What would you do with this?

[UrbanHenBilly]

Aside from tearing it down and starting again, what would you do with this?
I'm thinking of sectioning a 10x10 area and laying down paving stones for a garden shed, and have the other 6x10 foot area as a coop for 4 birds (max city ordinance).
I would use sand in the coop section, dividing it off by a small wall and hardware wire. Your thoughts?
Thanks!

My plan:

 

[trilyn]

Looks good to me, except I'd be using the entire thing for a coop! LOL I understand about the ordinances though, but seriously, it'll be incredible once its done!!

 

[clayhill]

Great idea! I say, Do It!

 

[oldchickenlady]

No way would I tear that down, unless it was totally rotten and unsafe. You have great idea and I would go for it!

 

[UrbanHenBilly]

It's only a little bit rotten now, and I'm fixing that now!
The previous owners had laid down barn doors as flooring over the sand, so there was no end of rodents living there.

 

[UrbanHenBilly]

See that huge mound of dirt in the second picture? A gopher did that burrowing under the floorboards. I didn't move any of it.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The 6 x 10 is a lot bigger than you need for only 4 chickens if you have an outside run for them. Not that there is anything wrong with that, just mentioning it. You may appreciate the extra room in the shed, especially if you are going to be doing much on that work table. If they are going to spend a lot of time locked in the coop, it will work great.

For only 4 chickens you don't need a lot of roosts. One roost 3' long or longer will be plenty. It would need to be about 12" away from the wall to give them enough room. That will get the extra roosts out of your way and make scraping your poop board easier.

For 4 hens, one nest box is plenty, but one extra won't hurt. Just a little materials and construction you could save.

You show the outside door to the coop opening in. If you use sand that is probably great but if you change to shavings or something else, the door needs to be high enough that the litter does not block it.

I'd be real tempted to make the dividing wall solid, but with a door, because of the dust the chickens make. I know you'll get dust out there anyway, but it could make a difference.

Not sure what the drainage looks like there, but maybe consider hauling in enough dirt or sand to build the floor up so water cannot run in there when you get a heavy rain? That may not be a problem the way you will have it.

I don't know what the ventilation looks like up high. I'd make sure there were some predator-proof openings up high for air exchange.

To me, it looks like a great set-up. Good luck with it.

 

[UrbanHenBilly]

Wow, wow, wow, thanks for the great and practical advice, Ridgerunner!

 

[texasshell]

Looks to me like a great start, how nice to have more room than you need.

 

[MareeZoCool]

I'd dedicate 1/2 of the shed to my chickens. They will be all over your potting mix if they find access to the work table. I love your shed! My chickens would jump for joy to have a mansion like that!

Best of luck, whatever you decide to do with your shed!