need to get a bigger house shed conversion ideas

[leos-mama]

I have only had my girls a few weeks and have already decided they should have more space, guidelines for size (tish my girls want a bigger house and more room to roam)!

I am now going to section off an area of my garden a traingle each side 6-7 meters.

1. How many birds can comfortably roam this area without been cramped (have read the Defra guidelines and think they are a bit on the mean side)

2. If I decide to change thier accommodation this patch of garden has a small walk in shed that would hold the girls comfortably (and new friends as funds allow) But HOW do I go about converting it. I know it will need roost and egg boxes. But how high can I put these I am so confused. Does anyone have any pictures of the inside of a converted shed they can share with me.

I am a whizz with my drill and a saw when I have seen what I need to do but just cant imagine what it should look like. I have only had my current run about 3 weeks and am already finding it not to my liking even though its a perfectly good run. Just no room in run for ammount it can home and silly little things. Please help


Has anyone any photos of a shed conversion I can look at please

 

[Judy]

The triangle in the garden would make a decent run for about 15-16 chickens, if I did the math right. You didn't give the dimension of the shed, though. How many chickens do you have? What kind? Meaning, mostly, are they bantam or large fowl size? And what is your climate like? You need a lot more indoor space in a cold, snowy climate so they won't feel overcrowded in winter. In a more tropical climate they may not need anything but shelter from wind and rain.

All you really need to do in the shed is put in a roost, just a board that allows about 9" to 12" per chicken, depending how big they are, and usually about 3' or 4' off the ground. Again, that depends on the size of the chickens.

Nest boxes need to be lower than the roost so they will choose the roost for sleeping, as they like to sleep up high. If the shed will be a little small you may want to mount them on the wall or even build exterior nest boxes. You only need one nest for 4-5 chickens, if that.

There are probably thousands of pictures of coops in this forum. In many cases a coop is simply a shed with an added roost, nests and chicken (or pop) door, in addition to a people door. Depending on your setup there is no reason the chickens can't use the same door you do; they don't have to have their own door.

 

[leos-mama]

Cheers for that the shed is about 1m x 2m and 2m high apex roof. I would have to put a pop hole in as I think I would have problems otherwise.

I live in England and our weather is at best changeable. We get lots of rain throughout the year, We had what we consider to be a bad winter with anything upto 6 inches of snow at times. I found some nice looking sheds last night on here and just got to decide what I really need to include.

Do I need to line the shed i.e with polystyrene and then cover it with wood?

Do I need to put a stair up to the roost or will they fly and do I need to have a lower roost for the bantams or does this create divisions in the pecking order.

I currently have 2 x warrens, 2 pekin bantams, a silkie and a leghorn bantam. I would in time like to expand with another 4 or 6 LF and a couple more bantams. I am not in a rush to buy all at once as I would like to let my silkie have a clutch to hatch.

 

[Judy]

The shed you have is about the right size for the chickens you have. I wouldn't add 4 or 6 LF and a silkie's chicks to that. Chickens usually want to stay in when snow is on the ground so they need plenty of indoor space for bad weather unless the run is so well covered that they can get out in snowy weather. Actually if you were in the planning stages I'd suggest a little more space for just the ones you have, just because of staying in.

On polystyrene and wood, no, not in your climate, I wouldn't. Chickens tolerate cold so much better than heat. All they need in cold weather is enough ventilation that the humid, ammonia-ridden air can exchange with outside air. Usually you figure about 1 sq ft of ventilation per chicken.

I have LF and a meter high roost with no stair. They get up and down easily and I'm sure would not use steps or a ramp if it were there. One thing to consider is that when they come down, they fly horizontally maybe 2 meters, so need that much space to do it safely. Another is, if you keep your older hens and let them live out their less- or nonproductive years with you, they may need stairs or a ramp for comfort if they develop anything like arthritis.

Bantams can fly a lot higher than larger chickens and will prefer a higher roost. Yes, different heights can cause some arguments about who gets to sleep where. However, chickens typically have these arguments every night anyway, even peaceful flocks. With mine it's not really a violent thing, but they do squawk and nudge each other off the roost before everyone settles down.

Let me give you a link to one of our members' pages, in case you didn't run across it; she has links there to some of her other pages. She is in Canada so certainly colder than you or I.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-VENTILATION

 

[Bi0s]

post some pictures of the shed so we can get a better idea thanks