Chicken Coops for Sale in Winchester, Arkansas
Chicken Coops for Sale in Winchester, Arkansas
Transform Your Little Tikes Playhouse into a Chicken Coop
When I started pestering my husband about chickens (again), I knew I was fighting an uphill battle. He did not want to spend a bunch of money and time on the construction of a suitable coop. We’d already been down the road of improper chicken housing before, and it wasn’t a road that either of us wanted to travel again. But I really, REALLY wanted to give chicken keeping another try. And I thought that with a little bit of forethought, we could eliminate the challenges we ran into before. For starters, the birds would need enough space. And the coop would need to be easy to clean. And most importantly, the coop would need to be secure. Nothing like coming home to find your chickens walking along the 6′ high wall that surrounds your yard! But to construct this type of set up from scratch would cost quite a bit of money in materials, not to mention all the time and sweat it would take for the hubs to actually BUILD the thing.
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So then I started scouring the internet trying to find the best deal on a “coop in a box”. I had my eye on but the price tag was a bit hefty. (It’s actually on sale for 58% off right now if you happen to be in the market for a pre-fabricated coop!) Not only was the hubs not excited about building a chicken coop, he also wasn’t excited about the idea of another “thing” in the yard. Our yard was already overrun with toys, bikes, gardening tools, a composter, and our very well-loved Little Tikes Playhouse. So as I sat in the yard one spring evening watching the kids play with everything BUT the playhouse, I got to thinking… Why couldn’t we just turn the playhouse into a chicken coop?!?! I didn’t tell hubs about the idea right away. Instead, I began looking at the structure of the playhouse to see if my idea would even work. Guys, I swear, this thing was MADE to become a chicken coop! It had everything we needed! The house is large enough for me to walk inside to rake it out, it has plenty of space for a nesting box, waterer, food, and a roosting bar. And it even came with a little cut out section near the floor (picture a doggy door) so the chickens could access the run we built behind it! I sketched out an idea of the modifications that we would need to make, and I presented my idea to the hubs. Guess what? He went for it! It was PERFECT. The structure was already built. We wouldn’t have to add another “thing” to our already tiny yard, and the best part? It’s totally incognito. No one would EVER suspect chickens were living in the playhouse! That night, I ordered our chicks! So how did we transform the playhouse? Well, let’s take a tour, shall we?
The first thing we did was cover all the openings with garden wire. Hubs had a roll of this laying around from some other project. He used drywall screws to attach the wire to the windows. The coop actually stayed like this for a while. While the chicks were still small, it was best for them to be confined to a smaller space, so not having a run wasn’t an issue.
Next the hubs built the run. You can see the “doggy door” in the bottom left corner…this is how the chickens get in and out of the house. The run is a pretty simple A-frame structure made out of 1″x 1″ pine pieces. The frame was made in sections and the wire was screwed on to each section as it was assembled. The top of the run lifts up so I can climb in and rake out the poo. I just prop it open with an upside down rake and jump on in.
The corners are all secured with these nifty . And the whole top piece is attached to the frame with some thin chains that act as a hinge. Here is a picture of the chains.
The brown plastic covering you see on this window is actually the cover to our sand and water table. The hubs cut it to fit over the largest window to break some of the wind in the winter. He used more drywall screws to attach it to the house.
Inside the coop, we attached a roosting bar (made out of an old broom handle) to the side of the house using a simple scrap of wood to attach it.
Here is a look at one side of the roosting bar. The other side just sits on the “mantle” inside the house.
My favorite part about the coop is the nesting box. Hubs attached a recycling bin to the wall using a couple brackets. It’s the PERFECT size for a comfy chicken laying box. And it’s up high so there’s a little privacy. We did cut it down a bit…chickens are not very bright creatures…they were afraid to go inside when the lip of the box was up higher.
The is hung from the ceiling by a thin chain (to keep the birds from standing on it), and the just sits on the floor. The set up is working BRILLIANTLY for us. The birds are happy and laying an egg per chicken per day (even though it’s winter), and it is all super easy to care for. The best part is that we were able to make this transformation for a whopping $46. I can’t say enough about how awesome chicken are…I’m pretty sure my kiddos would agree! Think you might transform your little tikes playhouse into a chicken coop?
Here is the complete list of materials and tools we used to make our playhouse into a chicken coop. Our chickens have been living in the coop for 8 months, and it’s still holding up great!
Hardware
- , to secure wire to playhouse
- to secure wire to wood frame
- to hang feeder from inside coop
Tools
- – for cutting the wire
- (for pounding staples)
- for cutting 1 1/2″ pieces of wood
Chicken Coop Building Plans in Winchester, Arkansas
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Winchester Arkansas" into any one of the numerous search engines and a wealth of information will pop up. This information will provide links to other websites that will be informative and will provide the right direction for finding Winchester Arkansas chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Winchester, Arkansas With the huge boost in poultry keeping there has actually been an equally huge increase in the range of fowl materiel on sale. Chicken housing is a proceedings in factor. It's also a timeless example of the great old bandwagon being got on as various would-be poultry real estate professionals peddle a range of holiday accommodation declaring to be the optimal remedy to your chicken real estate needs. Usually the rate looks desirable, your house looks attractive, hell also the clean-cut family members standing there feeding the chickens look attractive. Undoubtedly they know a professional chicken house when they see one? There are numerous low-cost as well as awful cages swamping the marketplace. I understand this as I've examined a number of them in the area, and seen a ewe run straight with one when the feed pail showed up. The outcome was only an expensive pile of firewood and a little group of bemused and also now homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Small in Winchester, Arkansas
Most of the time these standardized versions are created of rapid grown up hardwood - come the initial decrease of rain they swell, leaving you either blockading a doorway that won't shut, or tearing the door furniture off in a vain effort to launch the squawking occupants. The very first warm day implies the hardwood dries as well as splits, the really felt roof covering bubbles as well as boils, and come nightfall the chickens refuse to go in. This is not because of their dissatisfaction at the decrease of their when eye-catching residential property yet since the hovel is currently a haven for, and also most likely abounding, the poultry caretaker's bane, red mite. Add that it stated on the blurb that it would fit 4 big chickens when that stocking thickness was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and exactly what are you left with? A couple of hinges and also some kindling. A respectable coop for thee to four birds must cost you approximately ₤ 300 though this can depend on whether you elect for a cost-free standing house or one with a run attached. Thinking you are ranging your birds in a huge area and the pop opening doorway allows sufficient for the breed you maintain, then the major needs of real estate come down to 3 factors which will specify the number of birds the house will hold; perches, nest boxes as well as ventilation. Many types of chicken will perch when they visit roost during the night, this perch must preferably be 5-8cm wide with smoothed off sides so the foot rests easily on it. The perch ought to be above the nest box access as chickens will also normally try to find the highest point to perch. A perch less than that will have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is by the way when they produce the most poo) bring about dirtied eggs the list below day. They should not however be so high off the flooring of your home that leg injuries could possibly occur when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens require about 20cm of perch each (in tiny types this is undoubtedly much less), plus if more than one perch is set up in the house they should be greater than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their neighbors but are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Preferably the house needs to have a least one nest box for each 3 birds and these should be off the ground as well as in the darkest area of your house. The house should have appropriate ventilation: without it then condensation will build up every night, even in the coldest of climate. Realize, ventilation works on the principle of warm and comfortable air leaving via a high void drawing cooler air in from a lower void - it's not a set of holes on contrary wall surfaces of your house and also at the exact same degree, this is just what's known as a draught. If you have a house with a run connected then the points above are still real, however you ought to also take into consideration the run dimension. The EU maximum legal equipping density for a cost-free range bird is (and also allow's encounter it, among the inspirations for keeping some chickens in the house is perhaps enhanced or much better welfare) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's maximum one bird per 4m squared. Take a close consider some of the deal homes - it could well be the house has the right perches, appropriate air flow and adequate nest boxes for a reasonable variety of birds, but will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized piece of ground to invest the day on? Therefore as the stating goes, "you obtain what you spend for". You may think you've got a bargain, yet you as well as your group could rue the day you did. Acquisition the right house and also it will certainly last for a few years, if not longer given the proper therapy. Eventually your poultry and your chicken maintaining experience will certainly be a lot the far better for it.chickens chickens
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