Hi. I'm new.
I(we) have been lucky enough to find and rent a small holding of around an acre, we live in the 19th century thatched farm building. It's all part of a farm estate. Long story, but we're very new to the country life, our previous home being in a cookie cutter estate where all the houses are identical etc.
We have of course caught the self sufficiency bug bad. We're a long way from 'river cottage' territory, I'd even go as far as to say it's been quite stressful, but we're getting there.
Anyway that's the intro. My question is, I have a very overgrown shed [
photo]which I want to convert to a hen house. It's either that or I rip it down completely, so it's more of a viability issue; can it be utilised or is it fire wood?
I've looked about for new chicken coops and I have to say, being a tight *, theyre jolly expensive. So if it isn't the old shed I'll be building my own!
I'd love to hear from anyone who has converted a shed please, tips etc.
As a minimum I have to put a new roof on as it has rotted badly in places, but what else should I consider?
The shed is on hard standing, but the hard standing is actually the concrete cover of a cesspit, there is no odour, but is this likely to cause a problem to the chickens?
I want to run the chickens free range, so as a minimum I assume I need to cut pop hole, an entrance/ramp for the chickens, extra ventilation, roosts and perches on the inside, and give it a good clean out etc. Will I need to 'de-forest' and remove Ivy etc?
It looks like the previous occupant used the shed to house a dog, is this likely to cause any 'health' problems? Also, my neighbour who is the estate gamekeeper keeps working dogs kenneled a few feet across the border behind the shed, wil this be a problem?
I'm very new to Poultry keeping, so forgive me my ignorance. I'm so happy to have found this forum, some fascinating discussions, and I think I'll be sticking around for a while. Thanks all.