After a few months of keeping chickens, we’re excited to expand our flock from 3 to 8 birds. Yes, chicken math is real—since the first day we got them I felt I wanted more! Before I went about building a new coop, we had a few attacks from our neighbour’s cat which pushed me to get a better chicken run that fully encloses them. After testing out the new run for about 6 months, we’ve had no attacks and it seems to be working quite well.
In this post, I’ll share the journey of our chicken run upgrade and the new coop I’ve designed, offering tips and ideas for anyone looking to create a safe and comfortable space for their chickens.
Chicken Run
The original chicken run can be seen in my post about How to Take Care of Chickens. Basically, it was just a small chicken wire fence connected with T-Posts and a little wooden gate. I wanted the new run to be fully enclosed but also tall enough for me to get in and have access. I didn’t really have much scrap to put something together and I felt a little short on time for a thorough plan and build, so I got a Costway Large Walk-in Chicken Coop.
It cost around $370 with dimensions of 4x3x1.95m. I could have gotten a size smaller, but I wanted my chickens to have as much space to roam around as possible. The walls are just thin chicken wire, but it has worked well against the cats so far and will probably keep out birds too. I don’t have any pressure from other predators where I live, so I’m okay with this, but if you had more serious predators, then some steel mesh would be a better choice.
The run is placed on top of brick paving that was already in that spot and bolted down so it doesn’t blow away in our strong winds. I used woodchips on the floor to give the chickens something to scratch around in and absorb any of their poop. It’s been about six months, and it’s very clean with no smell at all. We had a few palm trees cut down, and I used those as decoration and obstacles for the chickens to interact with.
I hang the water from the roof to stop them from getting it too dirty, but I find they still dirty it up a little with their beaks after pecking around in the dirt. I elevate the food for similar reasons. I recently upgraded the food to a much larger bucket with holes that help prevent the chickens from spilling it and allows longer between refills.
The run came with a cheap tarp that tore up fairly quickly, so I got a larger, more heavy-duty tarp to keep it mostly dry. I also added shade cloth over any part that isn’t covered by the tarp since we have extremely hot summers. Overall, I’m fairly happy with the purchase, but I think in the future, I want a run that I can stand up anywhere in, I find myself bumping my head on the lower sides fairly often.
Shed Transformation
I had a spare shed which I didn’t use for anything but was in an annoying position. I wanted to transform it into a chicken coop which would be able to house more birds than the current coop which can house maybe two fully grown birds.
There was a corner next to the chicken run that wasn’t being used for anything and so I decided to turn this dead space into the new location for the chicken coop.
Before moving the shed into position, I fixed the paving a little and planted up the space. The idea being that the palms would grow taller over time and shade some of the coop and the other plants would help prevent weeds from overtaking the corner as they compete for space.
With the shed in position, I bolted it down and sealed the bottom to help prevent water getting in.
Shed Modifications
I wanted good light and ventilation for my metal chicken shed, especially due to the very hot summers we have here. Using tin snips and a nibbler, I cut several holes into the shed and covered them with wire mesh. I cut two holes on either side above the roosting bar to allow hot air to flow up and out of the coop.
I also cut two holes near the ground level to bring in cooler air from the bottom. I then added one hole into the door for ventilation and to make it easy for me to check in on the chickens. When placing the holes, I made sure they were not at the same level as the roosting bar to avoid exposing the chickens to direct winds while they sleep.
Roosting Bar
I used the wider side of a piece of pine, which measures 90 x 35 mm (you can use a 2 by 4), and cut it to a length of around 1.6 meters. This size fits the chickens’ feet quite well, and they roost comfortably on it. The bar is raised about 45 cm above the pooping deck, which keeps it out of the way but is still low enough for the chickens to easily jump up to it. I placed the bar 24 cm away from the wall, but I would increase this distance to 30 cm next time. While the chickens fit okay, having a bit more space would help reduce the risk of poop hitting the wall instead of the poop board.
Initially, I had two roosting bars, but the depth of the shed wasn’t sufficient to let the chickens comfortably jump up to the second bar from the pooping board. So I took it out and decided to use one bar. Generally you want 30-40cm width for each chicken on the bar, but I find they always tend to clump up next to each other anyway.
Pooping Board
There are many ways to manage chicken poo in the coop, but I’ve opted for a pooping board, which I find to be very effective. During the night, the chickens will poop a lot, and the pooping board allows me to easily scoop the waste into a bucket with a brush the next day. I scatter a thin layer of wood shavings onto the board to help absorb moisture and make it easier to sweep the poo off.
This setup ensures that every day, I end up with a bucket filled with chicken poo mixed with wood shavings, creating an excellent ratio of ingredients for my composting system. With this method, the chicken coop remains clean and odour-free.
Nesting Box
I built the nesting box with a hinged lid that can open and close. I also built it so the middle panel that separates each section can be removed and the front portion also if you want to clean it out easier. The sections are around 30cm deep and wide which fits a chicken very nicely. Chickens tend to lay in the same box as other chickens so I find most of my eggs in the right side and very rarely any in the left.
Originally I used wood shavings in the nesting box to help prevent the eggs cracking but I found the chickens would kick it out anyway, so I put in some pieces of foam to help soften the egg landing. So many shavings everywhere also provides places for chicken mites to hide so the less there is the better.
Coop Door
I made a simple coop door that sits between two pieces of wood that act as railings, the door is pulled up and down by a string.
In the future I might add a false roof with some insulation but for now I work with what I have. One problem I have so far is rain coming through the ventilation holes I made, for now I’ve fixed this by putting a tarp over the top but in the future I think adding a metal sheet on top to create a lip would work fine.
Conclusion
Upgrading our chicken run and transforming an unused shed into a cozy coop has been a pretty fun experience. I’ve learned quite a lot myself about building and woodwork and we’ve made our backyard a safer and more comfortable place for our chickens. If you’re thinking about upgrading your own chicken coop or run, I hope this article has helped give you some ideas for your own coop and run system.
Do you have any creative coop shed ideas or modifications? Share them in the comments below!
