New Free Chicken Coop!!!

[jettgirl24]

A girl at the barn where I board my horse was moving and hasn't used this coop in a couple of years so she gave it to me! I'm super excited as I LOVE free stuff

It's 2 1/2 or 3 ft wide by 8 ft long and has the three pop doors you see. The entire top is on hinges so I can lift it up to do any work I need to do inside. I'm going to paint it to match our barn and the yet-to-be-built big coop at our new house. I'm also going to pull the hardware cloth off the doors and make them solid plywood to reduce drafts. I may also put a little gutter system on the front so rain doesn't drip down over the doors or I may relocate them to the other side so it runs off the back instead of the front, then make nest boxes where the current door holes are. I've also got to cover the ventilation strip located on the other side with some hardware cloth to keep raccoon hands out. All in all it's a nice sturdy coop and I'm really excited to have it!

It MIGHT serve as a temporary coop for a short time in case we don't get the big one done by the time we move but I'm planning for it to be the broody coop/chicken hospital in case anyone ever gets sick or injured and needs to be seperated.

 

[dkvart1]

Awesome! What a stroke of luck!

 

[2DogsCoop]

great score

 

[allcrackedup]

i love free stuff very nice

 

[Hopeful Peacock]

Awesome score! If it doesn't have alternative ventilation, you may want to rethink changing the doors though. Just a thought.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Great freebie!

 

[jettgirl24]

It has ventilation on the other side but I may add some more... The problem with the screened doors is that there really isn't a place for them to get away from drafts because of their placement. My other thought was to replace the middle screen door with a solid door and then leave the two ends as hardware cloth. That way I can divide the coop in half, install roosts on either side of the divider, and they'd have a pretty large area in the middle that is protected from the breeze. The woman I got this from had it in a very well protected covered run built into her barn so I would imagine drafts weren't a problem. I'm going to have it out in the open so it's definitely going to need some more protection. The open doors would give nice airflow so maybe the plan above would be the best way to go...

 

[catdaddy66]

That is a pretty awesome acquisition and free is always the right price. I think the brooder/ respite options for young and/or sick birds is a great idea.

 

[Newbie in Screamer Al]

Quote:
Can you secure the hardware cloth inside, and then make solid doors on the outside? If you can get inside to put the cloth, it will be a breeze to make the doors and stop drafts......