Chicken Coops for Sale in Pony, Montana
Chicken Coops for Sale in Pony, Montana
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 Construction in Pony, Montana
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Pony Montana" 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 Pony Montana chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Pony, Montana With the big increase in poultry maintaining there has actually been a similarly large increase in the range of chicken stuff on sale. Chicken housing is a case in factor. It's likewise a classic instance of the good old bandwagon being got on as various potential fowl housing specialists market a range of holiday accommodation asserting to be the excellent remedy to your chicken housing demands. Usually the cost looks appealing, your house looks desirable, hell also the clean-cut family members standing there feeding the chickens look attractive. Surely they understand a top quality chicken house when they see one? There are several cheap and also awful coops flooding the marketplace. I know this as I've tested a number of them in the field, and seen a ewe run directly via one when the feed pail showed up. The result was only a pricey heap of fire wood as well as a small flock of bemused and currently homeless bantams.
Baby Chick Hatcheries in Pony, Montana
More often than not these standardized models are constructed of fast 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 residents. The first warm day suggests the wood dries out as well as cracks, the felt roofing system bubbles and boils, and come nightfall the chickens choose not to go in. This is not due to their frustration at the decrease of their once eye-catching home however since the hovel is currently a haven for, and probably abounding, the poultry caretaker's bane, red mite. Add the fact that it stated on the blurb that it would suit four huge hens when that equipping density was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also exactly what are you left with? A couple of joints and some kindling. A respectable coop for thee to 4 birds should cost you around ₤ 300 though this can rely on whether you choose for a complimentary standing house or one with a run attached. Presuming you are varying your birds in a big area and the pop hole doorway allows enough for the breed you maintain, then the main demands of housing boil down to three points which will certainly define the variety of birds your house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and ventilation. The majority of breeds of chicken will perch when they go to roost during the night, this perch needs to ideally be 5-8cm vast with smoothed off edges so the foot rests easily on it. The perch must be more than the nest box entrance as chickens will certainly also naturally try to find 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 one of the most poo) leading to stained eggs the list below day. They shouldn't however be so high off the flooring of the house that leg injuries might occur when the bird comes down in the early morning. Chickens require concerning 20cm of perch each (in small breeds this is obviously less), plus if greater than one perch is installed in your home they need to be greater than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their neighbors but are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Ideally the house ought to have a the very least one nest box for each three birds and also these need to be off the ground and in the darkest area of your house. Your home should have adequate ventilation: without it then condensation will develop every evening, also in the coldest of weather condition. Realize, ventilation works on the principle of cozy air leaving through a high void drawing cooler air in from a lower void - it's not a set of holes on opposite wall surfaces of your house and at the very same level, this is what's known as a draught. If you have a house with a run affixed after that the points above are still real, yet you must also think about the run dimension. The EU optimum lawful equipping density for a free range bird is (and also allow's encounter it, among the inspirations for maintaining some chickens at home is potentially improved or far better well-being) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's maximum one bird per 4m settled. Take a close take a look at a few of the deal houses - it could well be your home has the right perches, appropriate air flow as well as adequate nest boxes for an affordable variety of birds, yet will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized item of ground to invest the day on? And so as the stating goes, "you get just what you spend for". You may believe you've grabbed a bargain, yet you and also your group could rue the day you did. Purchase the appropriate house and it will certainly last for a few years, otherwise longer given the right treatment. In the long run your fowl as well as your chicken keeping experience will certainly be considerably the far better for it.diy plans
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