are the main tools you need.

 

[Korzak]

Here is the in progress nesting box setup. I need to put dividers in. I've seen some people put a little strip in the front of their nesting boxes that kind of looks like a place for the chickens to fly up to, and then jump into the box from. That's why that board is balance on that roll of chicken wire, I'm figuring out the height and how big of a board I should use.

 

[aart]

I'm figuring out the height and how big of a board I should use.

Put it even with bottom of nest and about 8" out in front.
2x4 is fine.

 

[Korzak]

Dang it now I'm overthinking this.

Do you mean there should be an eight inch gap between the boxes and the board? Or the far end of the board should be eight inches from the boxes? so in the latter case, that would mean a four and a half inch gap between the board and the boxes. Pictures below. Thank you!

 

[aart]

This is how I did it, except the 2x2 perch has been changed to a 2x4 because of clumsy Brahma.