[Railside Rooster]

Hi All

Been thinking for a while of converting our 'potting' shed and get started with chickens. They will have a (covered/ fenced) outside run as well and can free-range when we are at home.

The 'shed' is an old 24ft transport container which we could split into 2 - half for us and half for the chooks.

Just a have a few queries if anyone can help please?

1.   Are smoothe fibreglass walls Ok or would I need to line them?
2. What is best for the floor (it needs replacing) - concrete or wood (I have some surplus waterproof wooden flooring sheets)
3. I've read about the 2" wide (bevelled )perches - but how high should they be off the floor?

Looking forward to your replies and climbing the steep learning-curve to chicken keeping as soon as possible!!!


Lucy

[GrannieAnnie]

Hi Lucy, welcome to the madhouse, sorry i mean hen house!!!    Your shed sounds good.  No probglem with the walls that I can see as it will help keep the red mite away if the wlls are smooth!  One thing though, make sure you have plenty of ventilation for the chooks along the top, either cut a long vent and put weldmesh over it to stop rats and mice getting in, or drill ventilation holes along the top, no more than half in dia, also to stop the mice.

Floorwise I would say wood is better.  Our big henhouse was a goat shed and has a concrete floor, but we get a lot more condensation in there than we do in the wooden floored houses.

Perches ideally should be about 18 inches to 2ft off the ground, but some of ours are built like ladders and can be quite high.  they jump from perch to perch to reach the top ones!!

Good luck with your new venture, and don't forget, we are always here!!!

[Railside Rooster]

Thanks GrannieAnnie

Can't wait to get started!  Thought we could make the dividing wall of mesh as well to give more ventilation - and means I can also check on the chooks whilst doing my potting in the other end of the shed!

Perches at differnet heights sounds fun - have just built a play-house for the kids so this sounds quite similar.....

Never thought about the smooth walls protecting against red mite - I'll definitely put in the wood floor as it sounds warmer as well.


Look foward to more comments as I think of more questions, thanks for the welcome, it's been great reading the postings so far...


Lucy

[woodburner]

Welcome to the forums.
As long as the fibreglass isn't chipped or cracked, I can't see that it woud be a problem. I'm not sure about cutting holes through it, possibly fine once done as the holes wll be out of reach, but be very careful of the dust, as it's a nasty irritant. On second thoughts, you should probably reseal the cut edges for structural reasons, at least.

Concrete is fine as a floor, no need to wrry about sloshing water around when cleaning either. I don't know what the sheets you refer to are like. Any cracks/joints will be hidey holes for mites, and if you space it above the ground as I suspect you will need to, it will be a haven for rodents.

I seem to be disagreeinng with everyone lately  

I do agree on the perches though!  

And the mesh divider is a great idea!

[Railside Rooster]

Thanks Woodburner - the more opiions the merrier in my book!  May try to avoid cutting the fibreglass and get vent in the door instead.

Whole box is off the ground so already have some rodents - but big dogs soon sort them out!

Just waiting for the snow to go now before proceeding further

Lucy

[poultrygeist]

Hi RR. Welcome from me

One of the golden rules is to keep the house free of draughts at 'chicken' level. You need lots of ventilation well above their jeads though to keep the air circulating.
Even then you may well get lots of condensation as Annie says.

The beauty of wood is that, mostly, it keeps the cold out in winter and the heat out in summer. I don't know how fibreglass would fare at -5 or +30.

Other than that, best of luck and can't wait for photos and updates 

Rob