chickens
shed & run design
prefabricated chicken sheds
A prefabricated chicken shed is assembled at a factory and sold in a flat pack state ready to be assembled. They are mostly made of  galvanised or Colorbond steel though some are wooden. 
I think they are the most cost effective way to build a chicken shed, especially when you take into account the amount of time it takes to construct a traditional chicken shed. The other advantage is that no building skills are required to assemble them. 

Their simple design also makes them no more expensive than much smaller chicken hutches and tractors. Well worth considering if you are looking for a chicken shed for six or more chickens but haven't got the skills or the time to build it yourself.

advantages/disadvantages summary
Below are some of the different prefabricated chicken sheds that are available.  Images courtesy of the internet.


One of the smaller chicken sheds on the market.  But even a shed this size could house half a dozen chickens if setup as part of a larger chicken run.

This shed has a separate all be it somewhat small roosting section with a separate door.

On the outside of this shed there is a two bay nest box with external lid.

Galvanised steel shed with a gabled roof.
Advantages
  • Easy to assemble, no building skills required.
     
  • Cheaper to build than a traditional chicken shed and their simple design means they are no more expensive than much smaller chicken coups or tractors.
     
  • The steel and Colorbond versions have much fewer cracks than wooden sheds for spider mites to hide in.
     
  • Because a human can stand up in them they are much easier to clean than chicken coups or tractors.
     
  • They can house more chickens than chicken coups or tractors.
     
  • While not as visually stylish as some of the wooden chicken hutches that are available they never the less have quite a neat and trim appearance.

Disadvantages
  • None of the prefabricated chicken sheds I have seen have guttering, which means that you can't collect water off them and the water runs off the roof onto the ground right next to the shed, which can create muddy smelly conditions if it rains a lot or the drainage is poor.
     
  • Insulation cannot be put in the roof, which means the metal roofs can generate a lot of heat in Summer.  Though this can be alleviated by placing the shed under a tree.
     
     
  • While the larger sheds can offer enough space so the chickens can be permanently housed in them they are best run when attached to a chicken run that the chickens can access during the day, which will involve extra work to build.