New chicken coop. Any ideas?

[Renee]

I think your idea is good, and the sheds are priced right! It will look nice.

Hardware cloth will work on the windows. I don't know how you would attach it to the metal, but if you can figure out a way to do it, you might want to post it for the rest of us.

As I imagined myself undertaking this project, these are the issues I thought of:

Heat and ventilation. You may be able to put a metal attic fan in to help with the ventilation, but metal sheds don't do much to protect from heat or cold.

How do you attach roosts and nest boxes to the metal?
How do you put in windows and ventilation with metal? (I have never worked with it.)

Linoleum on the floor, or just heavily polyurethaned?

How to attach wire for the run to the metal sheds?

Good luck!

 

[RW19290]

Quote:
Oh!! I'll manage!!!

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

How do you attach roosts and nest boxes to the metal?

Hex head self tapping sheet metal screws are the easiest way.
They drill their own hole
http://www.google.com/search?comple...heet+metal+screws&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&oq=​

 

[RW19290]

Quote:
I don't need to worry about the heat or cold. The coldest it ever gets here is 49 F. The girls will be out all day in the shady garden. They don't have to stay in the coop. The nests will be on the ground in the back where there are no roosts. Thanks for the answer! I really appreciate it!

 

[G Wiz Ranch]

You can use pop rivets instead of screws, they take a little more time but they won't have sharp points. Harbor Freight sells a cheap set with the rivet gun. nothing has to mount on the walls, everything like the roosts and nests can be free standing. Cuttine can be done with a die grinder or a dremel, I wouldn't use a saw, the material would move too much. Once you get a hole started you could use tin snips, get the three pack, RH, LH and straight cuts.

My only other thought would be to use the $ that you would spend on two and spend just a little more, and buy a wood shed or even one of the rubbermaids. Harbor freight sells a joist hanger kit to make a simple shed from 2x4's and plywood, buy 2, make it one deep one and you could split it in half for the two types of birds. Personally, I don't like the metal sheds for any type of use. They are loud when it is windy or raining and they are flimsy, I had one taken out when "el nino" hit, it was covering our well pumps and pipes. I replaced it with a simple wood one.

Good luck, with what ever you do. I am sure you will have fun.

 

[Renee]

Thanks for the tips on working with metal, G Wiz and Bear Foot. I have always avoided it for lack of knowledge, but I might try to work with it now!

RW, I have the same situation: I live in So Cal and my coop is in the shade, so no worries about heat or cold. I like the linoleum in the coop, since it cleans so easily. I don't have mine glued down, so I can fold it up and scrub it down outside the coop if I like.

One thing I am really happy we did when we built the coop: put in storage. I have all of the chicken supplies out there where I need them.

 

[zigzag3337]

I have learned that a chicken will be happy in whatever you have. I have purchased chicks from different people in the area and you would be surprised what they have for a coop. Me personally, I couldn't make myself raise animals like that. So now that I just finished my coop and run, I wished that I could make myself do it. I made my run 12'x36' fully enclosed with chicken wire and topped with poultry net (I do have 1 door made from chicken wire in the run area). Then my coop is 8'x12' (with 2 doors and 2 windows) and it has a 3'x5' external roost. I came up with the roost design so that when they roost at night, the droppings would fall into the run. However, I do have it where on cold nights, I can raise the floor under the roost to prevent the cold air blowing through the coop. I added 8 nesting boxes (14"x18" each) for the hens comfort. The floor is made out of pressure treated, the walls are OSB sheeting, and it has a tin roof.

The final cost for the run and coop is just over $700, not to mention the hours of installation. However, the way I look at it, a hobby shouldn't have a price tag on it if it's something that you and the family enjoy doing.

I still have to paint it and than take pictures.