New to BYC and new to chickens- critique our (existing) coop?

[Montview]

Hello all,
Just thinking of getting a few chicks the next couple of days from our local farm supply stores (which order from Murray McMurray). Our existing coop is a garden shed of sorts that we haven't cleaned out yet and are storing our lawn mowers in right now. Would love to have someone critique it and tell me what it needs... favorite nest box substrate? Better insulation (our temps in Bozeman Montana lately have ranged from -16 up to 48 degrees F in a single week)- what? Etc? Someone mentioned this may be too big for a small backyard flock? Previous residents were Tibetan buddhist lamas, not that it makes any difference...

 

[Montview]

C99142E2-E187-4991-8A76-BB754385646E

• Montview
• Feb 22, 2019

 

[Montview]

the lower "box" on this side as well as in the opposite corner on the other side of the large double doors leading into the shed both have small doors with ramps that exit for birds.

 

[A_Fowl_Guy]

Welcome to our eggcelent flock here at BYC. I wouldn’t use insulation. We get down in the -15 to -20 range here in our valley in Indiana but the birds are fine.

 

[paneubert]

Yeah, remove the insulation. They will eat it. 100% chance. Chickens have a weird obsession with insulation and styrofoam. Other comment from me is to ensure you have properly placed and properly sized ventilation. I see a window, but do not know how it is set up or it if would be appropriate for ventilation.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Welcome to BYC! Glad you joined our flock. I converted a shed into a coop myself and I'm still trying to tweak it. Make sure you have adequate ventilation. Roost height is important as well. And absolutely make it critter proof.

 

[Acre4Me]

Welcome!! Enjoy the chicks when you get them!

Nice big space for them, which is great.

1. Remove insulation. It’s an odd obsession of birds...they will destroy and eat it.

2. Increase ventilation a lot. Put ventilation in the upper triangular areas above that window in pics. Figure out how to get more in. Aim for 1sqft of ventilation per bird. Keep in mind your prevailing winds, and try to prevent drafts in the roosting area, and the coop overall.

3. That floor looks like it needs attention. What is under the shed? Guessing dirt/gravel. A perfect place for mice or, even worse, rats to set up shop and chew through the floor into cozy coop. Re do floor? Pour concrete? Add layer to floor? Put down HWC then cover with suitable material -another layer of plywood or something durable. Often people cover their floor with durable vinyl floor or will paint waterproof roofing material on it (Blackjack comes to mind), epoxy coating. No matter what, you should make floor impervious to chewing rodents or digging critters in what ever way seems logical or reasonable or doable to you.

4. Roosts. Place in most protected and draft free area in the building. If they are in front of the window, don’t rely on window being opened for ventilation, as it may create too much draft (depends on prevailing winds, how coop situated). Can go with ladder style or roosts over poop boards. Ladder style means floor area under roosts gets poopy, so turn over bedding every few days, clean out when dirty/smelly. Poop boards are usually 8-12” below roosts, often covered in sand or PDZ and scooped daily to remove poop.

5. Nest boxes. Looks like already built in. Should be around 12” tall or taller. Should be 12” wide or wider. I’d make them double wide since sometimes hens double up in the same nest box. They usually have 1 or 2 fav boxes, irregardless of how many boxes there are. Keep nest boxes lower than roosts.

Good luck!

 

[aart]

What does the outside look like?
Is roof water tight?
Those gambrel roofs are hard to ventilate.
Re-roofing would be a good opportunity to add upper 'eave' venting.

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