Chicken Coops for Sale in Aurora, Oregon
Chicken Coops for Sale in Aurora, Oregon
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 Large in Aurora, Oregon
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Aurora Oregon" 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 Aurora Oregon chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Aurora, Oregon With the big boost in chicken keeping there has actually been an equally big surge in the variety of fowl stuff for sale. Poultry housing is a situation in point. It's also a classic instance of the great old bandwagon being jumped on as numerous potential fowl housing professionals market a selection of lodging claiming to be the optimal solution to your chicken real estate requirements. Frequently the rate looks attractive, your house looks appealing, hell even the clean-cut family standing there feeding the chickens look desirable. Undoubtedly they know a quality chicken house when they see one? There are many low-cost as well as awful cages flooding the marketplace. I understand this as I've tested a number of them in the field, and seen a ewe run straight through one when the feed bucket showed up. The outcome was only a costly pile of fire wood and also a small flock of bemused and also currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Plans Free in Aurora, Oregon
Typically these standardized designs are created of quick grown up hardwood - come the very first decrease of rainfall they swell, leaving you either defending a door that won't shut, or tearing the door furniture off in a vain attempt to release the squawking occupants. The very first cozy day indicates the timber dries and also fractures, the felt roof covering bubbles as well as boils, and also come nightfall the hens choose not to enter. This is not because of their disappointment at the decline of their once appealing apartment yet because the hovel is now a sanctuary for, as well as most likely abounding, the poultry keeper's bane, red mite. Add on the fact that it claimed on the blurb that it would certainly suit 4 large chickens when that equipping density was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and what are you left with? A number of hinges and also some kindling. A good coop for thee to four birds should cost you around ₤ 300 though this can depend upon whether you elect for a complimentary standing house or one with a run attached. Thinking you are varying your birds in a huge space as well as the pop hole doorway is big sufficient for the type you keep, after that the major demands of housing come down to three factors which will specify the number of birds your house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes as well as air flow. Many types of chicken will certainly perch when they go to roost during the night, this perch should ideally be 5-8cm wide with smoothed off edges so the foot sits pleasantly on it. The perch ought to be above the nest box entrance as chickens will additionally naturally look for the acme to perch. A perch below that will have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is incidentally when they create one of the most poo) leading to dirtied eggs the following day. They shouldn't however be so high off the flooring of the house that leg injuries could happen when the bird gets down in the early morning. Chickens need concerning 20cm of perch each (in small breeds this is undoubtedly less), plus if more than one perch is mounted in your house they ought to be greater than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their neighbors however are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Ideally your house needs to have a the very least one nest box for each three birds and these should be off the ground and in the darkest location of your house. Your home ought to have appropriate air flow: without it after that condensation will build up every night, also in the coldest of weather condition. Understand, ventilation works with the principle of warm air leaving via a high void drawing cooler air in from a lower gap - it's not a collection of openings on contrary walls of your house as well as at the same level, this is just what's referred to as a draft. If you have a house with a run affixed then the factors above are still real, yet you ought to also think about the run dimension. The EU maximum lawful equipping thickness for a totally free variety bird is (and allow's encounter it, among the inspirations for keeping some hens at home is possibly improved or much better well-being) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's maximum one bird per 4m made even. Take a close take a look at a few of the deal houses - it could well be the house has the right perches, correct ventilation and also adequate nest boxes for a reasonable variety of birds, yet will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized item of ground to invest the day on? And so as the claiming goes, "you get exactly what you spend for". You may think you've got a deal, however you as well as your flock could possibly rue the day you did. Purchase the ideal house and it will last for a few years, otherwise longer given the proper treatment. Ultimately your poultry and also your fowl keeping encounter will certainly be considerably the better for it.coop coops
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