Total noob. Bought some chicks 3 weeks ago.

[Boppo]

Instead of the metal shed, try looking on Craigslist for coops or used sheds. You will be sorry about the metal shed. Many of us (me included) have made the mistake of buying a ready made coop and regret it. Don't compound your problem with a metal shed. Unless you are a serious metal worker, it will be hard to modify and it really will be bad environment for the birds. Imagine yourself sitting out in a metal shed in summer or winter!

 

[Kirball]

Can you return it?

Can and have already got the labels and the pickup set for Monday. Only lost $8.95 for returning it but I got a $25 credit for leaving the bad review so not a loss.

 

[Boppo]

Glad you were able to return that awful coop! Try Craigslist and see what you can turn up locally. You might even be able to find a wooden shed or a playset that would not be hard to modify into a coop. I found a coop that has been a godsend, and enjoyed meeting the guy that built it like a fortress.

 

[Kirball]

Instead of the metal shed, try looking on Craigslist for coops or used sheds. You will be sorry about the metal shed. Many of us (me included) have made the mistake of buying a ready made coop and regret it. Don't compound your problem with a metal shed. Unless you are a serious metal worker, it will be hard to modify and it really will be bad environment for the birds. Imagine yourself sitting out in a metal shed in summer or winter!

They will be free ranged during the day and it's pretty thin metal an angle grinder will cut any holes I need in it with no problem. I looked into wooden sheds and they are 3x the cost. I will be raising it up about a foot and then putting hardware cloth and large stones around the bottom that will also allow for ventilation. Installing a couple of windows and putting additional ventilation and ventilation fans to draw out the air in the coop should keep the temperature consistent with the outside temps. Running power to it should be no problem as it's not far from the house and I have a retired electrician friend that lives right up the road. I am never a big fan of buying something used I feel like with something like a coop you're just going to be buying something that is closer to no longer being useful and a lot of times the money saved on something used isn't worth the shortened lifespan of the item.

 

[Boppo]

Take a look at Craigslist - what I found was built and NEVER used. You never know what you are going to find. can't hurt to look! Where do you live? Do you have a winter? They won't want to go out in the winter. And it will be cold and humid in a metal shed. I am glad you have some options, but keep it in your pocket as the back up.