Chicken Coops for Sale in Mindenmines, Missouri
Chicken Coops for Sale in Mindenmines, Missouri
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 For Sale Near Me in Mindenmines, Missouri
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Mindenmines Missouri" 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 Mindenmines Missouri chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Mindenmines, Missouri With the substantial increase in chicken maintaining there has been a just as large surge in the array of fowl materiel for sale. Chicken real estate is a case in factor. It's also a timeless example of the excellent old bandwagon being jumped on as different would-be fowl real estate specialists market a selection of holiday accommodation asserting to be the perfect option to your chicken real estate needs. Typically the rate looks desirable, your diy-chicken-coop-planshome looks eye-catching, heck even the clean-cut family standing there feeding the chickens look eye-catching. Undoubtedly they know a professional chicken house when they see one? There are numerous affordable and horrible cages swamping the market. I recognize this as I've checked a number of them in the area, and also seen a ewe run directly via one when the feed container showed up. The result was only a pricey pile of fire wood and also a small group of bemused and now homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop For 4 Chickens in Mindenmines, Missouri
Most of the time these mass produced models are constructed of rapid grown wood - come the very first decline of rainfall they swell, leaving you either blockading a door that will not close, or tearing the door furnishings off in a vain attempt to release the squawking residents. The first warm day implies the wood dries as well as fractures, the really felt roof covering bubbles and also boils, and also come nightfall the chickens refuse to enter. This is not because of their disappointment at the decline of their once eye-catching commercial property however since the hovel is currently a place for, and also probably abounding, the chicken caretaker's nemesis, red mite. Add on that it stated on the blurb that it would fit four huge chickens when that equipping thickness was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also just what are you entrusted? A couple of hinges and some kindling. A good coop for thee to four birds ought to cost you in the region of ₤ 300 though this could depend on whether you choose for a free standing house or one with a run attached. Assuming you are varying your birds in a large area and also the pop hole doorway is big sufficient for the breed you maintain, then the major requirements of real estate come down to three points which will specify the number of birds the house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and ventilation. Most types of chicken will certainly perch when they go to roost at night, this perch ought to ideally be 5-8cm broad with smoothed off edges so the foot rests easily on it. The perch ought to be above the nest box entry as chickens will certainly additionally normally look for the acme to perch. A perch less than that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is incidentally when they produce the most poo) resulting in dirtied eggs the list below day. They shouldn't nevertheless be so high off the floor of your home that leg injuries might take place when the bird comes down in the morning. Chickens need regarding 20cm of perch each (in little types this is certainly less), plus if more than one perch is set up in the house they ought to be greater than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their neighbors but are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Preferably your house ought to have a least one nest box for every single three birds as well as these must be off the ground and in the darkest area of the house. The house needs to have appropriate ventilation: without it then condensation will develop every night, even in the chilliest of climate. Be aware, air flow works on the principle of cozy air leaving through a high void drawing cooler air in from a lower space - it's not a set of openings on contrary walls of your home and at the exact same level, this is exactly what's called a draught. If you have a house with a run affixed after that the points above are still real, however you need to likewise think about the run dimension. The EU maximum legal stocking density for a cost-free array bird is (and also allow's encounter it, one of the motivations for maintaining some chickens in the house is possibly boosted or much better welfare) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's optimal one bird each 4m made even. Take a close look at some of the deal residences - it could well be your house has the ideal perches, right air flow as well as sufficient nest boxes for a sensible variety of birds, yet will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized item of ground to spend the day on? And so as the stating goes, "you obtain just what you pay for". You could believe you've grabbed a bargain, yet you and also your flock could possibly rue the day you did. Purchase the right house as well as it will certainly last for a few decades, otherwise longer provided the right therapy. Ultimately your chicken and also your fowl keeping encounter will be much the far better for it.coop chick
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