Chicken Coops for Sale in La Grande, Washington
Chicken Coops for Sale in La Grande, Washington
Make a Thrifty DIY Swingset Chicken Coop
Do you have one of those old A-shaped swingsets rusting in your backyard? If you do, then you have the basis for an awesome swingset chicken coop! (And if you don’t, watch Craigslist – there are frequently people offering them for free to whoever comes to pick them up.) Creativity is key .
When we moved recently we had to leave our wonderful chicken coop behind, since it was attached to the barn. While I drooled over some of , I’m on a pretty tight budget so it was important to use items that I could acquire either cheap or free. Luckily, the house we moved to had some pretty interesting stuff in a shed and an old rusty swingset in the woods.
I don’t have a lot of construction skills but the guy who put up my fence does, and luckily, he was on board with my wacky, freebie-scrounging ideas.
For the price of some labor, some hardware, some chicken wire, and a fancy-dancy hanging chicken waterer, I got a snazzy new coop that keeps my chickens safe and sound.
Here’s what we used:
- A swingset with the swings removed
- 2 pieces of corrugated metal on the top 3/4 plus a strip of it over the top to help weather proof
- Some sheets of plywood for the bottom back of the coop
- A piece of chain link fencing for the bottom in order to keep out predators
- Some old pieces of fence posts for the bottom of the coop to attach the chicken wire and chain link to
- Some lumber for the door
- Chicken wire (It was cheaper than from my local store)
If you’re making a scrounged chicken coop, be creative and see what you components you can find for cheap or free. Because most of the items used were found, this isn’t as much a how-to as it is something to inspire you. Here are some photos so you can see how my coop was assembled.
The Scoop on my Swingset Chicken Coop
The door is very heavy, which adds a layer of security against critters that might try to get in during the night. During the day, I use a bungee to hold the door open in the event of wind so no chickens get squashed. (They’re at the door because they know they’re either getting food or getting out.)
There is also a heavy duty double hinged latch that I fasten with a carabiner at night for an added layer of security. (.)
The bottom is covered with a piece of chain link fencing that is attached to the boards that form the bottom edge of the coop.
My biggest splurge is this hanging 5 gallon water dispenser. It stays much cleaner raised a few inches off the ground, only needs to be refilled every few days, and I used the exisiting hook for a swing to hang it from. (You can – it is a lower price than it was at my local feed store.)
Here’s the interior of theswingset chicken coop. The chickens like to roost on the cross bars on each end, and there is an extra bar from an old closet that was also installed. I used some cubbies from my previous garage for nesting boxes. (I probably should have taken the interior pic before I put the chickens in here to poop on everything. Of course, anyone who has chickens knows that a coop only looks clean for about 10 minutes.)
The coop in all of its glory. I’ll be painting the plywood soon to make it a little prettier.
Thor, our LGD, is happy to follow the chickens around and protect them because he realized they’re like little feathered Pez dispensers, dropping nice little egg treats around the yard for him to enjoy. I lock them in the coop a couple of days per week and that gives us more than enough eggs for our needs. The rest of the eggs get scattered around the yard for a doggie version of an Easter egg hunt. Thor’s a little skinny so the added fat will do him good. You can see him licking his dog lips in the photo below.
Share this:
Chicken Coop Sale in La Grande, Washington
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in La Grande Washington" 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 La Grande Washington chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in La Grande, Washington With the huge rise in chicken maintaining there has been a just as huge rise in the variety of chicken materiel for sale. Chicken real estate is a case in point. It's additionally a classic instance of the great old bandwagon being jumped on as numerous potential poultry real estate specialists pitch a selection of cottage declaring to be the suitable solution to your chicken real estate needs. Frequently the price looks attractive, your diy-chicken-coop-planshome looks appealing, hell also the clean-cut family members standing there feeding the chickens look eye-catching. Definitely they know a high quality chicken house when they see one? There are lots of inexpensive and unpleasant cages flooding the marketplace. I know this as I've tested a number of them in the field, and also seen a ewe run directly through one when the feed pail appeared. The outcome was only a costly heap of fire wood as well as a little flock of bemused and now homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop On Wheels in La Grande, Washington
Usually these mass produced models are built of quick grown up timber - come the first drop of rainfall they swell, leaving you either defending a doorway that will not shut, or ripping the doorway furnishings off in a vain attempt to launch the squawking inhabitants. The very first warm day implies the lumber dries out and fractures, the felt roof covering bubbles and also boils, as well as come nightfall the chickens refuse to go in. This is not due to their dissatisfaction at the decline of their when eye-catching residential property but considering that the hovel is now a haven for, and possibly crawling with, the chicken caretaker's bane, red mite. Add on the fact that it claimed on the blurb that it would fit four big chickens when that equipping thickness was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as exactly what are you left with? A number of hinges and some kindling. A decent coop for thee to 4 birds need to cost you around ₤ 300 though this could depend on whether you elect for a complimentary standing house or one with a run affixed. Assuming you are varying your birds in a huge room and the pop hole doorway is big enough for the type you keep, after that the major demands of real estate boil down to 3 factors which will specify the variety of birds your house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and also ventilation. Many breeds of chicken will certainly perch when they go to roost during the night, this perch ought to preferably be 5-8cm large with smoothed off sides so the foot rests conveniently on it. The perch needs to be more than the nest box entrance as chickens will certainly also normally seek the highest point to perch. A perch lower than that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is by the way when they generate one of the most poo) bring about dirtied eggs the list below day. They shouldn't nevertheless be so high off the flooring of the house that leg injuries can take place when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens require regarding 20cm of perch each (in little types this is clearly less), plus if more than one perch is installed in your house they must be greater than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their next-door neighbors but are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Preferably your home must have a the very least one nest box for every single 3 birds and these should be off the ground and also in the darkest area of your home. Your home needs to have sufficient air flow: without it then condensation will certainly build up every evening, even in the chilliest of weather condition. Be aware, ventilation deals with the principle of warm and comfortable air leaving with a high space attracting cooler air in from a reduced space - it's not a collection of openings on other wall surfaces of your home and at the exact same level, this is just what's known as a draught. If you have a house with a run attached then the factors above are still real, but you need to additionally take into consideration the run size. The EU optimum lawful equipping density for a totally free variety bird is (and also let's encounter it, among the motivations for keeping some hens at home is perhaps boosted or better welfare) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's optimal one bird each 4m squared. Take a close check out several of the bargain homes - it could well be your house has the ideal perches, proper ventilation and also ample 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 spend the day on? Therefore as the claiming goes, "you obtain exactly what you pay for". You could assume you've got a bargain, but you as well as your group can rue the day you did. Purchase the best house and also it will certainly last for a few decades, if not longer offered the appropriate therapy. Ultimately your fowl and your poultry keeping experience will certainly be much the better for it.diy plan
More Posts
Chicken Coops for Sale in Gig Harbor, Washington
Chicken Coops for Sale in Ariel, Washington
Chicken Coops for Sale in Benge, Washington
Chicken Coops for Sale in Glenwood, Washington
Chicken Coops for Sale in Ione, Washington