Chicken Coops for Sale in Valley City, Ohio
Chicken Coops for Sale in Valley City, Ohio
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 Kit For 6 Chickens in Valley City, Ohio
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Valley City Ohio" 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 Valley City Ohio chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Valley City, Ohio With the huge rise in chicken maintaining there has actually been an equally big surge in the array of fowl stuff on sale. Fowl housing is an instance in factor. It's likewise a traditional instance of the good old bandwagon being got on as various potential poultry real estate experts market an array of holiday accommodation claiming to be the perfect remedy to your chicken housing requirements. Typically the cost looks eye-catching, your diy-chicken-coop-planshome looks appealing, hell also the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look eye-catching. Surely they recognize a quality chicken house when they see one? There are several economical and also horrible coops flooding the marketplace. I understand this as I've examined a number of them in the field, and also seen a ewe run straight with one when the feed bucket appeared. The result was just a costly heap of fire wood and also a little group of bemused as well as currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Enclosures in Valley City, Ohio
Generally these standardized versions are built of fast grown timber - come the first decrease of rain they swell, leaving you either defending a doorway that won't shut, or ripping the doorway furnishings off in a vain attempt to launch the squawking citizens. The first warm day suggests the timber dries out and also splits, the felt roof bubbles and boils, and also come nightfall the hens refuse to enter. This is not as a result of their disappointment at the decrease of their once desirable building however since the hovel is currently a place for, and probably abounding, the chicken caretaker's nemesis, red mite. Add on that it said on the blurb that it would fit four huge chickens when that stocking density was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also just what are you entrusted? A few joints and also some kindling. A decent coop for thee to 4 birds ought to cost you in the region of ₤ 300 though this can depend upon whether you choose for a totally free standing house or one with a run connected. Assuming you are ranging your birds in a huge room as well as the pop hole door allows enough for the breed you keep, then the major needs of housing come down to 3 points which will certainly specify the number of birds your house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes as well as air flow. The majority of types of chicken will perch when they visit roost at night, this perch ought to preferably be 5-8cm wide with smoothed off edges so the foot rests comfortably on it. The perch ought to be above the nest box access as chickens will certainly additionally naturally try to find the acme to perch. A perch lower than that will have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is incidentally when they produce one of the most poo) resulting in dirtied eggs the list below day. They shouldn't however be so high off the floor of your home that leg injuries might happen when the bird comes down in the early morning. Chickens need concerning 20cm of perch each (in little types this is clearly much less), plus if more than one perch is set up in your home they need to be more 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 ahead. Ideally your house ought to have a least one nest box for every single 3 birds and these need to be off the ground and in the darkest area of your home. The house should have adequate air flow: without it then condensation will certainly build up every evening, even in the chilliest of weather. Know, ventilation works with the principle of warm and comfortable air leaving with a high space attracting cooler air in from a lower space - it's not a set of openings on contrary walls of your house and also at the exact same degree, this is exactly what's referred to as a draught. If you have a house with a run affixed then the factors above are still true, however you must likewise think about the run size. The EU maximum legal equipping density for a totally free variety bird is (and also let's encounter it, one of the motivations for maintaining some chickens in your home is possibly improved or far better well-being) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's maximum one bird each 4m settled. Take a close take a look at some of the deal houses - it could well be your home has the best perches, proper air flow as well as sufficient nest boxes for a reasonable variety of birds, yet will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized piece of ground to spend the day on? Therefore as the stating goes, "you get what you spend for". You may believe you've got a bargain, however you and your group might rue the day you did. Purchase the appropriate house as well as it will last for a few decades, otherwise longer offered the proper therapy. In the long run your fowl as well as your poultry keeping experience will be much the better for it.build plans
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