# Purchased shed used for coop??



## Queen Bee (Apr 7, 2004)

Has anyone purchased a garden type shed to use as a coop? If so, what type of shed, what have you done to make it more comfy for your chickens..Pictures would be wonderful.. 

We will be moving to our farm, more quickly than first thought and won't have time to build a proper coop for my 11 girls.. Thought this might be a quick and easy sub.. Thanks for any ideas/suggestions and pictures..QB


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## kirkmcquest (Oct 21, 2010)

My friend has an old shed for a coop, it seems to work for her. She just put up big shelves and partitions where they can nest. I'm not sure if its insulated, but she had a small door cut at the bottom so they can go in and out.


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## Uncle JD (Dec 1, 2010)

I'm about to convert one. I will post pics of the process here, but it the project won't start for about three weeks. 

blessings,
jd


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

I used a Winchester Royal Outdoor vinyl shed when I had the ducks. (rabbits lived there before and are still there). You can't buy the one I have in the US anymore but they do have other vinyl sheds. I let them nest in dog crates and a couple covered cat litter pans. They really liked setting on top of the rabbit cages.


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## Judi Reilly (Mar 27, 2008)

my plans for insulating my old coop is using dog food bags..the big ones..cut open and nail or staple to the inside for insulation..then cover that w/cardboard boxes...and finally some cheap particle boards..cheap insulation..I have 2 sheds to do this with..but its far to cold yet..-23 this morning...maybe in Feb. I can get started..i am getting about 45 laying chix then..so need a warm coop...


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## BjornBee (Jan 17, 2011)

We purchased a garden shed. 8 x 12 with double windows on two side and a double door on the front. The floor is covered with rubber roofing. We placed 6 nesting boxes on the back wall. Built simple roosts out of scrap wood. And have two chickens doors. One goes to a covered 10x40 covered run for when nobody is around for a day or two, and the other door opens to the farm which is used most days to free range. Of course, we call and define "free range" as...."poop everywhere".

The idea with the shed was since we were not ckicken folks, and had never kept chickens, I wanted something that if we ever got rid of the chickens, we could still have a shed to be used. We looked at building a chicken coop from plans, and just thuoght it could never be used for anything else if we ever got rid of the chickens.

But we love the chickens. Wish we would of started sooner.


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## Lazy J (Jan 2, 2008)

We have an 8 x 10 shed that we use for our coop. We cut a hole in the side, hung our roll out nestboxes, put up a fence for a run and didn't look back.

Jim


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## mammabooh (Sep 1, 2004)

Here are some pictures of the coop and run at our old place. The shed was given to us, and I converted it to a coop. One side was roosts, and the other side was cupboards and the next boxes.


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## Judi Reilly (Mar 27, 2008)

very nice mammabooh...mine free range in summer b/4 gardens go in..then they get out only ocassionally..but have a very large pen to run in..we give them cut grasses,,weeds etc..so its almost like free range..


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## mammabooh (Sep 1, 2004)

Judi Reilly said:


> very nice mammabooh...mine free range in summer b/4 gardens go in..then they get out only ocassionally..but have a very large pen to run in..we give them cut grasses,,weeds etc..so its almost like free range..


Where we live now, they are in the pasture, so they have six tenths of an acre to roam. We have 10 acres, but I don't want them to get carried off by marauding dogs or coyotes.


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## greenSearcher (Mar 23, 2007)

I came across this just the other day, when I went to the site to read about Buckeyes, and found the "Rubbermaid Coop" by chance. http://www.crainsrunranch.com/Buckeye_Chickens.php 

When I think about the cost per sq ft, and that it can be a walk in coop, it may not be a bad deal at all. I have built my coops, about $300 or so each, and mine are more like tractors than coops. I may go with this next time I need more coops.


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## mammabooh (Sep 1, 2004)

greenSearcher said:


> I came across this just the other day, when I went to the site to read about Buckeyes, and found the "Rubbermaid Coop" by chance. http://www.crainsrunranch.com/Buckeye_Chickens.php
> 
> When I think about the cost per sq ft, and that it can be a walk in coop, it may not be a bad deal at all. I have built my coops, about $300 or so each, and mine are more like tractors than coops. I may go with this next time I need more coops.


I was considering one of those for a coop back before I had my first flock. Those folks are right to talk about ventilation. It would be VERY important with that material. When I did get my first flock, I had a wood shed, but I put vinyl flooring down to make for easy clean up. What it did was to trap moisture and cause mold to grow on the walls during the winter. I tore up that flooring, and the building almost instantly felt better inside. I can't imagine how moist an entire Rubbermaid building would get if you weren't careful about ventilation. I'm not saying it can't be done (obviously these folks are doing it well!), but for the person just starting out who doesn't know any better, it might just be a way to make all of their chickens sick.


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## Sonshine (Jul 27, 2007)

Ours is similar to mamaboos. We cut a door in the bottom for them to get in and out, we also cut out a window up top and have a fan in there in the summer time to blow out the heat. We have a heat lamp in there in the winter time. Have had this set up for over 3 years now and works wonderful. Oh, we also have a cement floor in ours. Keeps critters from digging up underneath and getting our chickens. Have never lost one to a predator.


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## Wingdo (Oct 5, 2002)

I have built eight of these for folks to use as hen-houses, hunting blinds, playhouses for the kids, and even goat housing. This one cost me $324.97 (sells for $1100) to build, but it also has a removeable 4'X 6' front (with rails) and flat back porch. There is also a cheaper model that costs $224.17 (sells for $550) that is usually used in much rougher conditions. They have a solid 2X floor on a treated subfloor frame are are an absolute joy to build.


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## CasieD (Oct 27, 2010)

We turned a used 8x8 shed into our coop.

I have a lot of pictures of the whole process on a facebook album. I'll post the link. Hope it works! 

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=52870&id=1643377300&l=dc71626b3c


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## greenSearcher (Mar 23, 2007)

Thanks for your input, I hadn't thought about humidity, it is rather dry in our area of Texoma. In fact I don't think we have had any significant precipitation since since Oct. Here's praying for a wet spring, since Jan is normally rather dry. I remember how lovely and green Ohio is, but that takes rain 2x or more a week.


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## sammyd (Mar 11, 2007)

we have a 12x8 gambrel roofed shed we used as a coop. I put a ceiling in at about 4 foot one year and insulated the ceiling and walls. Used 2 heat lamps and it kept everything cozy and the waterers pretty ice free all winter. Just a pain bending over to muck it out so I took it apart after 2 years.

you want quick, just knock together a cage out in the garage. Our garage hasn't seen a car since we started this craziness. This has since become a goat pen.


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## suelandress (May 10, 2002)

I once had a shed as a coop. If I had it to do over, I would not install a solid floor, but I would line the ground with hardware cloth topped with dirt.


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## Ohiogal (Mar 15, 2007)

I know Jeff Lay, who has the Buckeye website. I bought some hatching eggs from him. His coop is OK, and he is meticulous about keeping his birds. But I would not use that preferring instead to use a wooden structure as it tends to handle the heat and cold better.
I bought an 8x8 gambrel roofed shed off Craigslist and hauled it to the house. Added windows, a front door with a screened window in it (from scrap or ReStore stock ) and sided it. I put a solid vinyl floor in it at first, that didn't last - replaced the floor with a much stiffer material, and I bed with pine shavings.
I use 5 gallon buckets for laying boxes and have a place for a waterer in either side. I also divided it in half so I could run 2 flocks of chickens out of it with separate pens. I put a box vent in the roof for ventilation, and I have a bathroom fan mounted in that on a timer to move air in the hottest months of the year.
I'll attached pictures if I can to show you what I ended up with.
I'm very happy with the coop. The hens love it and it keeps them warm in the Winter, cool in the Summer. 
Locate your coop under a tree, to take advantage of the shade in the Summer.


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## Ohiogal (Mar 15, 2007)

I have about 20 birds in this building.


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## farmgal (Nov 12, 2005)

We built ours. There is a wall half way in, with a door. Backside houses our peafowl with flight pen, front has chickens. Chickens have option to free range. I love my coop. They are very easy to build. 










Back side view. 








All the materials for flight pen were just leftovers and free stuff, even that wooden picket wind fence found in a garbage in front of someone house....lol

professor PEA-body...lol Doing his I love you dance for his ladies...lol


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