Chicken Coops for Sale in Long Island, Kansas
Chicken Coops for Sale in Long Island, Kansas
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 Roost Ideas in Long Island, Kansas
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Long Island Kansas" 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 Long Island Kansas chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Long Island, Kansas With the significant boost in poultry maintaining there has actually been an equally large surge in the range of fowl materiel for sale. Fowl housing is a situation in factor. It's also a classic example of the good old bandwagon being got on as various would-be poultry real estate specialists market an array of accommodation claiming to be the optimal remedy to your chicken real estate demands. Typically the cost looks appealing, the house looks appealing, heck even the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look appealing. Undoubtedly they understand a top quality chicken house when they see one? There are lots of low-cost and nasty coops flooding the market. I understand this as I've tested a variety of them in the field, and also seen a ewe run directly via one when the feed container showed up. The result was just a pricey stack of firewood as well as a small group of bemused as well as currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Plans Free in Long Island, Kansas
More often than not these mass produced designs are built of quick grown up hardwood - come the initial decline of rain they swell, leaving you either defending a door that will not close, or tearing the doorway furnishings off in a vain attempt to launch the squawking citizens. The initial warm day means the timber dries out as well as splits, the really felt roofing bubbles as well as boils, as well as come nightfall the chickens choose not to enter. This is not because of their dissatisfaction at the decrease of their when attractive apartment but due to the fact that the hovel is now a place for, as well as possibly abounding, the fowl caretaker's nemesis, red mite. Add on the fact that it claimed on the blurb that it would certainly fit four big chickens when that stocking thickness was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and what are you left with? A few hinges and also some kindling. A good coop for thee to 4 birds need to cost you in the region of ₤ 300 though this could depend upon whether you choose for a totally free standing house or one with a run attached. Presuming you are varying your birds in a large space and also the pop opening door allows enough for the type you maintain, then the main needs of real estate boil down to three points which will specify the number of birds your house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes as well as air flow. Many types of chicken will perch when they go to roost at night, this perch should ideally be 5-8cm vast with smoothed off edges so the foot rests easily on it. The perch ought to be more than the nest box entry as chickens will certainly additionally naturally search for the highest point to perch. A perch below that will have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is by the way when they produce one of the most poo) causing stained eggs the list below day. They shouldn't however be so high off the flooring of your home that leg injuries could possibly take place when the bird comes down in the morning. Chickens require concerning 20cm of perch each (in tiny types this is certainly much less), plus if more than one perch is mounted in your home they need to be more than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their next-door neighbors but are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Ideally the house ought to have a the very least one nest box for every single three birds and also these need to be off the ground and in the darkest area of your home. The house needs to have sufficient air flow: without it then condensation will certainly develop every night, also in the chilliest of weather. Be aware, air flow works on the principle of warm air leaving through a high void drawing cooler air in from a reduced space - it's not a collection of openings on opposite walls of the house and also at the exact same level, this is what's known as a draught. If you have a house with a run attached after that the points above are still true, however you should also think about the run size. The EU optimum legal equipping thickness for a cost-free range bird is (as well as let's face it, one of the inspirations for keeping some chickens at home is potentially improved or better welfare) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's maximum one bird each 4m made even. Take a close consider some of the bargain houses - it could well be your house has the best perches, proper air flow and enough 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 invest the day on? And so as the saying goes, "you get exactly what you spend for". You could think you've grabbed a deal, however you as well as your flock might rue the day you did. Purchase the appropriate house and also it will last for a couple of years, otherwise longer provided the proper therapy. Ultimately your chicken and also your chicken keeping experience will be a lot the better for it.coops build
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