We figured out the hard way that a child's playhouse may work for a few chickens, but, it is woefully inadequate for fourteen.
This is what we ended up with when we converted a 4x6 cedar playhouse into a chicken coop. We attached a cabinet onto the back window to create places for nesting boxes, and hung roosts and ramps inside. It's been fine, but, we are well past capacity, and with our six youngest at 12 weeks old we just can't keep them in this much longer. So, we're building a DIY coop/shed from the ground up.
These walls are way bigger than we originally planned. We agreed on seven foot side walls, and a pitched roof. These are eight feet, so, after emailing the pics to me I reminded DH of the plans, and he is cutting them down to size before he permanently attaches the walls. The floor is on solid concrete blocks placed at the corners, along the sides and in six places under the floor itself to create a solid foundation. We then placed 2x4's as the frame, 8 feet wide and 12 feet long, and 8 foot 2x4's at about a foot apart down the length of the floor. After screwing in the boards (nailing is against my husbands religion I think), We put down a plywood base and then we laid a sheet of linoleum (that looks like wood flooring) and screwed that down as well. Now the walls are going together. Once it's all framed up, and the roof is on, we plan to side it and then shingle the roof. We picked up the linoleum at a Habitat for Humanity supply store, and found a door there that we're using for the entrance door. We also found a great decorative window for over the door. Those will be on the north end, which is where the existing coop is now. A run door will be on the south end, and windows will be placed on the east and west sides. Ventilation will be placed on the roof prior to shingling. The coop will be divided from a storage area that will take up about a third of the total space. And then the fun begins. Setting up the roosts, nesting boxes, etc etc.
The whole thing will be painted barn red with white trim. I'm even considering putting a porch on the front and back.
This is what we ended up with when we converted a 4x6 cedar playhouse into a chicken coop. We attached a cabinet onto the back window to create places for nesting boxes, and hung roosts and ramps inside. It's been fine, but, we are well past capacity, and with our six youngest at 12 weeks old we just can't keep them in this much longer. So, we're building a DIY coop/shed from the ground up.
These walls are way bigger than we originally planned. We agreed on seven foot side walls, and a pitched roof. These are eight feet, so, after emailing the pics to me I reminded DH of the plans, and he is cutting them down to size before he permanently attaches the walls. The floor is on solid concrete blocks placed at the corners, along the sides and in six places under the floor itself to create a solid foundation. We then placed 2x4's as the frame, 8 feet wide and 12 feet long, and 8 foot 2x4's at about a foot apart down the length of the floor. After screwing in the boards (nailing is against my husbands religion I think), We put down a plywood base and then we laid a sheet of linoleum (that looks like wood flooring) and screwed that down as well. Now the walls are going together. Once it's all framed up, and the roof is on, we plan to side it and then shingle the roof. We picked up the linoleum at a Habitat for Humanity supply store, and found a door there that we're using for the entrance door. We also found a great decorative window for over the door. Those will be on the north end, which is where the existing coop is now. A run door will be on the south end, and windows will be placed on the east and west sides. Ventilation will be placed on the roof prior to shingling. The coop will be divided from a storage area that will take up about a third of the total space. And then the fun begins. Setting up the roosts, nesting boxes, etc etc.
The whole thing will be painted barn red with white trim. I'm even considering putting a porch on the front and back.
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