Chicken Coops for Sale in Saratoga, North Carolina
Chicken Coops for Sale in Saratoga, 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 Construction in Saratoga, North Carolina
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Saratoga 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 Saratoga North Carolina chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Saratoga, North Carolina With the massive increase in chicken maintaining there has actually been a just as large increase in the range of poultry materiel on sale. Poultry real estate is an instance in point. It's additionally a traditional instance of the good old bandwagon being jumped on as different potential fowl housing experts market a variety of lodging claiming to be the suitable option to your chicken real estate demands. Frequently the cost looks eye-catching, the house looks eye-catching, heck also the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look appealing. Surely they understand a high quality chicken house when they see one? There are numerous economical and unpleasant coops flooding the marketplace. I know this as I've tested a number of them in the field, and also seen a ewe run straight with one when the feed bucket showed up. The result was nothing but an expensive heap of firewood as well as a small group of bemused as well as currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop And Run For Sale in Saratoga, North Carolina
Generally these standardized versions are built of fast grown timber - come the first drop of rainfall they swell, leaving you either blockading a doorway that won't close, or tearing the doorway furniture off in a vain attempt to release the squawking inhabitants. The first warm and comfortable day indicates the lumber dries and also cracks, the really felt roof covering bubbles as well as boils, and come nightfall the hens refuse to go in. This is not because of their dissatisfaction at the decrease of their when appealing residential property however because the hovel is currently a haven for, and also possibly crawling with, the chicken keeper's bane, red mite. Add that it claimed on the blurb that it would suit 4 large chickens when that equipping thickness was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and what are you entrusted? A couple of hinges and some kindling. A decent coop for thee to 4 birds must cost you in the region of ₤ 300 though this could depend upon whether you elect for a free standing house or one with a run affixed. Assuming you are varying your birds in a large space as well as the pop opening door allows sufficient for the type you keep, then the primary demands of real estate come down to three factors which will certainly specify the number of birds the house will hold; perches, nest boxes and air flow. A lot of breeds of chicken will certainly perch when they visit roost at night, this perch should preferably be 5-8cm vast with smoothed off edges so the foot rests pleasantly on it. The perch must be higher than the nest box access as chickens will likewise naturally seek the acme to perch. A perch below that will have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is incidentally when they create the most poo) leading to soiled eggs the list below day. They shouldn't however be so high off the flooring of your home that leg injuries could take place when the bird comes down in the early morning. Chickens need regarding 20cm of perch each (in tiny breeds this is certainly much less), plus if more than one perch is mounted in your home they should be greater than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their next-door neighbors but are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Ideally your house must have a least one nest box for each 3 birds as well as these must be off the ground and also in the darkest area of the house. Your home needs to have adequate ventilation: without it after that condensation will certainly accumulate every evening, also in the coldest of weather condition. Know, ventilation deals with the concept of warm air leaving with a high space attracting cooler air in from a reduced space - it's not a collection of holes on opposite walls of your house and also at the very same degree, this is what's referred to as a draft. If you have a house with a run connected then the factors above are still real, but you need to additionally take into consideration the run size. The EU optimum lawful equipping thickness for a complimentary range bird is (and let's encounter it, among the motivations for keeping some chickens in the house is possibly improved or better well-being) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's optimal one bird per 4m settled. Take a close take a look at a few of the deal residences - it could well be your home has the appropriate perches, right air flow and enough nest boxes for a reasonable number of birds, however will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized item of ground to spend the day on? Therefore as the claiming goes, "you get what you spend for". You could believe you've got a bargain, but you and also your flock could rue the day you did. Purchase the appropriate house as well as it will last for a few years, otherwise longer provided the correct treatment. In the end your poultry as well as your chicken maintaining encounter will be much the far better for it.plans build
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