Chicken Coops for Sale in Melvindale, Michigan
Chicken Coops for Sale in Melvindale, Michigan
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 Facts in Melvindale, Michigan
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Melvindale Michigan" 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 Melvindale Michigan chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Melvindale, Michigan With the big increase in poultry keeping there has actually been an equally big rise in the variety of chicken materiel on sale. Fowl real estate is an instance in point. It's additionally a classic instance of the good old bandwagon being got on as different would-be chicken housing specialists pitch a variety of cottage claiming to be the ideal solution to your chicken real estate needs. Commonly the rate looks desirable, your diy-chicken-coop-planshome looks desirable, hell even the clean-cut family members standing there feeding the chickens look attractive. Definitely they know a professional chicken house when they see one? There are several low-cost and awful cages swamping the marketplace. I understand this as I've checked a number of them in the field, as well as seen a ewe run straight with one when the feed bucket appeared. The outcome was only an expensive heap of firewood as well as a small flock of bemused and also currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Plans in Melvindale, Michigan
Generally these standardized models are constructed of rapid grown up timber - come the very first drop of rain they swell, leaving you either barricading a doorway that will not close, or tearing the doorway furnishings off in a vain effort to release the squawking inhabitants. The first warm and comfortable day implies the timber dries out as well as cracks, the really felt roof covering bubbles and also boils, and come nightfall the hens refuse to enter. This is not because of their dissatisfaction at the decrease of their once desirable commercial property yet because the hovel is now a place for, and also probably crawling with, the fowl caretaker's bane, red mite. Add on that it stated on the blurb that it would match 4 big hens when that stocking density was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as what are you left with? A few joints and also some kindling. A suitable coop for thee to four birds ought to cost you around ₤ 300 though this could depend upon whether you choose for a cost-free standing house or one with a run attached. Presuming you are varying your birds in a huge area and also the pop hole doorway is big enough for the type you keep, after that the primary demands of real estate boil down to three factors which will specify the variety of birds the house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and ventilation. Most types of chicken will perch when they visit roost in the evening, this perch ought to ideally be 5-8cm vast with smoothed off sides so the foot sits conveniently on it. The perch needs to be more than the nest box entrance as chickens will likewise normally seek the acme to perch. A perch below that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is incidentally when they produce the most poo) bring about dirtied eggs the list below day. They shouldn't nevertheless be so high off the floor of your house that leg injuries could possibly take place when the bird gets down in the early morning. Chickens require concerning 20cm of perch each (in tiny breeds this is obviously less), plus if greater than one perch is set up in the house they ought to be greater 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 must have a least one nest box for every single three birds as well as these must be off the ground as well as in the darkest area of your house. Your home needs to have appropriate air flow: without it then condensation will certainly accumulate every evening, even in the coldest of weather. Know, ventilation works on the concept of cozy air leaving through a high void attracting cooler air in from a reduced space - it's not a collection of holes on contrary walls of your home and at the same degree, this is exactly what's known as a draught. If you have a house with a run attached then the points above are still real, however you must additionally consider the run size. The EU maximum legal stocking thickness for a totally free variety bird is (as well as let's face it, one of the inspirations for maintaining some chickens in the house is potentially improved or better well-being) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's optimal one bird each 4m squared. Take a close take a look at a few of the bargain residences - it could well be the house has the appropriate perches, proper air flow and also ample nest boxes for a reasonable variety 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 get just what you spend for". You may think you've grabbed a bargain, yet you and your group could possibly rue the day you did. Purchase the ideal house as well as it will certainly last for a couple of decades, if not longer provided the proper treatment. In the long run your poultry as well as your poultry maintaining experience will be considerably the far better for it.for sale chick
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