Chicken Coops for Sale in Fuquay Varina, North Carolina
Chicken Coops for Sale in Fuquay Varina, North Carolina
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 Guides in Fuquay Varina, North Carolina
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Fuquay Varina North Carolina" 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 Fuquay Varina North Carolina chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Fuquay Varina, North Carolina With the substantial boost in poultry maintaining there has been a just as big rise in the variety of poultry materiel on sale. Poultry real estate is a case in point. It's also a timeless instance of the excellent old bandwagon being got on as different would-be chicken housing professionals peddle an array of accommodation asserting to be the perfect remedy to your chicken housing requirements. Frequently the rate looks desirable, your diy-chicken-coop-planshome looks desirable, hell also the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look appealing. Undoubtedly they know a high quality chicken house when they see one? There are several affordable and also horrible coops flooding the marketplace. I recognize this as I've checked a number of them in the area, and seen a ewe run directly with one when the feed container showed up. The outcome was nothing but a costly pile of firewood and a small flock of bemused as well as currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop And Run Plans in Fuquay Varina, North Carolina
More often than not these standardized designs are constructed of fast grown up hardwood - come the first decrease of rain they swell, leaving you either defending a door that will not close, or tearing the door furnishings off in a vain attempt to release the squawking occupants. The very first cozy day implies the wood dries as well as fractures, the really felt roofing bubbles and also boils, and come nightfall the chickens refuse to go in. This is not due to their disappointment at the decline of their when desirable commercial property but since the hovel is now a place for, and most likely crawling with, the fowl caretaker's nemesis, red mite. Add on that it claimed on the blurb that it would certainly fit four huge 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 number of hinges and also some kindling. A decent coop for thee to four birds ought to cost you approximately ₤ 300 though this can depend on whether you choose for a totally free standing house or one with a run attached. Thinking you are varying your birds in a huge area and the pop opening door allows sufficient for the type you maintain, then the primary requirements of housing boil down to 3 factors which will specify the variety of birds your home will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and air flow. Most types of chicken will perch when they visit roost during the night, this perch ought to preferably be 5-8cm large with smoothed off sides so the foot rests pleasantly on it. The perch must be above the nest box access as chickens will certainly also normally try to find the acme to perch. A perch less than that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is by the way when they generate the most poo) resulting in dirtied eggs the list below day. They shouldn't however be so high off the floor of the house that leg injuries could take place when the bird comes down in the early morning. Chickens require regarding 20cm of perch each (in little breeds this is obviously 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 yet are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Ideally the house ought to have a the very least one nest box for every single 3 birds as well as these ought to be off the ground and also in the darkest area of your house. Your house must have ample air flow: without it then condensation will build up every night, also in the coldest of climate. Realize, air flow works with the principle of cozy air leaving with a high space drawing cooler air in from a reduced gap - it's not a collection of openings on other walls of your house as well as at the exact same level, this is what's called a draught. If you have a house with a run affixed after that the factors above are still real, however you must likewise consider the run dimension. The EU maximum lawful stocking density for a complimentary array bird is (as well as let's face it, among the motivations for maintaining some hens in the house is perhaps improved or far better well-being) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's optimal one bird per 4m squared. Take a close check out some of the bargain houses - it could well be your house has the ideal perches, proper air flow and adequate 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 claiming goes, "you get just what you pay for". You might believe you've grabbed a bargain, however you and your flock might rue the day you did. Purchase the ideal house and it will last for a few years, if not longer provided the correct treatment. Eventually your chicken and your poultry keeping encounter will certainly be considerably the far better for it.coops build
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