Restoring dilapitated 100 year old chicken barn...help needed!

[katescountryfarm]

It looks pretty good! Just a little sprucing up is needed.

 

[Judy]

You'll be coming up with ideas for weeks, or months....


The nesting boxes could have been being used by other wild critters, causing them to block them off. For those few chickens you only need one or two, and it can be almost anything with a little hay or straw in it --- an old dresser drawer, 5 gallon bucket, even a secluded corner -- they do like some seclusion, and it should be lower than the roost.

What you may have to do in mid winter is make a draft free, slightly warmer area for them by piling some square hay bales around or sectioning off a part of the barn, maybe even dropping a roof a few feet. Although, those particular chickens are probably quite accustomed to your cold.

I definitely agree, you have a great structure there, with many possibilities. Obviously you'll want to shovel out the trash, but don't feel like you have to sterilize it. They're already living there and doing fine, remember. You might prefer a feeder and waterer from the feed store to old wooden feeding troughs and such, but you really don't need a lot to make the chickens quite happy!

I'm going to give you a couple of links which don't entirely apply to your situation, by any means -- but will give you a good idea of the principles behind keeping chickens in a cold climate. These are kind of the gold standard here.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...-go-out-there-and-cut-more-holes-in-your-coop

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/winter-coop-temperatures

 

[MotherCharlotte]

Thanks so much for all the replies!

When I said it was "gross," I mostly meant the stuff inside...there is a lot of garbage in the corner I didn't show - random junk up in the rafters, including gas cans and a busted up old guitar! - and the thick layer of old poop in the nesting boxes - that sort of thing. I know the structure itself is quite solid.

I feel better that you guys weren't sure why that barrier was there. I thought there was some fundamental aspect of chicken care that I just didn't understand. We'll be taking it down then because all it will do is make it more difficult to collect the eggs.

I guess with deep litter, it's okay to walk on it? With this setup we would have to walk over the litter every day to collect the eggs at the other end of the coop.

 

[3forfree]

maybe you could make something smaller inside the barn because you only have a few birds. Keep the nest boxes if they are comfortable using them, and give them some room to roost at night, sounds like they free range during the day, so let them do that. I would like to have the options that you have with that building. pics please.

After looking at the other pics, the nest box area may have been a coop as there's a door on the inside and a pop door going out. That deep litter that you'll get on your feet will wash off. You'll get used to it.

 

[Mountain Bear]

I have to agree with most people here. Dirty and gross always looks bad. The good news is this: It looks like you have a steel roof, the fastest way to ruin a building is to let water in from the top. Everything (Structurally) look straight and plumb, not a lot of missing bricks, more good news. clean everything out with a shovel and wheel barrel, even dump it in the holes in the yard if you want. You can plant a cover crop right now (Buckwheat, winter rye) if you want, it will green up the dirt.

 

[MotherCharlotte]

maybe you could make something smaller inside the barn because you only have a few birds. Keep the nest boxes if they are comfortable using them, and give them some room to roost at night, sounds like they free range during the day, so let them do that. I would like to have the options that you have with that building. pics please.

After looking at the other pics, the nest box area may have been a coop as there's a door on the inside and a pop door going out. That deep litter that you'll get on your feet will wash off. You'll get used to it.

Thanks! We are planning on getting many more birds as soon as we can - so I guess we'll just keep it the size it is.

I was only concerned about walking on the litter because it might compact it - I don't care about my own dirty feet, if I did I sure wouldn't have moved to a farm.

I guess the birds fluff it up by scratching though, right?

I'm sorry 3forfree, I'm not sure what it is you want pictures of?

Mountain Bear, yes it is a steel roof, I'm glad of that!

 

[Daisy8s]

The first thing I looked at was the roofline. It appears straight in the picture--that's great news. If you have a solid roof the rest should be in good shape, too. So, here's my two bits:

I'd tear out the nest boxes because they could house mites/lice and if the chickens have been pooping in them you don't want that habit to continue. I'd build one or two nest boxes (with room for more if you expand the flock) right by the door so that you don't have to walk across the deep litter to get eggs. Deep litter is great but read up on it so you can do it well and get some beautiful compost, too.

I'd build a small feed room just inside the people door that the birds cannot access. Make that room your feed storage and egg collection space. Mount water and feeder and nest boxes so you are able to stand in that room and yet access everything easily. I built my coop that way and I love the small space--just 2.5x5 feet big it's just right for one person to get chores done. There are so many times when I need to run in there and top off feed and water and collect eggs while on my way to town and I don't want to head off with chicken poop on my shoes. Besides, you need a place to store the feed anyway, so why not make the feed room right in that nice big coop?

If working on the windows you could make them so the hinges are at the top. If the window opens at the bottom then any precipitation is shed down the window rather than blowing in. However, your windows are quite low down and, ideally, ventilation is above the bird's heads in order to remove the warm, moist air the naturally rises.

You mentioned using tree branches as roosts. I learned the hard way that they have to be absolutely straight/flat. A slight slant and chickens spent all night sitting cock-eyed. Hence, there was lots of bickering to sit on the one truly straight segment. Also, after a few months they'd worn off all the bark so it was too smooth for them to get a good grip. I tore them out, put in 3-inch-wide boards and there's much less bickering now as they go up to roost.

 

[3forfree]

I'm sorry 3forfree, I'm not sure what it is you want pictures of?

Progress. The crew here on BYC offer a lot of advice, some good, some not so good, but you know what advice is like. anyway, take pics as you progress through your build, and post as you go. you'll get plenty of ideas from a lot of places. If you have something in mind don't be afraid to ask here, there are no dumb questions. Google is a good place to search for ideas, just type in whatever's on your mind and it will help you out. Good Luck.

 

[Dream Chic]

Would love to see some after pics! I'm sure you've looked at this site, but passing this along-
http://thecitychicken.com/hhotm.html

They have a lot of pictures of chicken coops to help give you some ideas and some great tips!

 

[Hokum Coco]

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