converting a shed to keep chickens

Hi,

I am planning to convert a shed into a chicken coop but being a man I am spending a lot of time "planning"................

Doing a lot of reading I have learned that there is a real danger that the chickens may suffer if there are any areas where the wind can get in, with this in mind, should I line the inside of the shed with something like exterior plywood ?

I am also planning to have permanent run attached with an area of stone/sand for scratching around as well as some grass ( which I know will turn into bare earth soon.

Thanks for any comments

NOOOOOOOOO!!!      

Don't line the shed, you will be giving out invitations to the local redmite hoards, all that space between the ply and exterior wood.

We have used sheds for years for chickens, and never lined them yet.  Are there big gaps in the shed you are talking about?  If so, then maybe some silicon in the gaps, or can you tighten the wood up a bit to close the gaps?

Draughts can kill chooks, but remember they still need ventilation.

Insulation isn't a good idea Rich, apart from the red mite situation, if the inside of the shed gets too humid, the chickens could suffer, and maybe you'll get mould in your bedding if its say straw.

Remember chickens have their own personal duvet!  Joyfull, one of our members who lives near me, had 14 chickens who roosted up in her trees all year round.  She often went out in the morning to find them with frozen wing tips, covered in frost!

Our coop is also a converted shed, unfortunately we felted the roof so we got an attack of the dreaded redmite last year but have well and truly sealented all the gaps now.

Ours is only a single skin shed and our ladies haven't suffered this winter - in fact MrRaven had to drill extra ventilation holes near the roof!

Remember they do not drink at night so as long as you take in unfrozen water every morning they will be fine - a lot of people remove the water at night anyway.

Insulation was a good idea this winter she. The water outside was frozen all day everyday! I understand what your saying with the possible red mite, its only one side of the shed wall which is done the rest is just left! How Can you see if you've got red mite?

One clue Rich, is if you are itching when you come out of the hen shed! 

Another is if you get a piece of kitchen towel and run it along the bottom of the perches.  If you see any red on the kitchen towel, its mites.  Also if your perch is removable, lift it up and look at the ends of it.  Red mite are really really tiny, and they cluster together as they have like a jelly coating.  They move together in little heaving masses.  They will also break away from the rest and go everywhere.

They like the dark, so what I used to do it to go down to the coops in the dark with a torch and shine it up towards the roof.  Mites will fall onto the torch as it disturbs them.

Yucky, itchy things.  It was always me who had to deal with them when we got an infestation, so I really am paranoid about the nasty little blighters!

Here's a couple of photo's in this old thread to show you how small they are!

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=39563.0%3Btopicseen