Little Tikes Playhouse coop in the Winter?

[Mutt Farm]

Hi Mutt Farm!

That's great to hear that your playhouse served well until you went with larger flock.
I'm maxed out with 8 birds. I really don't want more because they're my pet and I can't even keep up with their egg production since my husband and I don't eat too many eggs. My neighbors enjoy our free organic eggs more than we do. I know that chickens are pretty hardy, but I still want them as comfortable as possible. I noticed mine would all hang out in the coop on very cold/windy days (only few days here in TN), so I even added a panel heater to their current coop which they love. I spy on them with my security cameras

I've looked around and for $400-$600 there aren't too many options, and I don't like most of the designs where chickens have to walk through roost area to reach nest boxes with their poopy feet.
I wanted to consider plastic coop this time around because I noticed wet wood becomes moldy that's hazardous, and it can rain nonstop during spring here in TN.

I'm sure I'll find out soon enough, but were the plastic walls ok to work with when you added your roosts?

I planned to build mine on a platform as a raised coop. There are some really cute designs online. Light weight, zero maintenance, easy to disinfect. That would give your girls an additional 12+ sq ft underneath the coop to stay shady and dry. And you don't have to crawl in to get eggs. You could hang the boxes on the outside with a hinged lid too. Rain? Oh, now I remember, is that the wet stuff that fell from the sky here a few years ago?

I agree with the wood in the TN rain being a maintenance consideration. The prefab in your budget are by most accounts worthless and flimsy at best. For the roosts, I used a shovel handle, and the -u- shaped thingies they use to hold pipes to walls and self tapping screws with a drop of rubber cement. The plastic walls were challenging. I'd build a free standing atop the nest boxes with a poop board if I need to use it again (chicken math, broody house) You'll be a bit tight with 8, but if they are getting along now and you're going bigger. Waiting for updates!

ETA: I'd really thing hard about adding heat. Folks rarely do that even in below zero climates. There are some great threads about it

 

[aart]

I'm in TN. More specifically Eastern TN right at the foothills of the Smokies, zone 6B. Snows infrequently and accumulates just a few times a year. Definitely LOTS of rain.

Well, hopefully they have shelter from the rainy days somewhere other than the tiny coop.......
......and you never have a serious predator event where they need secure shelter for a few weeks.

 

[bluema]

My run is covered from rain and completely enclosed in 1/4" hardwire cloth. I have coyotes, raccoons, etc., and my hens have been safe for over 2 yrs now, and my chickens stay completely dry even through hard rain like today. If kids can climb on top of the poly cottage as I've read in reviews, I'm thinking the walls are probably very solid for predator concerns as long as I hardware cloth the openings..

 

[aart]

My run is covered from rain and completely enclosed in 1/4" hardwire cloth. I have coyotes, raccoons, etc., and my hens have been safe for over 2 yrs now, and my chickens stay completely dry even through hard rain like today. If kids can climb on top of the poly cottage as I've read in reviews, I'm thinking the walls are probably very solid for predator concerns as long as I hardware cloth the openings..

That's good!

 

[bluema]

I have the heat panel turned on only on very cold days, below 20 F. I did that after my Buff Orpington developed frostbite on her rear comb after a particularly cold day. All other girls were fine so I'm not sure what happened, but I've increased the top ventilation along with the heat panel after the event. She didn't get a frost bite this past winter, so the accommodation worked out and all girls are very healthy.

I've looked into bigger coops around, and they're huge and mostly hideous. I have my coop situated right on the east facing wall of my house for draft and sun protection, and don't want huge expensive ugly coop right next to our house.

I'm definitely raising the playhouse on a platform. It was tough adding younger flock with my existing flock, so the blockable space will help the next time around while providing a bit more room for the flock. I'm going to have to be creative with nest boxes. I've already bought 3 plastic nest boxes by Miller Manufacturing while I was drawing up a coop plan. I chose plastic because I hate those red mites! http://www.amazon.com/Miller-Manufa...1443562404&sr=8-2&keywords=plastic+nest+boxes

It'll be a definite challenge to install them in the playhouse while making the egg access easy The nest boxes are huge, so I may not be able to use them. I might consider removing a wall on the playhouse so that I can build an easier access, but I'll have to see first how difficult it might be to get the eggs through the existing window/door openings. The windows seem to have some ledge on both sides, so I'll try to place the roost on top before securing. If that fails, I'll either do free standing roost or add legs for support.

 

[bluema]

I finished the coop today!

When I received the playhouse shipment, I just stared at it for a very lo~~ong time to decide on ideas.
There were so much gaps around doors/shutters so I initially regretted buying the playhouse.
After sealing off the gaps and making windows, I've used Lexan panels to close off excess gaps to help insulate the coop.
The nest boxes were big problem as anticipated, and I ended up using only 2 out of 3 boxes I bought because of their dimensions.
This was A LOT OF WORK!!! Posting a few pics for those who are waiting for my update.

 

[bluema]

As a comparison, this is the original playhouse. I've painted the door/shutters and few accent stones, and topped the coop with real thatch as promised.

 

[bluema]

More details -

Cut panels to close off the door gap.

Sealed tight viewed from inside. Used Lexan for the window.


All other windows were paneled and sealed off for the winter, but can be opened during summer.





Front window from inside


Functional front window from outside


Flip up round egg excess panel. clear push in panel allows to see eggs and chickens can't push out from inside.


Inside view from a nest box.


Sweet PDZ on the poop board. The roosts and poop boards are removable for easy clean.


double roosts

 

[junebuggena]

They need ventilation year round. Without good ventilation in the winter, a flock is at risk of illness and frostbite.

 

[bluema]

I've only sealed off the windows/doors to remove cross drafts. If you look at the sweet PDZ pic you can see there are ventilation openings at the very top near the rear of the coop. There are openings on the front top of the coop (partially closed with Lexan to prevent rain) for cross ventilation as well. I'm monitoring with wifi humidity and temp monitor along with my security cam. So far so good, and the girls love the new coop.