Chicken Coops for Sale in Monroeville, Pennsylvania
Chicken Coops for Sale in Monroeville, Pennsylvania
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 Yard Design in Monroeville, Pennsylvania
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Monroeville Pennsylvania" 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 Monroeville Pennsylvania chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Monroeville, Pennsylvania With the significant increase in chicken keeping there has been a just as big increase in the variety of chicken stuff for sale. Poultry real estate is a situation in factor. It's additionally a classic example of the good old bandwagon being jumped on as numerous potential fowl housing professionals pitch a variety of cottage asserting to be the optimal option to your chicken real estate demands. Typically the price looks appealing, your house looks eye-catching, heck also the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look attractive. Undoubtedly they know a high quality chicken house when they see one? There are several low-cost and also horrible coops flooding the market. I understand this as I've tested a variety of them in the area, and seen a ewe run directly via one when the feed container appeared. The result was only a costly pile of firewood and a small flock of bemused and also currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Free Plans in Monroeville, Pennsylvania
Generally these mass produced versions are created of rapid grown up wood - come the very first decrease of rain they swell, leaving you either blockading a door that won't close, or tearing the doorway furniture off in a vain attempt to release the squawking citizens. The very first cozy day indicates the lumber dries and fractures, the felt roof covering bubbles as well as boils, and also come nightfall the hens refuse to go in. This is not due to their disappointment at the decrease of their as soon as desirable building however since the hovel is currently a sanctuary for, as well as probably abounding, the chicken caretaker's nemesis, red mite. Add on that it claimed on the blurb that it would certainly match four huge hens when that stocking thickness was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also just what are you left with? A few hinges as well as some kindling. A suitable coop for thee to four birds must cost you around ₤ 300 though this can depend upon whether you choose for a cost-free standing house or one with a run attached. Thinking you are ranging your birds in a big space and also the pop hole door is big enough for the breed you maintain, after that the major demands of housing boil down to three factors which will specify the variety of birds your house will hold; perches, nest boxes and also ventilation. Most breeds of chicken will certainly perch when they go to roost in the evening, this perch ought to preferably be 5-8cm broad with smoothed off edges so the foot sits conveniently on it. The perch should be more than the nest box entrance as chickens will certainly additionally naturally look for the highest point to perch. A perch less than that will have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is by the way when they produce one of the most poo) resulting in stained eggs the following day. They shouldn't nonetheless be so high off the flooring of your house that leg injuries could occur when the bird comes down in the morning. Chickens require regarding 20cm of perch each (in little breeds this is obviously less), plus if greater than one perch is mounted in your house they need to be more than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their next-door neighbors however are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Ideally your home should have a the very least one nest box for every single three birds and these need to be off the ground as well as in the darkest location of your house. The house needs to have sufficient ventilation: without it then condensation will build up every evening, also in the chilliest of weather condition. Be aware, air flow works on the concept of warm air leaving via a high space attracting cooler air in from a reduced gap - it's not a set of openings on other wall surfaces of the house as well as at the exact same degree, this is just what's referred to as a draught. If you have a house with a run connected after that the factors above are still true, yet you need to likewise consider the run dimension. The EU optimum lawful stocking density for a complimentary variety bird is (and let's face it, among the motivations for keeping some chickens at home is possibly boosted or far better well-being) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's maximum one bird each 4m squared. Take a close look at several of the bargain houses - it could well be your house has the best perches, proper ventilation as well as enough nest boxes for a reasonable variety of birds, but will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized piece of ground to invest the day on? And so as the claiming goes, "you get exactly what you spend for". You may believe you've got a deal, yet you and also your group can rue the day you did. Acquisition the appropriate house and also it will certainly last for a couple of decades, if not longer given the correct treatment. Ultimately your chicken and also your fowl keeping experience will be much the far better for it.chick diy
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