Chicken Coops for Sale in Irvington, Virginia
Chicken Coops for Sale in Irvington, Virginia
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
Baby Yellow Chick For Sale in Irvington, Virginia
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Irvington Virginia" 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 Irvington Virginia chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Irvington, Virginia With the significant rise in poultry keeping there has actually been an equally huge rise in the variety of chicken stuff on sale. Poultry real estate is a case in point. It's likewise a traditional instance of the great old bandwagon being jumped on as numerous potential poultry housing specialists market an array of lodging claiming to be the optimal remedy to your chicken housing requirements. Frequently the price looks attractive, the house looks attractive, heck even the clean-cut family members standing there feeding the chickens look appealing. Surely they recognize a quality chicken house when they see one? There are lots of low-cost as well as nasty cages swamping the marketplace. I understand this as I've checked a variety of them in the field, as well as seen a ewe run directly with one when the feed bucket appeared. The result was just a pricey stack of fire wood and also a little group of bemused and also now homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Large in Irvington, Virginia
Typically these mass produced models are constructed of rapid grown lumber - come the very first drop of rainfall they swell, leaving you either barricading a doorway that will not close, or tearing the door furniture off in a vain effort to release the squawking occupants. The very first warm day implies the wood dries out and also splits, the felt roofing system bubbles and also boils, and also come nightfall the hens choose not to go in. This is not as a result of their frustration at the decline of their as soon as desirable commercial property yet due to the fact that the hovel is now a place for, and most likely crawling with, the fowl caretaker's nemesis, red mite. Add that it claimed on the blurb that it would fit 4 huge chickens when that stocking density was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also exactly what are you entrusted? A few joints and also some kindling. A suitable coop for thee to four birds ought to cost you approximately ₤ 300 though this can rely on whether you elect for a complimentary standing house or one with a run affixed. Presuming you are ranging your birds in a huge room and also the pop hole door is big sufficient for the type you maintain, after that the major demands of housing come down to 3 factors which will certainly specify the number of birds the house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes as well as ventilation. Many types of chicken will perch when they go to roost during the night, this perch must ideally be 5-8cm wide with smoothed off sides so the foot rests comfortably on it. The perch needs to be above the nest box entrance as chickens will certainly additionally naturally search for the acme 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 the most poo) bring about dirtied eggs the following day. They shouldn't nevertheless be so high off the floor of the house that leg injuries could happen when the bird comes down in the morning. Chickens need regarding 20cm of perch each (in small breeds this is clearly much less), plus if greater than one perch is installed in the house they should be more than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their next-door 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 least one nest box for each three birds as well as these need to be off the ground and in the darkest location of your house. The house ought to have appropriate air flow: without it then condensation will certainly accumulate every evening, even in the chilliest of climate. Realize, air flow works on the concept of cozy air leaving through a high gap drawing cooler air in from a reduced void - it's not a set of openings on other wall surfaces of your house and at the exact same level, this is exactly what's called a draught. 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 maximum lawful stocking density for a cost-free variety bird is (as well as let's face it, one of the inspirations for keeping some hens at home is perhaps boosted or much better welfare) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's optimal one bird each 4m squared. Take a close take a look at several of the deal homes - it could well be your home has the ideal perches, proper ventilation and sufficient nest boxes for a sensible number of birds, however will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized piece of ground to spend the day on? And so as the saying goes, "you get exactly what you pay for". You may believe you've grabbed a deal, however you as well as your group can rue the day you did. Acquisition the appropriate house and it will last for a few decades, if not longer given the right treatment. In the long run your poultry and your fowl keeping experience will be considerably the much better for it.build chickens
More Posts
Chicken Coops for Sale in Columbia, Virginia
Chicken Coops for Sale in Afton, Virginia
Chicken Coops for Sale in Hague, Virginia
Chicken Coops for Sale in Bumpass, Virginia
Chicken Coops for Sale in Hanover, Virginia