Shallow Creek Farm

Converting a Barn Stall into a Chicken Coop

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The baby chicks grew so fast!  We decided to make a home for them by converting one of our barn stalls into a chicken coop.

barn stall chicken coop

From Barn Stall to Chicken Coop

First we knocked down old wasp nests and cobwebs and cleaned out the straw bedding. Next we put down about 6 inches of fresh pine shavings. They smell so good! We prefer pine shavings to straw, because they don’t get as moldy.  Our plan is to use the deep litter method for their bedding. If you do it right, it’s not supposed to stink, provides warmth during the winter, and makes great compost.

Side Walls

Our chicken coop has a dirt floor, so to prevent animals from digging under the walls to get in, we put down gravel and then 12″ x  12″ pavers along the one outside wall.

We lined another 10 pavers on the opposite side of the wall where there is another horse stall.  That stall is only being used by our two dogs for now.  A cement floor inside our barn borders the remaining two walls, so we don’t have to worry about anything digging there.  You can also bury chicken wire, going down 12 inches and then scooping out away from the coop.

Next, we nailed some old wood paneling to the side walls to cover the 1 1/2 inch wide spaces between the boards. Minks are really dangerous for chickens and they can get through a space the size of a golf ball (or smaller).

barn stall chicken coop

Windows and Doors

Covering the barred windows on the sliding door and the wall facing inside the barn was a little trickier. Hardware cloth would have been great, but we already had chicken wire and needed to save money.  Just one layer of chicken wire wouldn’t work because the openings are large enough to let a mink squeeze through.  Apparently chicken wire is made to keep chickens in, not necessarily to keep predators out.  So we stapled 2 layers of chicken wire to the window frames, making sure to align the wire so that the openings were twice as small.

barn stall chicken coop
Then we attached wood trim around the windows to sandwich the wire edges between two pieces of wood.
barn stall chicken coop
Finally, we used 22 gauge wire to “sew” the chicken wire to the bars to keep it more closely and securely attached.  Threading the wire around the bars was a LOT easier once we got 2 people involved, one on each side to the window.  On all the corners and edges we first stapled the wire down and then screwed another piece of wood over the top.

barn stall chicken coop

Ceiling

With the floor and the side walls secure, we turned our attention to the ceiling.  I really stink at construction projects, so I am super thankful that Dan got involved. He first raised the side walls by adding two 2X8s.  Then he used metal brackets to put 2X4 rafters across the ceiling.

barn stall chicken coop
He cut 1/2 inch plywood to fit over the 2X4 rafters and around the support beams. Then one of my sons climbed up there and screwed the plywood onto the rafters.  We made sure to check everywhere for gaps of an inch or more because the whole chicken coop is only as secure as it’s weakest link, or in this case, it’s biggest gap.
barn stall chicken coop

Final Touches

For the roosting bar, my youngest son and I found a dead tree down the hill and drug it up to the barn. Dan trimmed it to fit and hung it from the rafters with chains and carabiner clips.  I really like how it is large enough in diameter to allow the chickens to settle down over their feet.  This will help them stay warmer in the winter.
 tree trunk roosting bar

We hung the food tank and hen hydrator from the rafters so they won’t get so messy, and positioned them near the sliding door so we can add to them without having to walk through too much of the chicken coop. The chickens spill a bit of water when they drink from the hydrator, but I really like how their water stays clean.  I’m hoping that as they get older they will spill less.  When they are outside during the day, the bedding under the hydrator dries up.
hanging chicken feeder hen hydrator
By about 17 weeks you’ll want to provide nesting boxes.  We filled the trough with straw and then added nesting boxes, ceramic eggs (to encourage the hens to lay their eggs here) and straw liners, (to help keep the eggs clean). To discourage the hens from roosting (and pooping) here, we made sure to hang the roosting bar higher than the nesting boxes.
nesting boxes ceramic eggs
Now we have the Fort Knox of Chicken Coops!  There are no gaps larger than 1/2 inch, it is well ventilated, and it is all contained inside our super sturdy barn.
barn stall to chicken coop
Hello friend, this post contains Amazon affiliate links which means I receive a small compensation if you make a purchase using my link, at no additional cost to you.  And no worries….I only link to products that I love! ~Rebecca

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Comments

    • rebecca says

      Thank you Tonya! It has been 10 months since the chickens moved in and it has turned out to be a great hen house for them! Our temps dipped to 29 below zero Fahrenheit, so I added another heat lamp on the other side of the roosting bar, stacked straw bales on the outside of the walls, and draped landscape fabric over the mesh windows that face inside the barn, just to help the heat stay in more. The deep litter method is AWESOME! Very little maintenance required and it is not stinky in there. I can see that I am only going to need to clean the litter out once a year, of course, I have a small flock. Anyway, thank you for stopping by and visiting our farm and thank you for the comment!

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  8. Diane says

    I love your barn coop. Was thinking of converting mine. Only problem with your coop is the roof. It gets a hundred degrees here everyday except maybe 3 months a year. I was going to just put the wire around the top and door. That way maybe some air could get in. Thought could make some insulated roof panels in case of cold or hurricane weather. Any suggestions appreciated.Thanks

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    • rebecca says

      Oh goodness! We live in opposite climates. For me, we can get down to 40, sometimes even 50 below 0 Fahrenheit in the Winter. We do have great ventilation through our coop though because of the chicken wire/metal bar windows. In warmer months we keep the big outside barn doors open sometimes to get good air flow in there. Also, we let the chickens out into the barn yard or into a chicken tractor for part of the day as long as it’s not too cold outside. In colder months, I cover the wire mesh windows (which just open to the inside of the barn) with black landscaping fabric and I stack bails of straw around the outside of that stall to keep the heat from the 2 heat lamps in. Good luck with your chickens and thanks for visiting our site!

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