Chicken Coops for Sale in Wilber, Nebraska
Chicken Coops for Sale in Wilber, Nebraska
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 Kits Cheap in Wilber, Nebraska
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Wilber Nebraska" 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 Wilber Nebraska chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Wilber, Nebraska With the significant increase in chicken keeping there has actually been a similarly big increase in the range of fowl paraphernalia for sale. Chicken housing is a situation in factor. It's also a classic instance of the excellent old bandwagon being got on as numerous potential poultry housing specialists market an array of accommodation claiming to be the perfect option to your chicken housing needs. Often the price looks appealing, your diy-chicken-coop-planshome looks eye-catching, heck also the clean-cut family members standing there feeding the chickens look attractive. Definitely they recognize a professional chicken house when they see one? There are numerous low-cost as well as unpleasant cages flooding the marketplace. I understand this as I've examined a number of them in the field, as well as seen a ewe run directly via one when the feed container showed up. The result was just an expensive pile of fire wood and a small flock of bemused and currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Large in Wilber, Nebraska
Most of the time these mass produced versions are constructed of quick grown wood - come the very first drop of rain they swell, leaving you either defending a door that will not shut, or ripping the doorway furnishings off in a vain effort to launch the squawking occupants. The very first cozy day implies the wood dries out as well as fractures, the really felt roof bubbles and also boils, and come nightfall the hens refuse to go in. This is not as a result of their dissatisfaction at the decline of their when appealing building however because the hovel is currently a haven for, and also possibly crawling with, the poultry caretaker's bane, red mite. Add that it stated on the blurb that it would certainly suit 4 big chickens when that stocking density was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and exactly what are you left with? A few joints and also some kindling. A suitable coop for thee to 4 birds need to cost you around ₤ 300 though this can rely on whether you choose for a free standing house or one with a run attached. Thinking you are varying your birds in a large area and the pop hole doorway allows enough for the breed you maintain, after that the major requirements of housing come down to 3 factors which will specify the number of birds your house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and ventilation. The majority of types of chicken will perch when they go to roost at night, this perch needs to ideally be 5-8cm wide with smoothed off sides so the foot sits conveniently on it. The perch needs to be more than the nest box access as chickens will certainly likewise normally search for the acme to perch. A perch lower than that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is by the way when they create one of the most poo) causing dirtied eggs the list below day. They shouldn't nevertheless be so high off the floor of your house that leg injuries might happen when the bird gets down in the early morning. Chickens need about 20cm of perch each (in tiny types this is certainly much less), plus if more than one perch is installed in your home they must be greater than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their next-door neighbors yet are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Ideally your house ought to have a least one nest box for every three birds and also these must be off the ground as well as in the darkest location of your home. The house needs to have ample ventilation: without it then condensation will certainly build up every evening, also in the chilliest of weather. Be aware, ventilation works with the concept of warm and comfortable air leaving via a high gap attracting cooler air in from a lower void - it's not a set of holes on other wall surfaces of your house and at the exact same degree, this is exactly what's known as a draught. If you have a house with a run attached then the factors above are still true, but you should also consider the run dimension. The EU maximum lawful equipping thickness for a free range bird is (and let's encounter it, one of the inspirations for maintaining some hens in your home is potentially boosted or much better welfare) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's optimal one bird per 4m squared. Take a close check out a few of the deal residences - it could well be your house has the ideal perches, correct ventilation as well as ample nest boxes for a sensible variety of birds, however will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized item of ground to invest the day on? Therefore as the saying goes, "you obtain just what you spend for". You might assume you've got a bargain, yet you and your group could possibly rue the day you did. Purchase the ideal house and also it will last for a few years, otherwise longer given the correct treatment. Ultimately your poultry as well as your poultry keeping experience will be considerably the better for it.build plans
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