Chicken Coops for Sale in Southbury, Connecticut
Chicken Coops for Sale in Southbury, Connecticut
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 Quality in Southbury, Connecticut
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Southbury Connecticut" 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 Southbury Connecticut chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Southbury, Connecticut With the significant increase in poultry maintaining there has actually been a similarly big surge in the array of poultry stuff on sale. Poultry housing is a proceedings in factor. It's additionally a classic instance of the excellent old bandwagon being got on as different prospective fowl housing professionals peddle a selection of lodging claiming to be the optimal remedy to your chicken housing needs. Commonly the rate looks eye-catching, your house looks eye-catching, hell even the clean-cut family members standing there feeding the chickens look attractive. Undoubtedly they know a high quality chicken house when they see one? There are many low-cost as well as awful coops flooding the marketplace. I recognize this as I've tested a number of them in the area, and seen a ewe run straight through one when the feed bucket appeared. The outcome was just a costly stack of firewood and a tiny group of bemused as well as now homeless bantams.
Baby Yellow Chick in Southbury, Connecticut
Most of the time these standardized versions are built of quick grown hardwood - come the first decrease of rainfall they swell, leaving you either blockading a doorway that will not shut, or tearing the door furnishings off in a vain attempt to launch the squawking inhabitants. The first warm day means the lumber dries and splits, the really felt roof bubbles as well as boils, and also come nightfall the hens refuse to enter. This is not because of their disappointment at the decline of their as soon as desirable commercial property yet due to the fact that the hovel is currently a place for, and also most likely crawling with, the poultry caretaker's nemesis, red mite. Add the fact that it said on the blurb that it would match 4 big hens when that stocking density was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as what are you entrusted? A few joints as well as some kindling. A suitable coop for thee to 4 birds must cost you approximately ₤ 300 though this could depend on whether you elect for a totally free standing house or one with a run affixed. Assuming you are ranging your birds in a huge room and the pop opening doorway is big sufficient for the type you maintain, after that the major requirements of housing come down to 3 points which will certainly define the number of birds the house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and also ventilation. Most breeds of chicken will certainly perch when they visit roost in the evening, this perch should preferably be 5-8cm broad with smoothed off sides so the foot rests conveniently on it. The perch ought to be more than the nest box entry as chickens will certainly additionally normally seek the acme to perch. A perch lower than that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is incidentally when they create the most poo) bring about soiled eggs the list below day. They shouldn't however be so high off the flooring of the house that leg injuries could occur when the bird comes down in the morning. Chickens need regarding 20cm of perch each (in tiny breeds this is undoubtedly much less), plus if more than one perch is mounted in the house they should be greater than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their neighbors however are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Preferably your house ought to have a the very least one nest box for every three birds and also these need to be off the ground as well as in the darkest location of the house. Your house must have sufficient air flow: without it after that condensation will accumulate every night, even in the coldest of weather condition. Be aware, air flow deals with the concept of cozy air leaving via a high space attracting cooler air in from a lower void - it's not a set of holes on contrary walls of your home and also at the exact same degree, this is exactly what's known as a draught. If you have a house with a run attached then the points above are still real, however you must also take into consideration the run dimension. The EU maximum lawful equipping density for a cost-free array bird is (and let's face it, one of the motivations for maintaining some chickens in your home is potentially improved or much better welfare) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's optimal one bird per 4m made even. Take a close look at several of the deal residences - it could well be the house has the right perches, right ventilation and ample nest boxes for a sensible variety of birds, yet will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized piece of ground to spend the day on? Therefore as the claiming goes, "you obtain just what you pay for". You might believe you've got hold of a deal, yet you and your group could rue the day you did. Purchase the right house as well as it will last for a few decades, otherwise longer given the correct treatment. Ultimately your fowl and your chicken maintaining experience will certainly be much the better for it.plan plans
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