Pre-built shed to replace old Coop?

[CascadiaRiver]

I live in the rainy PNW and our 16+ year old large shed is finally getting reclaimed by mother nature (water damage, neighbor damage, wear & tear, plus old design & things we'd change now that we know better lol). We also have an old tool shed that I would like to replace with one of those small plastic-y sheds they sell at most hardware stores for under $800 - freeing up a nice spot in our backyard for a new coop!

I have seen ones called chicken coops and ones just smaller sheds- any differences we should note? I may not be able to make my own building but I am capable of making nest boxes and roosts so that's not a huge factor for me, a window is non-negotiable. They seem to come with vents and it wouldn't be too hard to install one or two more, all have a door, I ASSUME we'd be able to get insulation and put it behind some plywood, filling out the walls to extra protect for weather.

They're around similar price, similar size, am I missing anything important?

Flooring: do we try something like loose litter like we have been, or a good time to switch to a new system? I am conflicted here, current old coop has a plywood floor that we do deep litter on and there hasn't been issues but I am unsure if we've just been lucky!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Really no need for insulation in our climate. And if you are satisfied with how your litter has been working for you, I wouldn't see a reason to change.

If your options are the 2 units shown above, obviously the gray one is more set up for chickens with the nest boxes and the larger roof overhang over the windows, but as you are aware even that needs more ventilation as the windows are not sufficient, and the roosts may need to be redone, the nest box door modified to keep water out, etc.

The brown one would need a lot more ventilation but doesn't have much roof overhang, so you'd need to think about how you want to address that. Otherwise a "big empty box" isn't a bad choice if you're willing to add the roosts, nests and vents yourself, as you can set it up to your liking.

 

[Not-so Slick Chicken]

I guess it depends on what your needs are.
Just a few hens?
Mice, mites, predators?

I personally prefer the idea of a store-bought shed over a (local, overpriced) pre-built coop.
Maybe you could even find a clean, used shed for sale at a low price. But not terribly likely, unfortunately.

 

[Ridgerunner]

They're around similar price, similar size, am I missing anything important?

Interesting that they are about the same size and cost. You'd think a lot more labor and hardware costs goes into building that coop so why are the prices similar? Different materials maybe? Is one preassembled? Shipping costs maybe? I feel like I'm missing something important.

For the cost of the shed did you consider the cost of buying materials to build roosts, nests, and such?

a window is non-negotiable.

Does that mean you are not willing to cut any holes in that shed or coop? For the shed you'll need to install something to allow natural light in there even if you do not use it for ventilation.

I think you'll need to add ventilation to the shed. I'm not sure what the top if the side walls looks like, there might be something there but I'm doubtful. I'm not sure how it is framed up there, you might be able to cut out the top of the side walls and predator proof that opening. Any other ventilation I'd consider louvers to keep rain out.

If you need to add ventilation to the coop you have that area above the nests under the overhang to work with.

I'd want a pop door on either of them so I could leave the human door closed and keep the weather out.

Flooring: do we try something like loose litter like we have been, or a good time to switch to a new system? I am conflicted here, current old coop has a plywood floor that we do deep litter on and there hasn't been issues but I am unsure if we've just been lucky!

Six of one, half a dozen of the other. You've had success with one system, that might be because of where it was positioned and drainage in that area. If it stays dry you are unlikely to have a problem for years. My personal preference is a dirt floor that I hauled in enough dirt to raise it up so it stays dry, then just loose litter on top. But many people keep litter on a wooden floor. If it stays dry enough you should not have any problems as long as poop does not build up enough to stay wet.

You can make either one work. Good luck!

 

[CascadiaRiver]

I guess it depends on what your needs are.
Just a few hens?
Mice, mites, predators?

I personally prefer the idea of a store-bought shed over a (local, overpriced) pre-built coop.
Maybe you could even find a clean, used shed for sale at a low price. But not terribly likely, unfortunately.

They're both being sold by a local shed company, so I'm not worried about like TSC having crappy coops haha! We have about 6 hens, but only 2 are standards.

Interesting that they are about the same size and cost. You'd think a lot more labor and hardware costs goes into building that coop so why are the prices similar? Different materials maybe? Is one preassembled? Shipping costs maybe? I feel like I'm missing something important.

Thats why I was a bit torn/confused myself! They're very similar, like $3400 and $3200 which when you're spending 3k (ouch) two hundred isn't gonna break it. I can get pallets from work to make roosts & nest boxes, I am just far from skilled enough to try and build a coop from pallet wood from scratch.

I am willing to cut a hole in the shed for a window, but while I have installed vents on previous sheds I have never installed a window (and many of these come with one so that would be great, like the coop-shed comes with two nice sized windows for light). The coop one seems to come with some sort of pop door (might be just a small sliding door that would be easy to DIY into a pop door, we did that with the last coop). I'll keep reading around to what people have done for floors but your idea seems pretty sound to me!

 

[Sefirothe]

What are the dimensions of the two? I would go with whichever one is bigger.