The "Nest Egg" coop/garden shed conversion

[77horses]

Hi all! I recently got my hands on a sweet 6.5 x 7 x 8h' shed that my longterm boyfriend and I are converting into a coop! Well, half coop half garden storage. So far we've decided to name it the "Nest Egg," a reference from this past January when we bought our first house (while we were doing renovations before moving in we'd call the house our "nest egg" because the current exterior paint color that the previous owner chose- which is a pastel yellow with robin's egg blue shutters- reminds us of an easter egg plus my boyfriend is in business insurance so we thought it was pretty funny) but I digress! Originally we were just gonna build the shed ourselves, from the ground up, but never could find the time...in fact, we had been thinking about just waiting until next spring to start it. But then we found an ad for the right shed, for the right price, listed on craigslist and just had to get it!

We plan on making the first half (when you walk through the door) the designated garden storage area, and the 2nd half (in the back) for the chickens. We have a pair of broad-winged hawks nesting right behind our backyard, so unfortunately I don't think our flock will be able to free-range...which means we're going to attach a large caged-in run to the coop (with either a sloped roof or chicken wire roof) so that they can safely have plenty of foraging area. We're also planning on pouring a 7 x 7' cement slab for it to sit upon (which is what we're planning on accomplishing over the next week).
In the meantime? Any suggestions for paint color? I love the traditional brick-red barn with white siding look...but it's also kinda cute as-is, too. Definitely planning on attaching a little flower box under the front window!
Let me know what y'all think, I'm open to suggestions! Also, if anyone has any suggestions as to how the heck we're gonna get this thing off the trailer, that would be helpful too!
-K

 

[snow5164]

That’s a great find !! I wouldn’t worry about colours and nesting boxes first
You have to plan the inside .

That’s pretty small for a coop and shed, how many chickens do you want to have ?youll need nesting boxes , roosts , feeders /waterers and proper ventalation ,

Anything in the shed will be covered with chicken dander , I have a 20x20 shed with a hallway ... it’s so dusty !!

Have lots of fun
Be careful getting that off
Maybe you can just leave it on the trailer in your yard

 

[aart]

Nice little shed!

Definitely be ready for dust all over your garden tools,
my coop is in a larger 'garden shed' and the dust is mind boggling.

I don't do 'cute'.....function is beauty.

First thing I'd do with that is replace the soffit material with 1/2" hardware cloth for year round ventilation.

So, how did you get shed onto trailer?

 

[77horses]

That’s a great find !! I wouldn’t worry about colours and nesting boxes first
You have to plan the inside .

That’s pretty small for a coop and shed, how many chickens do you want to have ?youll need nesting boxes , roosts , feeders /waterers and proper ventalation ,

Anything in the shed will be covered with chicken dander , I have a 20x20 shed with a hallway ... it’s so dusty !!

Have lots of fun
Be careful getting that off
Maybe you can just leave it on the trailer in your yard

Hi snow, thanks for the reply! We plan on having around 5 chickens, just a small flock of silkies! We only plan on keeping garden tools in the shed with the coop- shovels, clippers, etc. which we don't mind getting dusty. It is crazy how much dander just a small flock of chickens can generate! We haven't figured out the exact interior design yet, but we're thinking a little over half (maybe close to 3/4) of the shed will be for the chickens and the rest will just be a little walk-in space with a wall shelf and wall hooks for hanging tools.
We're also thinking about creating a small roof/bay area attached to the side of the shed for the lawn mower. Do you think that'll be an issue at all? It won't be inside the shed, just on the outside (to park the mower under to protect it from rain and snow). So gas fumes shouldn't be an issue, right?
As for getting it off the trailer- we're planning on putting some pvc pipes under it and *slowly* rolling it off onto the concrete slab...this will probably (er, most likely) be easier imagined than executed

 

[77horses]

Nice little shed!

Definitely be ready for dust all over your garden tools,
my coop is in a larger 'garden shed' and the dust is mind boggling.

I don't do 'cute'.....function is beauty.

First thing I'd do with that is replace the soffit material with 1/2" hardware cloth for year round ventilation.

So, how did you get shed onto trailer?

Hi aart! Thanks for the reply. We're only gonna put garden tools in the shed that we don't mind getting dusty (like shovels and other tools). We'll just have to dust them off whenever we go to use them LOL.
Replacing the soffit material with hardware cloth is a great idea! We want to keep the shed as insulated as possible- we live in Maine so the cold winter takes up a large portion of the year Of course, we'll get a heat lamp to help with that too.
Good question- long story short, we used a small tractor, ratchet straps/come-alongs, and some logs to slowly roll it onto the trailer. Took us 4 people, nearly 2 hours and a lot of perseverance to get it on LOL. It actually used to be a tree house, and I have NO idea how they got it down from there!

 

[aart]

We want to keep the shed as insulated as possible- we live in Maine so the cold winter takes up a large portion of the year. Of course, we'll get a heat lamp to help with that too.

Nah, you just think you do.
You need good ventilation all year around.....much more important than adding any heat source(except to keep waterer thawed).

Good discussion about ventilation here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1048597/ventilated-but-free-of-drafts

 

[77horses]

Nah, you just think you do.
You need good ventilation all year around.....much more important than adding any heat source(except to keep waterer thawed).

Good discussion about ventilation here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1048597/ventilated-but-free-of-drafts

Great info- thank you!!

 

[snow5164]

You can’t insulate once it’s done ,
I’d insulate walls and floors , ventilation doesn’t mean there’s air flowing threw the walls after all .

We used foam board , easy to work with and it isn’t appealing to rodents . We never regretted doing the floor , we do keep the temperature at 0’C all winter with a 1500 watt barn heater.

Insulating it and having openings like windows and doors will allow for plenty of ventilation.

Some don’t insulate or heat or have electricity, We all make our own choices and there is no definite answer to any situation.

Garden tools and lawn mower will be ok, cover mower with a tarp and it will stay clean .

I have 4 silkies , 2 black , 2 paint ( ones a rooster ), Carol , Carlos and the black ones ?? We call them thing 1 and thing 2

Have fun you guys

 

[pennyJo1960]

A plain white light will warm that small of space turn it off at night they huddle to sleep
be cautious of chicken math silky go broody often no eggs .. so add a couple full size or maybe a few more Chicken math