[Square]

Short story:

New to chickens, just want eggs.
I have a 10x12 Green house I may consider building out as a chicken coop
Flooring is 4" deep pea gravel
Sides and roof are poly-carbonate covered on the south and west with shade cloth.
East has early morning shade, north has tree shade.
One large door and 4 roof vents/raised panels.

Any thoughts on doing this? What would I need to do? I understand the need for perches and laying boxes.
I live in the city so predators other than cats/rats are not common. We do have owls in the area.

Would this be feasible or should I scrap the greenhouse and start from scratch?

Thnx for your responses.

 

[robin416]

It probably depends on your geographic location. Too far south and it might get much too hot for them in Summer. Fans would help to keep air moving.

The pea gravel will probably be a problem since the only way you can clean it is to try to wash the droppings down into the earth. It might also may be too hard of a surface if they jump down from the roosts and cause something caused bumblefoot. It's a staph infection caused by broken skin on the bottom of the foot.

 

[imnukensc]

It might work, but without knowing your general location and seeing pics of the green house there's no way to know for sure. Robin brings up some good points, but there are lots things to consider.

 

[Square]

Thnx for the replies. It has been just a thought so far. I really am not enamored with the idea. I just want to consider all possibilities.

I'm in the central valley of California. Summers are typically 105ish... Yeah maybe a bit hot. I know just to use the greenhouse for it's intended purpose I have to keep temps controlled. I have a swamp cooler attached.

Perhaps back to square one.

 

[robin416]

Hey, you've got the swamp cooler. No reason not to use it with the birds. It might end up being a place you really want to hang out too.

 

[Poultry Judge]

You can always shade part of it.