shipping container coop

[grandma toni]

we bought 6 acres with 2 houses and a great shed...plus 2 shipping containers on property....i want to turn one into chicken coop and one a small barn for couple goats...i m new at this...i m a retired vet tech and raised horses....never had chickens(just ducks) or goats....will this coop work? any ideas on ventilation,nesting boxes,etc-light and heat? can chickens,ducks and goats live together in same fenced barnyard?starting this spring with chicks(pullets) and ducklings....hope to get some advice before i just "wing"it

 

[grandma toni]

btw....my crates are the very large metal ones...more like box cars ....not wood

 

[redsoxs]

I think heat would be the biggest problem, particularly of they lacked any type of ventilation. The idea of all that metal between my chickens and the things that want to eat my chickens is very appealing, however. I think you could mount wooden roosts and nesting boxes easy enough inside - even if they were not attached to the container itself. But you would likely have to cut some sort of ventilation ports for both fresh air and to allow heat to escape. If the container is light colored that will be better as well (unless it's already in the shade) so it isn't just a solar conductor. Any way you can post a pic of the containers?

 

[Nadeerah]

I found this video.

I think it's a great idea. I am currently looking for some chicken friendly property to build a house out of shipping containers.

 

[Nadeerah]

On this one they chopped a shipping container in half and added a run.

justfinedesignbuild.blogspot.com/2011/09/more-photos-from-shipping-container.html?m=1

 

[Nadeerah]

Check this out for solar powered ventilation.
www.atticbreeze.net

 

[glitterybeard]

We are thinking about a cargo container coop. Has anyone done one since this thread was active a few years ago?

 

[BriColie]

we bought 6 acres with 2 houses and a great shed...plus 2 shipping containers on property....i want to turn one into chicken coop and one a small barn for couple goats...i m new at this...i m a retired vet tech and raised horses....never had chickens(just ducks) or goats....will this coop work? any ideas on ventilation,nesting boxes,etc-light and heat? can chickens,ducks and goats live together in same fenced barnyard?starting this spring with chicks(pullets) and ducklings....hope to get some advice before i just "wing"it

I've seen people do it...i have a good friend that has chickens, geese, ducks, & a goat in their pen together. It works great for her. Me, though, i like to personally keep them separated...our ducks will have their own fenced area, the chickens free-range, & our goats will be fenced separatly. My reasoning is because ducks are REALLY dirty...we don't want them free-ranging...& because some male ducks might try to mate with the hens (while it might be ok for a rooster to try to mate with a duck, a male duck can cause hen to prolaspe because it's not the same stuff working as a rooster)...we want our goats separate because they are very very sneaky & will sometimes try to get out of a fence, once they get out all are free to roam & it will be a madhouse lol...so, if a goat gets out, we'd much rather have some order & it just be the goats, not goats, ducks, & chickens, etc lol. Wishing you lots of luck! xx

 

[colettearmour]

I found this video.

I think it's a great idea. I am currently looking for some chicken friendly property to build a house out of shipping containers.

I have GOT to build this! This is Egg-actly what I have been looking for. I will send pics when it gets built. I also like this idea for housing goats, rabbits, and a few piglets...all for meat, of course. I'm pretty sure that my son and I can frame out the walls to insulate, then hire an electrician to do the wiring (almost everything here in WA has to be done via a licensed person!!!).

 

[Chipper Chicken]

I have GOT to build this!

Looking forward to pictures! You probably already noticed this, but for anybody looking into this type of coop, here's something to consider.
One notable issue on the video was lack of ventilation, which you should be able to fix before building inside. They had a small fan (or heater?) on the entryway floor, but that's not really going to ventilate anything. I think if I were doing it I'd cut shallow (6-8") horizontal openings between the container ribs ( don't want to lose the structural integrity) the length of the coop area just below the roof, possibly on the side opposite the cages.) Cover the holes with 1/2" hardware cloth.
Instead of a sliding glass door I'd use wood with giant holes cut in the bottom half of both (if using wood sliding doors, or equal sized holes in front wall and door if using regular door). Cover the holes completely with 1/2" hardware cloth. Please look at Woods style coops and how they are ventilated (you can find several examples by clicking on my coop page and scrolling to the bottom. I've linked some really great Woods style coops there.

Good luck, I'm looking forward to seeing more container coops!
Chipper