Shed conversions as coops

[ll]

I like those thick rubber mats - we considered 'em but it just didn't happen at the time.
Still a possibility though.

I have alot of photos of our shed conversion ~ they're on my Hen House page

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=85907-the-hen-house


and I decorated it for the holiday:

 

[EweSheep]

With plastic and resin buildings like the one I have, EASY to hose down. Take a old plastic broom and have a go at it moping up everything!

I use diluted bleach and water or diluted vinegar and water or if I had extra money, I use Trail or Nature's deo (diluted as well). It didn't take long to dry on a hot day and then dust it with poultry dust or Stall Dry (which I used for the photograph).

It really paid itself many times over, even three times dismantling, six times wash downs and the only thing needed replaced was the wooden foundation. I made the mistake putting the foundation on top of the patio blocks, then sewer rats came in and started gnawing underneath the floor. I had to get it propped up on concrete blocks. If I find more holes, then hardware wire on the bottom of the foundation and "present wrapped" the floor with it as well. Then put the rubber mats on top of it.

You have to do comparison shopping on horse rubber mats which cost $40 for a strip while truck bed mats are roughly $25 dollars a piece for a 4 x8 piece.
I recycle my old holey rubber mats I had earlier, perfect for garden pathways!

I highly recommend rubber stall mats, shovel proof and it don't gouge if you have something very sticky on floor. Lino floors, I've had people saying they peel off or they made an oops with their shovel, ripping it or made a hole, etc.

Now if they can make concrete foundations that you can move things around, but sturdy to handle a shed's weight, I would go for it. They haven't come with a "portable concrete foundation" yet.

 

[stevin]

here is my old 8' x 12' shed.

here it is after i modified it with adding ventilation, windows, a nestbox & a dog kennel run.

here it is after i stained it.

 

[keenecowboy]

Boy looks good enough to move in. Great Job

 

[The Sheriff]

Great job Stevin!

 

[chickenbaguette]

Thank you all for the beautiful pictures!

Please keep them coming!

 

[JP101010]

stevin: awesome conversion! Great color & The vintage sign really finishes it!

 

[cfdf]

You can see mine on My Page. We added 2 windows on three different sides of the coop. Two of the windows are real windows and the other 4 are cut out and framed, screened with hardware cloth. I use plexiglass when the weather is inclimate to cover the windows. We made an additional screened door that is hinged on and swings to the inside of the coop so that the outside wood doors can be closed and locked at night. We built a shelf to hold our vintage wood milk crate boxes for nesting. We added extra ventilation on the upper back wall. The front wall came with a little ventilation hole. We built some roosts but my chickens prefer to roost in the rafters and on the brooder. My shed is an 8 x 10 Lowes Quick Shed. I have a large brooder inside the coop that stands tall on legs. It doesn't take up any floor space which is good. I had to put poop boards on top of the brooder so I could clean easily. I haven't painted the inside of the coop. I might do that at a later date. We cut out pop doors on 2 sides of the coop. We used the wood we cut out to make hinged doors that fall down. We put wood strips on the door to help the chickens and ducks in and out. I close the pop doors from inside the coop each night and lock. This summer we added a water cooler/swamp cooler to the back wall. It worked great. I live in Texas and we had killer heat this summer. I didn't loose any birds but many of my neighbors did. My chickens prefered to sit in the cool comfort of their coop. My ducks prefered their swimming pools. I painted the outside of my coop barn red and barn white. We added a shingle roof. We put planter boxes on one side. I use 10 x 10 x 6 dog kennel runs for my run. I bought them off Craigs List one at a time. Most cost around $100 ea...one was free. (I have not added new pictures that show all the runs hooked togther) One side of the coop has a 50 x 10' run. The other side is much smaller at 8 x 10. I wired the top of the run and put shade cloth on the top and back side. I would like to add a roof but don't know if I will ever get that done. Hardware cloth runs around the bottom of the run for protection. My coop is wired with electricity. I have a light that I can turn on at night to see to lock up everything. I have a heat lamp in place but I haven't had to use it as it doesn't really get that cold here. I like the fact that I can easily walk in and out of my coop. It seems to be safe from preditors....so far. I really can't think of anything I would change about it. An automatic coop door would be nice but I'm an early riser so that's not that big of a deal for me. I have vinyl flooring with pine shavings in the coop. I don't feed or water my birds in the coop. My feeders and waterers are hung outside in the runs. I have 20 chickens (most are bantams) and 7 ducks. I don't have any problems with pecking...yet. 2 of my chickens are bantam roo's. They get along fine. All in all I am very happy with my shed coop. I have had my coop for a year and a half. I have only lost one bird so far and I think it had a sour crop....not 100% sure. So yeah...if you're thinking about using a shed for a coop I'd go for it!! I love my shed coop!

Also I want to add that the plant you see on the right side of the coop is a climbing rose bush named "Little Pinkie." It has grown like crazy and is now starting to cover the top of the run. It has very pretty small pink flowers all over it when it blooms. There is a barrier between the bottom of the coop run and the plant that help keep the chickens from eating it. I have also planted a crape myrtle tree that has done well. The chickens did eat the lower leaves but it didn't hurt the tree. It is growing good inside the run. In fact I'm a little worried it might get too tall too fast. I might have to make some changes on the run cover to adjust for it's height. Oh one more thing...I bought my grandkids a real cute playhouse off Craigs List. It's right at the end of my chicken run. It sure would be easy to hook that up to my chicken run with one more 10 x 10 kennel. I can see it now.........................

 

[riverpilot69]

All are looking good. I am getting ready to use 1/2 of a shed for an extra coop. I am getting some great ideas from this thread. I am loving this site. I have had chickens for years, but just recently found this site this year. You can get some great advice and ideas from everyone here. Hats off to y'all.

 

[chickenbaguette]

Quote:
I found BYC this year, too, and it's brilliant!

Has anyone else used that rubberized roofing stuff on the floor?