How to Convert a Greenhouse into a Chicken Coop

If you’re a backyard poultry owner who has a greenhouse set up in your backyard, you might want to learn how to convert a greenhouse into a chicken coop. To get you started, read on.

Do Chicken Coops Need Sun or Shade?

It all depends on where you live because the usual climate in your geographical location dictates whether you should place your chicken coop in the sun, shade, or dappled shade. Experts say that its best to place a chicken coop in a location that’s facing south. Doing so will allow them to be in the shade during those hot summer days and get more sun during the coldest winter months.

How to Convert a Greenhouse into a Chicken Coop

 

Can Chickens Freeze to Death?

Yes, they can if they don’t receive the care that they need.

 

Can Chickens Tolerate the Cold?

To give you an idea, cold hardy breeds such as Silkies, Barnevelder, and other large soft-feathered varieties can handle -18˚C or 0˚F as long as they’re protected from the wind, as well as the elements.

Although chickens would readily choose a warmer climate than a colder one, these hardy creatures can tolerate temperature drops that reach below the freezing point. However, their natural resilience shouldn’t keep you from making sure that your chickens are kept comfortable despite the cold.

 

Why Should Anyone Put Chickens in a Greenhouse?

A greenhouse chicken coop can effectively meet the needs of your plants and your chickens. If you live in areas with temperate climates, you know that it would be virtually impossible to grow your favorite vegetables in your backyard.

However, if you have you have a greenhouse set up in your backyard, you can use this to grow your cold-hardy vegetables such as broccoli, collards, kale, lettuce, mustard, spinach, chard, and Brussels sprouts. It can also be a great place to plant cold-tolerant herbs that include parsley, sage, and cilantro.

While you’re growing your greens, you can also provide your chickens with the shelter they need so that they can keep their body temperatures up and increase their egg production during the winter season. However, it’s important to note that placing them in your greenhouse doesn’t mean that they can run freely around the entire greenhouse. Unless you’re willing to put your leafy seedlings at risk, you need to keep your chickens away from your plants with the use of wire fences and netting.

 

How Can You Convert an Old Small Greenhouse into a Chicken Coop?

Most gardening enthusiasts who live in areas that experience colder climates tend to try their hand at greenhouse gardening. However, if you’re one of those greens aficionados who decided to shift your focus on backyard poultry, you can easily convert your old greenhouse into a chicken coop. Doing so will keep your chickens warm during colder months.

The first thing you need to do is to board up the sides of your greenhouse for at least two feet. To hold in deeper bedding, you can add a four-foot fence to keep the plastic protected. You can also choose to use an old bookshelf and add some boards to the front parts of the shelves to make it hold in nesting material.

To help absorb the manure, you can add about one foot of carbon material such as leaves or wood chips. However, you have to make sure that the amount of carbon you have is enough for approximately 100 days at two sq. Ft. per chicken. When it comes to feeding, you can dribble your poultry’s food into the carbon material to keep the manure well-circulated each time your chickens stir and scratch the carbon.

 

Can You Combine a Chicken Coop and a Greenhouse?

The answer is yes. This option offers a lot of advantages because it encourages waste efficiency, thrifty homesteading, and consistent egg production throughout the winter season. Check out the advantages of combining a chicken coop and a greenhouse here:

 

It promotes waste efficiency

Integrating a chicken coop into an existing greenhouse can allow you to effectively manage waste. For example, you can feed your chickens with plant scraps while your plants can be fed by the compost that’s made from a mixture of manure and chicken bedding. In other words, no waste is produced as you foster a symbiotic relationship between your flora and fauna.

 

Thrifty homesteading

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand the financial advantage of combining two buildings to serve as a shelter for poultry and plants. For one, you won’t need to use more materials in order to construct or even maintain your chicken greenhouse.

Since this type of arrangement allows your plants to get more heat and CO2 from your chickens, you can expect them to produce more. Likewise, your chickens also benefit from this arrangement because they get to feed on garden scraps all-year-round. Plus, the greenhouse protects them from predator attacks.

 

Egg production

Chickens who are kept warm inside a greenhouse won’t need to expend their energy in order to keep themselves warm. For this reason, they’ll have enough energy to maintain their egg production throughout the entire duration of the winter season.

 

Thoughts on How to Convert a Greenhouse into a Chicken Coop

Learning how to convert a greenhouse into a chicken coop is great. However, you don’t have to say goodbye to your gardening days while you try your hand at backyard poultry – because you can do both!

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