Shed to Coop Conversion

[Kyle Boisseau]

Attempting to turn this old shed into a our first chicken coop. I’ve been reading coop ideas on here for a while now, but wanted to get some “expert” tips and advice on the do’s, don’ts and must haves. The building is 12X12 and the area I’ve marked off for the run is 12x40. Planning on starting out with 15 hens. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[Joeschooks]

Your chickens will have a nice spacious coop there
Much of what I’m saying you may already know because you’ve been doing your reasearch and these are just the basics...
Provide one nest box for every 3-4 hens. These are best positioned below roost level to avoid them sleeping in the nest boxes.
Provide minimum of 25cm of roost space per bird and roosts should ideally be minimum 3” wide to keep little chicken toes flat thereby helping to prevent foot problems. Poop board underneath will help with cleaning. Ventilation, provide about 1 sq ft per hen and don’t forget to cover openings with hardware cloth to prevent predators. Good luck with your coop build!

 

[pennyJo1960]

Attempting to turn this old shed into a our first chicken coop. I’ve been reading coop ideas on here for a while now, but wanted to get some “expert” tips and advice on the do’s, don’ts and must haves. The building is 12X12 and the area I’ve marked off for the run is 12x40. Planning on starting out with 15 hens. Any advice is greatly appreciated!
View attachment 1285047 View attachment 1285044 View attachment 1285045

need well lit photos inside please

 

[Kyle Boisseau]

need well lit photos inside please

I’ll definitely take some in the daylight. Dark now and no lights out there, but it’s a completely open 12x12 area. No windows or insulation, studs are exposed. Only current opening is the door.

 

[Ruralhideaway]

I think that building can be a great coop! I'm forever working on my conversion of a shed attached to a barn. One of the issues with old buildings is the difficulty of plugging up all holes larger than a half inch to keep weasels out. So I'd recommend you view how @aart did her coop. It's completely predator proofed the only real way to do it. I wish I'd pursued the same system. If you view her profile you'll see the coop link.

Have fun!

 

[pennyJo1960]

I’ll definitely take some in the daylight. Dark now and no lights out there, but it’s a completely open 12x12 area. No windows or insulation, studs are exposed. Only current opening is the door.

okay major issue ventilation might be good to run electric out there also

 

[aart]

Nice building!
Roof and floor in good shape?
Are eaves open?

Would be a good idea to put an apron all around the building, run too maybe/

Good examples of apron installation,1/2" HC is good in this situation as you don't want rodents getting under there.
http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1110498/wire-around-coop#post_17093528
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/new-coop-project.1169916/page-2#post-18481208

 

[Kyle Boisseau]

Nice building!
Roof and floor in good shape?
Are eaves open?

Would be a good idea to put an apron all around the building, run too maybe/

Good examples of apron installation,1/2" HC is good in this situation as you don't want rodents getting under there.
http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1110498/wire-around-coop#post_17093528
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/new-coop-project.1169916/page-2#post-18481208

The floor and roof are both in good shape. The eaves are open which has allowed the shed to become the home of a family of flying squirrels. I’ve bought a 100’ roll of 24”W hardware cloth that I plan on closing the eaves in with. I also plan on using it as a barrier along the bottom perimeter of the shed. Thanks for the input!

 

[pennyJo1960]

View attachment 1285284
The floor and roof are both in good shape. The eaves are open which has allowed the shed to become the home of a family of flying squirrels. I’ve bought a 100’ roll of 24”W hardware cloth that I plan on closing the eaves in with. I also plan on using it as a barrier along the bottom perimeter of the shed. Thanks for the input!

then you have it covered I would say do what aart has recommended a apron of hardware cloth bury a 2 x 4 with hardware cloth wrapped around it attached to the bottom of the building otherwise predators will come in through there