Chicken Coops for Sale in Auburn, Indiana
Chicken Coops for Sale in Auburn, Indiana
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
Baby Chicks in Auburn, Indiana
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Auburn Indiana" 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 Auburn Indiana chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Auburn, Indiana With the huge boost in poultry maintaining there has actually been a similarly huge increase in the array of poultry materiel for sale. Poultry real estate is a proceedings in point. It's likewise a classic instance of the good old bandwagon being jumped on as various potential poultry housing experts pitch a selection of cottage declaring to be the perfect solution to your chicken housing requirements. Usually the price looks desirable, your diy-chicken-coop-planshome looks desirable, hell even the clean-cut family standing there feeding the chickens look appealing. Certainly they recognize a top quality chicken house when they see one? There are lots of economical and also unpleasant coops swamping the market. I know this as I've tested a number of them in the area, and also seen a ewe run directly with one when the feed pail showed up. The outcome was only an expensive stack of fire wood as well as a little flock of bemused and also currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Ideas Diy in Auburn, Indiana
More often than not these standardized models are built of fast grown lumber - come the very first decline of rainfall they swell, leaving you either fortifying a doorway that won't close, or tearing the door furnishings off in a vain attempt to release the squawking inhabitants. The initial cozy day indicates the timber dries out and fractures, the really felt roofing bubbles and boils, and also come nightfall the hens choose not to go in. This is not due to their dissatisfaction at the decline of their once appealing residential property however since the hovel is currently a haven for, and most likely crawling with, the chicken keeper's nemesis, red mite. Add on that it claimed on the blurb that it would suit 4 huge hens when that stocking thickness was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as exactly what are you entrusted? A number of hinges as well as some kindling. A decent coop for thee to four birds should cost you approximately ₤ 300 though this can depend upon whether you choose for a free standing house or one with a run attached. Thinking you are ranging your birds in a large space and also the pop opening doorway allows enough for the breed you keep, then the primary requirements of real estate come down to three factors which will certainly define the number of birds the house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes as well as ventilation. The majority of breeds of chicken will certainly perch when they go to roost in the evening, this perch should ideally be 5-8cm broad with smoothed off edges so the foot rests pleasantly on it. The perch needs to be higher than the nest box entry as chickens will likewise normally try to find the acme to perch. A perch lower than that will have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is incidentally when they produce one of the most poo) resulting in stained eggs the list below day. They should not however be so high off the flooring of the house that leg injuries might take place when the bird comes down in the early morning. Chickens require about 20cm of perch each (in little types this is undoubtedly less), plus if greater than one perch is installed in the house they need to be more than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their neighbors however are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Preferably your home must have a least one nest box for every single three birds as well as these must be off the ground and also in the darkest location of your home. Your home ought to have ample ventilation: without it then condensation will accumulate every evening, even in the coldest of weather. Be aware, ventilation works with the principle of warm and comfortable air leaving with a high void attracting cooler air in from a reduced space - it's not a collection of openings on contrary wall surfaces of the house and also at the same degree, this is what's known as a draft. If you have a house with a run affixed after that the points above are still real, but you need to additionally think about the run dimension. The EU maximum legal equipping thickness for a free range bird is (and also allow's encounter it, one of the inspirations for keeping some hens in your home is perhaps boosted or better well-being) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's optimal one bird each 4m squared. Take a close check out several of the bargain residences - it could well be your home has the appropriate perches, proper ventilation and ample nest boxes for a sensible number of birds, but will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized item of ground to spend the day on? And so as the claiming goes, "you obtain just what you pay for". You might assume you've got hold of a deal, but you as well as your flock can rue the day you did. Acquisition the ideal house as well as it will certainly last for a couple of decades, otherwise longer offered the right treatment. In the end your chicken as well as your chicken keeping experience will be considerably the far better for it.plans chick
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