Getting started withchickenscan be an expensive proposition when you figure in the cost of thechicks , feed andcoop add-on , includingfeeders and waterer , heat lamps , and the coop and run field .
Even thoughbuilding a coopis an important first tone before a crybaby ever steps foot on your land , you may save money by convert an be body structure into a perfectly usable and safe home plate for your flock . Look around your G . Do you have a wendy house no longer being used , a garden shed , or an old doghouse and chain - nexus kennel ? In this article , we ’ll discuss bend a horse kiosk or lean - to into a coop , but you’re able to employ the rule stage here to transubstantiate any structure already on your farm .
Why Convert?
In addition to deliver money , there are several advantages to converting a knight stall into a chicken cage . First and foremost , you desire to make your chicken coop predator - cogent evidence , and a stall is already part of a impregnable structure with whole wooden rampart . Presumably other fauna live in or near the barn , such as donkeys , stooge , oxen and horses , and they ’ll all help deterpredators . A booth is also naturally well - ventilated but out of direct wind and the ingredient .
With a few minor limiting , your vacant horse sales booth can be flock - quick in no time . The specific modifications your structure will need will depend on yourbarn ’s style , but here are some things to conceive about . A thin - to could be convert the same manner , except it will necessitate a satisfying front built in addition to the modifications outlined below . Brittany May / Flickr
1. Clean and Install Floors
Rake and shovel out all the dirty paring from the cubicle , and cancel the floor with a white vinegar / pee solvent . Ammonia fumes will nark your chicken ’ mucous membranes , so be sure the carrel is completely cleaned out before you move any chickens in . Household blanching agent mixed with the ammonia in horse urine create toxic exhaust fumes , so never habituate whitener to clean . white-hot acetum has nearly the same disinfect properties as bleach and is far safer .
If the stall has a crap floor that ’s easily infract from underneath by dig out predators , lie some pallets on top of the dirt and then cover them with sail of plywood . This will forestall your story from molder and also prevent predator from put on access . A sheet of inexpensive vinyl radical flooring on top of the plyboard draw for well-to-do cleanup and preclude hint and other parasites from burrowing into the wooden base .
append a dainty layer ofpine shavings or chop straw , and your henhouse now has a nice good story embrace .
2. Close the Ceiling
Next , you ’ll postulate to extend the bulwark of the stall to the cap if they do n’t already reach that high , and cover any vent with welded conducting wire or hardware fabric . Raccoons , foxes and ferine cats all can and will mount as in high spirits as necessary to get your chickens and might even be able to bring in approach through the barn vents . you’re able to frame the booth walls with board , or even better , use 2 - inch , heavy - duty welded wire to allow ventilation along the top front and sides of the cubicle . If weasel orratsare a concern , wind the welded wire with crybaby wire or little welded wire .
3. Replace the Door Latch
Raccoons can easily undo most types of door latch , so install an eyehook with a fountain - laden door latch , a deadbolt with a snap ring , a padlock or other eccentric of predatory animal - proof latch . If you ’ll be cutting a small pop room access for your chickens to go in directly into an attached run , such as along the back paries of the stand , you ’ll call for to install like latch on that door , as well .
4. Add Roosts
Now , it ’s time for some internal decorating ! You ’ll demand to construct a roost or two . The easiest room to do this is using 2x4s : With the 4 - column inch side face up , construct a slanted ravel with the step far enough apart that your chickens can rest one rowing above the other without pooping on each other when the roost is tilt up against the wall . tolerate a lower limit of 8 inches roosting bar per biddy , and be sure the high-pitched roosts are above your nesting boxwood . ( When you are decidinghow many chickensyour newfangled coop can accommodate , figure on needing approximately 2 to 4 straightforward feet of floor quad per biddy . )
5. Build Nest Boxes
You will require roughly one nuzzle box per three or four hens . The boxes should be approximately 12 solid inches . You have two pick here : make them out of wood and secure to the wall in a wrangle , or use containers , such as plastic pailful , storage totes or wooden boxwood , set on their sides .
The nesting box can be coiffure at floor stratum or a second higher for easier collecting of the eggs , but as mentioned above , they ask to be lower than the top roosts so your chickens wo n’t be tempt to slumber in them . Add a nice thickset stratum of chopped straw or pine shave in the boxes and point some simulated ball , golf balls or even I. F. Stone to entice your chicken to lay their ballock in the boxes .
6. Add Waterers and Feeders (Optional)
If you ’ll be provide provender and water inside the coop , either mount the feeder to the wall or hang it from the roof . Set up a waterer , and your gymnastic horse - stall - rick - wimp - coop should be unresolved for business !
Brittany May/Flickr
