Chicken Coops for Sale in Weimar, Texas
Chicken Coops for Sale in Weimar, Texas
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 Build in Weimar, Texas
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Weimar Texas" 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 Weimar Texas chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Weimar, Texas With the huge increase in chicken maintaining there has been a similarly large rise in the variety of chicken materiel for sale. Poultry housing is a proceedings in point. It's likewise a traditional instance of the excellent old bandwagon being got on as different prospective fowl real estate specialists pitch a variety of accommodation declaring to be the optimal option to your chicken housing demands. Usually the rate looks desirable, your diy-chicken-coop-planshome looks attractive, hell even the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look eye-catching. Surely they know a high quality chicken house when they see one? There are numerous economical and also horrible cages flooding the marketplace. I recognize this as I've checked a number of them in the area, and seen a ewe run directly via one when the feed bucket appeared. The outcome was only a costly stack of firewood and a little group of bemused and currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop And Run in Weimar, Texas
Usually these standardized versions are constructed of quick grown lumber - come the first decrease of rainfall they swell, leaving you either defending a doorway that won't close, or tearing the door furnishings off in a vain effort to launch the squawking residents. The first warm and comfortable day implies the wood dries out and fractures, the really felt roof bubbles as well as boils, as well as come nightfall the hens refuse to enter. This is not because of their frustration at the decline of their once desirable home yet because the hovel is now a sanctuary for, as well as possibly crawling with, the poultry caretaker's bane, red mite. Add that it claimed on the blurb that it would match four big hens when that stocking density was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as what are you left with? A number of hinges as well as some kindling. A suitable coop for thee to four birds must cost you in the region of ₤ 300 though this could depend upon whether you choose for a totally free standing house or one with a run connected. Presuming you are ranging your birds in a huge room as well as the pop hole door is big sufficient for the type you keep, after that the major demands of real estate come down to 3 points which will certainly define the variety of birds your home will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and also air flow. Most types of chicken will perch when they go to roost in the evening, this perch must preferably be 5-8cm wide with smoothed off sides so the foot rests comfortably on it. The perch must be above the nest box entry as chickens will certainly also naturally look for the highest point to perch. A perch less than that will have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is by the way when they create one of the most poo) leading to soiled eggs the list below day. They shouldn't nevertheless be so high off the flooring of your home that leg injuries could possibly happen when the bird comes down in the morning. Chickens require concerning 20cm of perch each (in small breeds this is undoubtedly much less), plus if more than one perch is installed in the house they should be greater 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. Ideally the house needs to have a least one nest box for every single 3 birds as well as these must be off the ground and also in the darkest location of the house. Your home needs to have appropriate ventilation: without it then condensation will develop every evening, also in the chilliest of climate. Understand, air flow works with the principle of warm and comfortable air leaving through a high void drawing cooler air in from a lower gap - it's not a collection of holes on other walls of the house and also at the exact same level, this is exactly what's known as a draft. If you have a house with a run attached after that the factors above are still real, however you need to likewise consider the run dimension. The EU optimum lawful stocking density for a complimentary variety bird is (and also let's encounter it, among the inspirations for keeping some chickens at home is perhaps boosted or better well-being) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's maximum one bird per 4m settled. Take a close consider some of the bargain homes - it could well be the house has the right perches, right air flow and ample nest boxes for a sensible number of birds, yet will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized piece of ground to invest the day on? And so as the stating goes, "you obtain just what you spend for". You might believe you've grabbed a deal, yet you and also your group might rue the day you did. Purchase the best house and also it will last for a couple of years, otherwise longer given the appropriate treatment. Eventually your fowl as well as your poultry maintaining encounter will be considerably the better for it.chickens coops
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