Chicken Coops for Sale in Lexington, Kentucky
Chicken Coops for Sale in Lexington, Kentucky
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 Run Ideas in Lexington, Kentucky
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Lexington Kentucky" 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 Lexington Kentucky chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Lexington, Kentucky With the substantial boost in chicken maintaining there has been a similarly big increase in the range of poultry stuff on sale. Fowl housing is a case in factor. It's additionally a classic instance of the good old bandwagon being got on as various prospective chicken real estate specialists pitch a range of accommodation declaring to be the optimal option to your chicken real estate demands. Often the cost looks attractive, your house looks attractive, hell even the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look eye-catching. Surely they recognize a top quality chicken house when they see one? There are many cheap and also horrible coops swamping the market. I understand this as I've checked a variety of them in the area, and also seen a ewe run straight with one when the feed bucket appeared. The result was just a pricey heap of fire wood and also a small group of bemused and currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Yard Ideas in Lexington, Kentucky
Generally these mass produced designs are created of rapid grown up lumber - come the initial decline of rain they swell, leaving you either defending a door that won't shut, or tearing the doorway furniture off in a vain effort to launch the squawking inhabitants. The very first cozy day suggests the wood dries out and also fractures, the felt roofing system bubbles and also boils, and also come nightfall the chickens choose not to go in. This is not because of their dissatisfaction at the decline of their as soon as eye-catching building however considering that the hovel is now a place for, as well as most likely crawling with, the chicken keeper's bane, red mite. Add on that it claimed on the blurb that it would fit 4 huge hens when that equipping thickness was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also just what are you entrusted? A number of joints and some kindling. A suitable coop for thee to 4 birds ought to cost you around ₤ 300 though this can depend on whether you choose for a free standing house or one with a run connected. Thinking you are varying your birds in a big space and the pop hole doorway allows enough for the type you maintain, after that the main needs of real estate boil down to 3 factors which will specify the number of birds your house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and also air flow. Most breeds of chicken will perch when they go to roost during the night, this perch ought to preferably be 5-8cm wide with smoothed off edges so the foot rests pleasantly on it. The perch should be above the nest box entrance as chickens will also naturally look for the highest point to perch. A perch less than that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is incidentally when they create the most poo) leading to stained eggs the list below day. They should not nevertheless be so high off the flooring of your home that leg injuries might take place when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens need regarding 20cm of perch each (in small types this is undoubtedly less), plus if more than one perch is set up in your house they must be greater than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their neighbors yet are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Ideally your home should have a least one nest box for each 3 birds and these ought to be off the ground and in the darkest area of your house. Your home needs to have appropriate air flow: without it after that condensation will develop every night, also in the coldest of climate. Understand, ventilation deals with the concept of cozy air leaving with a high space drawing cooler air in from a lower gap - it's not a set of openings on opposite wall surfaces of your home and at the exact same level, this is exactly what's called a draft. If you have a house with a run affixed after that the factors above are still true, however you should likewise think about the run dimension. The EU maximum legal stocking density for a cost-free array bird is (and let's face it, one of the inspirations for keeping some chickens in your home is possibly enhanced or much better well-being) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's optimal one bird per 4m squared. Take a close consider some of the deal residences - it could well be your house has the best perches, proper air flow and enough nest boxes for a reasonable number 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 saying goes, "you obtain just what you spend for". You might believe you've grabbed a deal, yet you and also your group could rue the day you did. Purchase the ideal house as well as it will last for a couple of years, otherwise longer given the right treatment. Ultimately your fowl and your chicken maintaining experience will certainly be considerably the better for it.build for sale
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