Chicken Coops for Sale in Kramer, North Dakota
Chicken Coops for Sale in Kramer, North Dakota
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.
**This post contains Amazon Affiliate Links. That means that purchases made through my site will provide me with a small commission at no additional cost to you. These funds help to keep Homespun Sprout up and running.
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 For Sale in Kramer, North Dakota
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Kramer North Dakota" 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 Kramer North Dakota chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Kramer, North Dakota With the big increase in poultry keeping there has actually been a similarly big increase in the range of poultry paraphernalia for sale. Fowl real estate is an instance in factor. It's likewise a classic example of the excellent old bandwagon being got on as numerous potential fowl real estate professionals market a selection of holiday accommodation claiming to be the suitable solution to your chicken housing demands. Usually the cost looks appealing, your house looks attractive, hell even the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look attractive. Surely they know a professional chicken house when they see one? There are numerous inexpensive and also awful coops flooding the market. I recognize this as I've tested a variety of them in the field, as well as seen a ewe run straight via one when the feed container showed up. The result was just a costly pile of fire wood and also a little group of bemused and also now homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Easy in Kramer, North Dakota
Generally these standardized models are created of rapid grown timber - come the very first decline of rain they swell, leaving you either defending a doorway that will not shut, or ripping the door furniture off in a vain effort to launch the squawking citizens. The first warm and comfortable day means the lumber dries as well as fractures, the felt roof covering bubbles and also boils, and also come nightfall the hens choose not to go in. This is not due to their disappointment at the decrease of their once appealing apartment however considering that the hovel is now a haven for, as well as most likely abounding, the poultry caretaker's bane, red mite. Add on that it claimed on the blurb that it would match 4 big hens when that stocking density was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also exactly what are you left with? A few joints and also some kindling. A suitable coop for thee to four birds need to cost you in the region of ₤ 300 though this could depend upon whether you elect for a totally free standing house or one with a run connected. Thinking you are ranging your birds in a huge area and also the pop hole door is big enough for the breed you maintain, then the major needs of real estate boil down to 3 factors which will certainly specify the variety of birds the house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and also air flow. Many breeds of chicken will certainly perch when they visit roost during the night, this perch needs to ideally be 5-8cm broad with smoothed off edges so the foot sits conveniently on it. The perch must be above the nest box entrance as chickens will certainly likewise normally look for the highest point to perch. A perch lower than that will have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is by the way when they produce the most poo) bring about soiled eggs the following day. They should not nevertheless be so high off the flooring of your home that leg injuries can happen when the bird gets down in the early morning. Chickens require about 20cm of perch each (in small breeds this is certainly much less), plus if greater than one perch is set up in the house they should be more than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their neighbors however are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Preferably your house should have a the very least one nest box for every three birds and these need to be off the ground and also in the darkest location of the house. Your house needs to have ample air flow: without it then condensation will certainly accumulate every evening, even in the chilliest of climate. Understand, ventilation works on the concept of cozy air leaving with a high space attracting cooler air in from a lower void - it's not a collection of openings on opposite walls of your home as well as at the same level, this is just what's called a draught. If you have a house with a run connected after that the points above are still real, yet you need to likewise think about the run size. The EU maximum legal equipping thickness for a totally free variety bird is (and also allow's face it, one of the motivations for maintaining some hens at home is perhaps boosted or far better well-being) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's optimal one bird per 4m squared. Take a close take a look at a few of the bargain houses - it could well be your house has the best perches, right ventilation and adequate nest boxes for an affordable variety of birds, but will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized item of ground to spend the day on? Therefore as the saying goes, "you get what you spend for". You might think you've grabbed a bargain, yet you and also your flock can rue the day you did. Acquisition the right house and also it will certainly last for a few decades, if not longer offered the proper treatment. Ultimately your fowl as well as your fowl keeping experience will certainly be a lot the better for it.plan chickens
More Posts
Chicken Coops for Sale in Cannon Ball, North Dakota
Chicken Coops for Sale in Harwood, North Dakota
Chicken Coops for Sale in Killdeer, North Dakota
Chicken Coops for Sale in Driscoll, North Dakota
Chicken Coops for Sale in Halliday, North Dakota