[Hen 1-0 Fox]

Hello,

Firstly hello to everyone, I am new to the world of chickens and have spent a few weeks trying to educate myself in the basics. Having never kept chickens before I hope to have accrued enough knowledge to acquire a few hens in the spring and be a responsible owner capable of helping others on the forum as well as asking for advice.

Having read various article on the pros and cons of wooden vs plastic coops I am currently leaning towards plastic, but am a bit hesitant to part with several hundreds of pounds for the fancy Eglu designs.

I am prepared to spend money on electric netting which seems to be very effective in repelling the fox, however I would like to make a very comfortable customised home for my birds that doesn't cost the Earth. My question is essentially would it be possible to convert something like the picture below into a suitable hen house? I would modify the air vents, introduce nest boxes, perches and a pop hole.

At the moment I'm just trying to find out if this idea is nuts, I do have the option of converting a shed or buying a ready made wooden chicken coop but I like the advantages of the plastic designs.

Any feedback appreciated and hope everyone and their chickens are well.

Andy.

[SMS6]

we had one of those for our bins once, they really aren't very sturdy - you'd have to do a fair bit of strengthening.  Ours regularly blew aprt in high winds

[rachelr]

a friend of mine uses the big shed sized one they sell in b and q? He thought as it was plastic it woould be good enough to dispel the old red mite.

It worked for about a year and then the little blighters found their way in. He dismantled it and disinfected it and put it back witha good smere of de slurry and has now does the same as me. with my wood en coops. It is a bit wobbly but he has placed it near a fence for stability. It is still a bit more sturdy with a few nesting boxes and roosts and it was a easier clean than i get with me wooden ones in the fact that he did not have to wait long for it to dry.

It has as many nooks and crannys as a wooden coop so the mites can hide and prosper. My hubby made mine from marine ply and we have coated with de slurry and other stuff regularly. It cost about £60 to make and is dead easy to clean.

We had a bit of a finance issue earlier on in the year and did not do the three monthly de slurry and boy did we know it.

[Aunt Sally]

It would be far colder in the winter than either a wooden coop or an eglu (which is double skinned).

[joyfull]

how thick is the plastic? Solway arks aren't double skinned but they are thick recycled plastic. What would you do for ventilation? Would you make a pop hole or just wedge the door open? Wedging open could allow a lot of rain it unless it is in a well sheltered situation. How will you do the perches?

[Aunt Sally]

Sheds and storage bins are quite thin.  They have a few corrigations to give them strength. 

[Hen 1-0 Fox]

Thanks for all the replies!

Well I was hoping to make it more sturdy by filling the hollow sides with sand and by weighting down the bottom. The coop would be in my back garden which is fairly sheltered, the perches would be branches on wall brackets, I would have used plastic nesting boxes. Would cut ventilation holes in and cover with mesh and would customise the door into a pop hole. loving the extra thoughts and opinions... This style of storage appealed due to the plastic sloping roof but I didn't consider it could hold a lower temp than a wooden unit, though I've heard the birds are ok at minus fifteen and less happy in heat so not sure hue much of an issue that would be?

Thanks for the feedback, there's plenty of time until the construction starts in spring, I'll keep looking, any recommended coops for say four rhode island reds?

Andy.

[rachelr]

if you make sure there is loads of ventilation in the summer they will be fine. lets face it they dont go to bed til its dark (10 ish) at the height of summer by then the weather is cooler. If it gets too hot to nest/lay in they will find alternative nesting areas.

Branches can be a pain if thye have mite in them cos of the tiny knots. can i suggest  a shoe rack which is what i use in one of my coops.

[Carshay]

Not sure about plastic shed but as regards electric fence - it was good at repelling intruders but the chickens took no notice of it at all and even with clipped wings jumped over it and roamed as far as three doors away. So it was quite an expense and I ended up having to pen them in after veiled hints from neighbours about their veggie seedlings!

[Hen 1-0 Fox]

Hmmm... Maybe I was trying to be too experimental with the coop... I will keep thinking and could still resort to a more traditional wooden variety. I am looking for a really effective roof... Will try my best to keep the little ladies dry.

Wow... Not read about chickens leaping the electric fence before... Will continue reading around the subject... I was hoping the extra security the fence offers could even allow me to leave the pop hole open occasionally so I could get a cheeky lie in once a week but this could scupper my plan ha ha.

[outercircle]

Have a look at this http://www.ruleworks.co.uk/poultry/coop-shed.asp

[Sassy]

Do plastic coops suffer with condensation?

[Aunt Sally]

Eglu's don't as they are double skinned.

[rachelr]

Roof suggestion: hill footer recommended onduline to me when we made our coops. it is a corugated plastic which is good at repelling red mite ( I think that was he said) . It has the added advantage of creating air gaps for ventilation.

[Hen 1-0 Fox]

Thanks for the link outercircle! And yes I've seen onduline mentioned a few times now, it looks effective and inexpensive so that may very well be in the blueprints.