Chicken Coops for Sale in Aurora, Iowa
Chicken Coops for Sale in Aurora, Iowa
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.
**This post contains Amazon Affiliate Links. That means that purchases made through my site will provide me with a small commission at no additional cost to you. These funds help to keep Homespun Sprout up and running.
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 Pallets in Aurora, Iowa
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Aurora Iowa" 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 Aurora Iowa chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Aurora, Iowa With the significant rise in chicken keeping there has actually been an equally big surge in the range of chicken stuff on sale. Fowl real estate is an instance in point. It's likewise a timeless instance of the great old bandwagon being got on as numerous potential poultry real estate experts peddle an array of lodging claiming to be the excellent option to your chicken real estate demands. Usually the cost looks attractive, your house looks eye-catching, hell also the clean-cut family standing there feeding the chickens look appealing. Certainly they understand a quality chicken house when they see one? There are lots of economical as well as nasty cages flooding the marketplace. I understand this as I've tested a variety of them in the field, and also seen a ewe run straight via one when the feed pail showed up. The outcome was only an expensive pile of fire wood and also a little group of bemused and now homeless bantams.
Baby Chick Hatcheries in Aurora, Iowa
Typically these mass produced designs are constructed of quick grown up lumber - come the very first decline of rain they swell, leaving you either blockading a doorway that won't close, or tearing the door furnishings off in a vain attempt to launch the squawking residents. The very first warm day suggests the wood dries and also splits, the really felt roof covering bubbles as well as boils, and come nightfall the hens refuse to enter. This is not due to their disappointment at the decrease of their when attractive building yet because the hovel is currently a sanctuary for, and most likely crawling with, the fowl caretaker's bane, red mite. Add on the fact that it stated on the blurb that it would certainly suit four large hens when that equipping density was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and just what are you entrusted? A few hinges as well as some kindling. A decent coop for thee to 4 birds should cost you around ₤ 300 though this could rely on whether you elect for a cost-free standing house or one with a run affixed. Thinking you are varying your birds in a big room and the pop opening doorway allows enough for the breed you keep, after that the main requirements of real estate boil down to three factors which will define the variety of birds the house will hold; perches, nest boxes and also ventilation. Most types of chicken will certainly perch when they visit roost in the evening, this perch ought to preferably be 5-8cm wide with smoothed off sides so the foot rests conveniently on it. The perch should be above the nest box access as chickens will certainly also normally search for the acme to perch. A perch below that will have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is incidentally when they produce the most poo) resulting in stained eggs the list below day. They should not nonetheless be so high off the floor of your house that leg injuries can take place when the bird comes down in the morning. Chickens require about 20cm of perch each (in little types this is clearly less), plus if greater than one perch is mounted in the house they must be greater than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their next-door neighbors yet are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Ideally your home must have a least one nest box for every single 3 birds and also these ought to be off the ground and in the darkest location of your house. Your house should have adequate ventilation: without it after that condensation will accumulate every night, even in the coldest of weather condition. Know, ventilation works on the principle of cozy air leaving with a high void drawing cooler air in from a lower gap - it's not a set of openings on opposite walls of the house and at the very same degree, this is just what's referred to as a draft. If you have a house with a run affixed then the factors above are still real, yet you need to also consider the run dimension. The EU maximum legal equipping density for a free array bird is (and allow's encounter it, one of the motivations for keeping some hens at home is potentially boosted or much better well-being) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's maximum one bird per 4m settled. Take a close look at some of the bargain houses - it could well be your house has the appropriate perches, correct ventilation as well as sufficient nest boxes for a reasonable number of birds, but will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized piece of ground to spend the day on? Therefore as the stating goes, "you obtain exactly what you pay for". You could think you've grabbed a deal, however you and also your flock could possibly rue the day you did. Acquisition the ideal house and it will last for a couple of years, if not longer given the appropriate treatment. In the long run your fowl and also your fowl maintaining experience will be much the far better for it.chickens coops
More Posts
Chicken Coops for Sale in Audubon, Iowa
Chicken Coops for Sale in Alton, Iowa
Chicken Coops for Sale in Algona, Iowa
Chicken Coops for Sale in Alexander, Iowa
Chicken Coops for Sale in Alleman, Iowa