Need assistance with coop design

[goochgirl]

I managed to pick this up at Ikea today for $25 http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70141172 I was inspired by the rabbit hutch turned coop. I thought I could mount it on 4x4 legs, cut a hole in the floor for a ladder down into the run area, use the large front space for a door frame covered in chicken wire to clean out the coop, and the smaller space I'd mount a nesting box with a lid that opens. I'll add a slant to the top sides to put a roof. Add a roosting pole. I thought I'd add a vent to the space above the nesting box, and I'll need plastic sheeting to go over the door in the winter. We're on the east coast, so winters get cold. Will this work? Am I missing anything???? TIA

 

[Keene's coop]

how many chickens are you gonna have?

 

[Hugerat]

I do not think press board covered in melamine will stand up to weather for too long.

 

[patandchickens]

Yah, that's not going to last very long unless it is kept in a fully-indoors environment like a garage.

Also I would question whether it's made strongly enough to withstand the determined attentions of a dog or raccoon.

At best, you might use it as a VERY TEMPORARY home til you can build something better.

JMHO, good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Prospector]

If you paid that, you musta got it from As-is, and you are stuck with it. Put it up by th edoor to store your chicken supplies in!

Then quickly call this guy and use this wardrobe the same way you were planning on using that cupboard. Being solid wood it should stand up better to the elements. http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/fuo/1752210497.html

Then again maybe you don't live near Dallas.

Here is on eon th eEastern Seabord - comes complete with "Nesting boxes" =- erm, I mean shelves.

 

[goochgirl]

Prospector, Ha Ha!! Nope, moved here from Dallas, and would go back in a heartbeat! This is a temporary coop. I have 2 girls; Wyandotte and Americana. Needs to last a year. I'm in the middle of home renovations, and it will be mid-winter by the time I have time to build a real coop. (and I don't leave the house until spring!) I've given up on finding a cheap Little tikes playhouse on Craigslist. I have to get something built quickly and very soon. My girls are 3 weeks old tomorrow.

 

[JPinVT]

I had a coffee table and 2 end tables from IKEA made of the same material. It warps and falls apart as soon as it gets wet (I may have spilled a few beers on it... this was my college days!), and it was incredibly weak and wobbly too. I know a coffee table is different than a cupboard, but it was the same company and materials... I'd be worried about using that inside, never mind outside. Sorry

 

[goochgirl]

Quote:
Oh, crum. I was hoping it would hold up long enough for me to catch up with life. However, as I'm typing this, one of my girls just flew up to the top of the brooder box (read: cardboard) to perch. Looks like I'll make a bigger brooder for them out of it.