please tell me this will work!(or at least how to make it!!!)

[mom wewantchicks!]

so we bought our first house!! and as everyone who has ever bought a house knows you never find 100% of everything your looking for. we are on a time limit and my concern is how to house the chickens. dh cannot build anything(i am not kidding!) and we are a little wipped out money wise from the purchase! so my sister has a rubbermaid building(from sears or lowes) that she is willing to give me for a coop. it is completly plastic, even the bottom. the front swings open and the top slides halfway back to open. im not sure exact size but it has a large riding mower in it with a little room around it. its maybe 4 1/2 to 5 feet tall. how can i turn this into a coop? the bottom is even solid plastic, which will be nice for cleaning and i could just add roost and nest boxes, but what about some type of ventalation? what else would it need? it will be home to 6 chickens.

 

[cjeanean]

I am sooooo jealous!!! Sounds like you've got the perfect chicken house for just a few chickens!! Ventilation is a MUST, as well as making sure the the bottom is on tight so that raccoons, etc can't get in. U may want to find out what predators you have in your area and prepare accordingly. Just make sure it's sound and tight, so that nothing can get in. A few nest boxes, like milk crate or 5 gal buckets (what I used) and a roost. You'll be set!! Sounds like u got it under control. Of course, a pic would be nice.....

 

[Frogdogtimestwo]

dangerous chicken built hers out of a plastic storage shed,Hopefully she will chime in. I will look for her post on it. Found it, hopefully that will give you a few ideas how she did it.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1971

 

[PoultryPedia]

Wire shelves from an old refrigerator (Paint them black so you can look through them easily) can be used to add GREAT, CHEAP and STURDY ventilation panels to a coop. For wintertime, we put a piece of cardboard over the panels for insulation, and nail a sheet of metal in front of that (a board would work fine, too).

1 caution: Plastic will possibly be penetrable by mice and subsequently by predators, depending on how thick it is, and the kind of animals in your area, etc.

Can you find some photos of the rubber building on the web that you can post? That could help everyone give more specific suggestions, too.

 

[mom wewantchicks!]

Lifetime
8'W x 5'L x 8'H Polyethylene Storage Building
alright lets see if this works!! this is not the exact building,but it is this type of building. i think it would be predetor proof,it is pretty think and i think it would take some work for anything to chew thru it. im just not sure how to add ventalation. im afraid if i cut into it it will crack the building or something,since its plastice. i was thinking if i could just put a few square windows in it then maybe put some wire over them,then in the winter i could cover them like someone said with cardboard. what do you think?

 

[mom wewantchicks!]

Rubbermaid Slide-Lid Storage Shed

RHP 3752
RUBBERMAID HOME PRODUCTS

• $55 Off & Free Shipping until August 31st!
• 92 cu. ft. capacity.


Retail Price: $1,098.63
Our Price: $659.00





1 product(s).

 

[Yoko]

your selling it!

 

[cjeanean]

I think it might take some thinking, but you could probably cut some squares out of it for ventilation. You might try using a circular saw to cut out the areas. Or a Dremel, which may work better. It's gotta be something that will actually cut through the material without catching the edges and cracking it. Or, if you can rig something up that will get hot, you may be able to melt through it. If you have the patience you could even try perforating the edges of the window. All it would take are about 2 million drill holes VERY close together around the perimeter of the window you're cutting out. LOL!! Oh, and a serrated edge steak knife to saw through the plastic in between the drill holes. One thing is for sure, you definately need ventilation. As far as windows go, instead of putting cardboard over the wire-covered window holes during the winter you could use a drill and some screws/bolts to attach a window frame to the outside of the building (by frame I mean any random pieces of wood that can be put together into a square) then put a piece of OSB or plywood on hinges and with a latch. Actually, if you drill some holes you wouldn't even need a frame, just some bolts. Bolt the hinges to the plastic, then use screws or more bolts to attach the piece of plywood (or whatever you're using for shutters) to the other half of the hinges. Then bolt a latch to the window and building. For extra insulation you could put some weatherstripping around the window shutter. Attaching the HARDWARE CLOTH (don't use chicken wire, predators can chew/tear right through it) should be easy. All you need are some holes drilled around the perimeter of the window and some HEAVY DUTY wire, or a coat hanger. Pass the wire through the holes and use it to secure the hardware cloth to the building. Make sure you're thorough and that you don't leave any spaces that a predator could nose through around the wire.

Anyways, post pics of your setup when you're done!!! Good luck!!!!

 

[mom wewantchicks!]

Quote:
no, im not selling it!! sorry i was trying to get a pic up, then my little one needed my asap,and now i see it didnt really work!!! we are moving this weekend and im in a panic about getting this ready!! the wire shelf thing from a fridge is a great idea,we have a old one in the barn!! i was thinking about this hardwire cloth ?? everyone talks about, maybe covering the "windows" with that.

 

[angels4]

I have a plastic coop, but it is molded plastic and designed to be a chicken coop (Eglu). It has ventilation holes molded into the front. I'm wondering if you used a door hole bit on an electric drill could you drill some well placed holes for ventilation. I know the coop is plastic, but I remember from a design show, the were drilling through plastic and where they wanted to drill they placed a square of tape where they wanted a hole and this kept the plastic from cracking.