Pro/con shed conversion

[Chold05]

Hello friends!
I’ve seen some people have converted sheds into coops and that got me wondering… what are the pros and cons of this method? And what would I need to do to convert it?

I know you’d need to add ventilation and hardware cloth the windows. Nest boxes added. I would also insulate it. Extra bonus would be that it’s already built!


My handy husband would rather we build it & but I’d prefer to sit this one out. I’d love to find an easier solution .

 

[DobieLover]

I would also insulate it.

Completely unnecessary in your climate.

I'm north of you, mine is not insulated and the birds do great.

A possible con would be higher upfront cost on converting a purchased new shed vs building from scratch. But with an existing structure or buying a used shed, not even that is a con because you would be way ahead of the game with the base structure.

How much more money you put into it depends largely on what you start with.
If it has decent over hangs (all the way around).
If it has enough windows (usually not).
Moving doors around shouldn't cost more than a few nails if you move the existing framing.

Obvious "pros" are:
you end up with a walk-in coop
huge time saver
easier to find a shed than a coop of the same size
easy to modify if wood (I personally would never use a resin or metal shed to convert).

 

[aart]

And what would I need to do to convert it?

Depends on the shed in question.
First questions would be, does it have large overhangs with open soffits?

Pics , and dimensions, would help here....and how many birds you intend to keep.

 

[mowin]

If you can find a shed for little cost, go for it.
The biggest benefit of building from scratch, is to design the ventilation and predator proofing into the build, but if the shed is the right size, and saves money in the long run ( if that's a concern), then a shed might make sense.

 

[Brizi]

I'm going to kind of hijack this thread for a second. We were going to turn a big wooden box into an open-air coop, but it turns out that it's not very strong or stable. We have been considering doing a shed conversion instead.

What do y'all think of something like this? We could keep the doors open 24/7. It'd be like 14 sq ft of ventilation in the doorway and 4 sq ft of ventilation up top, plus we could use that window if we needed to.

(The Paint image is my attempt at designing the open-air roosting space made from a wooden box.)

 

[Chold05]

I'm going to kind of hijack this thread for a second. We were going to turn a big wooden box into an open-air coop, but it turns out that it's not very strong or stable. We have been considering doing a shed conversion instead.

What do y'all think of something like this? We could keep the doors open 24/7. It'd be like 14 sq ft of ventilation in the doorway and 4 sq ft of ventilation up top, plus we could use that window if we needed to.

(The Paint image is my attempt at designing the open-air roosting space made from a wooden box.)

Not sure what you're weather is like, but I would be hesitant in SW PA to have an open air coop. We have some pretty extreme wind and snow. They need protection from the elements.