Using an empty barn stall as a Coop?

[Hockeymom9]

Would it be a good idea to use an empty barn stall for a coop. We would make access to outside with a run for them. We have no other animalsin here, as this is an older barn that is basically used to store all our junk.

Just thought the stall may work. Any thoughts?

 

[The Chicken People]

Go For It!

 

[Camelot Farms]

Works at our house!

 

[jeremy]

You might want to consider using more than one... because you can't just have a few chickens.

You'll get 3 or 4 at first, then wander to the feed store and there will be another 5 or 6 that just had to be taken home (believe me, I know) then you'll start researching breeds and seeing all of the great photos of every one's birds here on the forum and you'll decide you want a special breed. Maybe to start your own breeding flock? Or two. Or three.

Believe me, it'll be easier if you give yourself room to expand in the beginning.

L0L.

 

[esthermgr]

I've subdivided half of a two car garage into a coop- basically a dirt floor barnlike space. So I don't see why it wouldn't work for you too!
I agree with the "make it as big as you can" advice. I started out with plans for 3 or 4 hens and now I have 11 and am about to set 18 more eggs

 

[Pidgey104]

I have a 12 by 12 horse stall made it to a pigeon coop for my birds they ahve a 12 by 24 ft run to fly around in. it holds close to 50 to 80 pigeons and it can hold around 20 bantams
I think I have pictures on one of my pages

Okay maybe not.

 

[MiniBeesKnees]

The excuse I gave to folks who questioned my move from a heavily populated area in FL to rural TN was that I wanted chickens. I wanted three. I have 27 today and 16 eggs under a sitting hen. I plan on no more than 24 going into the winter of 2010. It's addicting although some I'm sure are capable of resisting.

I've discovered chickens will live almost anywhere and are amazingly resilient to inclement weather, and low temps. Which doesn't stop me from heating my coop. I can't sleep if I think they are out there cold. So I heat it for me.

Chickens will lay eggs anywhere, and are content with a cardboard box. They will go broody and hatch a family if you have a rooster....in a corner somewhere...or in the woods, or under the porch

Any structure you have that you can keep dry and draft free that provides some ventilation will work. Having it tall enough to stand in and easy to clean is for us. No matter what you fence them with, or enclose them in...you are going to lose some to the predators inherent in your area.

They will roost in the highest area around. For a year I used tree branches...worked fine. I use plastic covered tubs on their sides for nesting boxes, and move my broodys into dog crates inside the coop. Tubs were four bucks each on sale...I used a dinner plate to draw a circle higher towards the 'top' and cut the hole with a jigsaw. Hint...find bins that the tops stay on good that have straight sides rather then tapering towards the bottom. They are easy to clean and the shavings don't come out.

I use a deep bed method and I've tried straw and pine shavings. So far I like the pine better. The first year I used leaves. Worked fine...make sure they are dry.
I bought fancy feeders and waterers but have discovered what works best is a three dollar oil changing pan I got at an auto store. I put it up on old bricks and put a big brick in the middle of the pan...it doesn't tip over when the chicks stand on the edge, and they don't foul it when they scratch around. Those are in the coop. No chicks have drowned yet. They still drink out of puddles anyway.

I live in the woods in a rural area almost without neighbors and my lot is small but they free range all over the place. I lost a month old chick yesterday in the woods but the hen had ten live chicks hatch...the 'runt' died at three days old. So she still has eight. I could spend a thousand bucks on a run and still lose a few now and then. The upside is that after the commotion in the woods all the chickens came pouring out of there and today didn't go back in there again.

I think a chicken's 'needs' are few...and the stall sounds very promising. I think all the enhancements we make to our chicken quarters are for us, they don't really care.

 

[Hockeymom9]

Thanks everyone. I am very new to this. I currently have 10 ISA Brown chicks(around 2 weeks old) they are so amazing!

Looking forward to all the help I can get here!