Chicken Coops for Sale in Cudahy, Wisconsin
Chicken Coops for Sale in Cudahy, Wisconsin
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
Baby Chick Hatching in Cudahy, Wisconsin
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Cudahy Wisconsin" 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 Cudahy Wisconsin chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Cudahy, Wisconsin With the big boost in chicken keeping there has been an equally big rise in the range of chicken stuff for sale. Poultry housing is a proceedings in factor. It's additionally a classic instance of the great old bandwagon being got on as different would-be chicken housing specialists peddle a variety of lodging asserting to be the ideal remedy to your chicken housing requirements. Commonly the rate looks appealing, your house looks attractive, heck even the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look attractive. Definitely they understand a high quality chicken house when they see one? There are several cheap as well as unpleasant coops flooding the market. I understand this as I've examined a number of them in the field, and also seen a ewe run directly through one when the feed pail appeared. The outcome was nothing but a pricey pile of fire wood as well as a tiny flock of bemused and now homeless bantams.
Baby Chick Enclosure in Cudahy, Wisconsin
More often than not these mass produced versions are built of fast grown up wood - come the very first decline of rainfall they swell, leaving you either fortifying a doorway that won't close, or tearing the door furniture off in a vain attempt to release the squawking residents. The initial cozy day means the lumber dries out and cracks, the felt roof covering bubbles and also boils, as well as come nightfall the hens refuse to go in. This is not due to their disappointment at the decrease of their as soon as eye-catching property however considering that the hovel is currently a sanctuary for, and also probably abounding, the fowl keeper's nemesis, red mite. Add on that it stated on the blurb that it would certainly fit 4 large hens when that equipping thickness was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also what are you entrusted? A couple of hinges as well as some kindling. A respectable coop for thee to four birds ought to cost you in the region of ₤ 300 though this could depend upon whether you choose for a free standing house or one with a run attached. Presuming you are ranging your birds in a huge space and also the pop hole doorway allows enough for the type you maintain, then the main needs of housing boil down to 3 factors which will certainly define the variety of birds the house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes as well as air flow. A lot of breeds of chicken will perch when they visit roost at night, this perch must preferably be 5-8cm wide with smoothed off sides so the foot rests pleasantly on it. The perch should be above the nest box access as chickens will certainly also normally search for the highest point to perch. A perch below that will have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is by the way when they create one of the most poo) causing dirtied eggs the following day. They shouldn't however be so high off the floor of the house that leg injuries can take place when the bird comes down in the early morning. Chickens require concerning 20cm of perch each (in tiny types this is clearly less), plus if greater than one perch is set up in your house they must be more than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their neighbors yet are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Ideally the house ought to have a least one nest box for each 3 birds and these should be off the ground and also in the darkest location of your house. Your house must have ample air flow: without it then condensation will certainly build up every night, also in the coldest of climate. Realize, ventilation works with the concept of warm air leaving via a high void drawing cooler air in from a reduced space - it's not a collection of openings on contrary walls of your house and at the very same degree, this is just what's called a draught. If you have a house with a run affixed after that the factors above are still real, yet you need to likewise consider the run dimension. The EU maximum lawful equipping density for a free variety bird is (and also allow's face it, one of the inspirations for keeping some hens in your home is possibly improved or far better well-being) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's maximum one bird per 4m settled. Take a close consider several of the deal residences - it could well be your house has the ideal perches, proper air flow and also sufficient nest boxes for a sensible number of birds, but will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized item of ground to spend the day on? And so as the saying goes, "you obtain exactly what you pay for". You could think you've got hold of a bargain, yet you and your group could rue the day you did. Acquisition the best house and it will last for a few years, otherwise longer given the proper therapy. Ultimately your chicken and also your chicken maintaining encounter will certainly be much the better for it.chickens plan
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