Chicken Coops for Sale in Saint Donatus, Iowa
Chicken Coops for Sale in Saint Donatus, 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.
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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 Chick Varieties in Saint Donatus, Iowa
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Saint Donatus 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 Saint Donatus Iowa chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Saint Donatus, Iowa With the big increase in chicken maintaining there has actually been a similarly huge rise in the variety of fowl paraphernalia on sale. Poultry housing is a case in factor. It's additionally a traditional example of the great old bandwagon being got on as different would-be fowl housing professionals pitch a range of holiday accommodation claiming to be the excellent solution to your chicken real estate demands. Often the price looks attractive, your house looks appealing, heck even the clean-cut family members standing there feeding the chickens look appealing. Undoubtedly they recognize a quality chicken house when they see one? There are several low-cost and also nasty coops swamping the marketplace. I know this as I've checked a number of them in the field, and seen a ewe run directly with one when the feed bucket showed up. The result was only an expensive stack of fire wood and a small group of bemused as well as currently homeless bantams.
Baby Chicks in Saint Donatus, Iowa
Generally these mass produced versions are built of fast grown up timber - come the first drop of rainfall they swell, leaving you either fortifying a doorway that won't close, or tearing the door furnishings off in a vain effort to release the squawking citizens. The first cozy day means the lumber dries and also cracks, the felt roofing system bubbles and boils, as well as come nightfall the hens choose not to go in. This is not as a result of their disappointment at the decrease of their once desirable commercial property however since the hovel is currently a place for, and also possibly abounding, the poultry caretaker's nemesis, red mite. Add that it said on the blurb that it would suit 4 large hens when that stocking density was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as just what are you entrusted? A few joints and some kindling. A suitable coop for thee to 4 birds should cost you in the region of ₤ 300 though this could depend upon whether you elect for a totally free standing house or one with a run connected. Presuming you are ranging your birds in a huge space and the pop opening door is big enough for the type you keep, after that the primary needs of real estate boil down to 3 points which will define the number of birds your house will hold; perches, nest boxes and ventilation. Many breeds of chicken will certainly perch when they go to roost during the night, this perch ought to preferably be 5-8cm broad with smoothed off edges so the foot sits comfortably on it. The perch needs to be higher than the nest box access as chickens will additionally normally seek the acme to perch. A perch below that will have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is by the way when they produce one of the most poo) causing dirtied eggs the list below day. They should not nonetheless be so high off the flooring of the house that leg injuries could possibly take place when the bird comes down in the early morning. Chickens require concerning 20cm of perch each (in tiny types this is certainly less), plus if greater than one perch is set up in your home they need to be greater than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their next-door neighbors yet are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Ideally your home should have a the very least one nest box for every 3 birds and also these must be off the ground and in the darkest area of your house. Your home must have adequate ventilation: without it after that condensation will accumulate every evening, even in the coldest of climate. Realize, ventilation works with the concept of warm and comfortable air leaving with a high space drawing cooler air in from a reduced space - it's not a collection of openings on other walls of the house and at the same level, this is exactly what's referred to as a draft. If you have a house with a run attached after that the factors above are still true, but you should likewise think about the run dimension. The EU optimum legal stocking thickness for a free variety bird is (and let's encounter it, among the inspirations for keeping some hens in the house is perhaps enhanced or better welfare) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's maximum one bird each 4m squared. Take a close consider several of the bargain houses - it could well be your home has the appropriate perches, correct air flow and also ample nest boxes for an affordable variety of birds, however will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized item of ground to spend the day on? Therefore as the claiming goes, "you get what you spend for". You might think you've got a bargain, however you and also your flock might rue the day you did. Acquisition the appropriate house as well as it will certainly last for a few years, otherwise longer provided the proper treatment. Ultimately your poultry and your fowl maintaining encounter will certainly be considerably the better for it.chick plan
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