Built A Playhouse Coop

[DuchessVonRabblerousen]

Man, the struggle for proper, affordable chicken home is real! After a few weeks of researching options, plans, and seeing how outrageously over priced prefab coops are for what you get, I decided to build one. We'll, mostly build one.

After pricing out materials for the house, it became obvious to me that I could dive well into triple digits for a budget on this. Given that I'm a first time chicken mom, I wasn't even sure these birds were gonna make it. So I compromised:

After scouring the local marketplace for used playhouses, I came up with nothing so I just bought a new one for about 240 dollars on Amazon. Then I supplemented it with a trip to Home Depot for the run supplies.

And slowly it started coming to life

After this pic, I did some heavy coats of weatherproof stain along the inside and some silicone roofing paint on the floor for resilience.

I had some texturized weather proof deck paint left over from an overlanding project, so I painted the entire run, their ramp, and the base of the coop with it.

After putting on the shade I added the fans to the inside of the coop and some lighting around the place.

Seen here under this weekends full moon.

I have elected to use construction sand throughout the coop and run. It has made life a lot easier and my birds don't have to worry about lounging or running around in soggy ground. Once the inclement weather starts in I'll probably add a full roof over the run. But for now, my birds are happy. It's not very big (12 foot by 4 foot run) but my birds free range in a huge yard all day anyway and they haven't had any trouble finding a place to roost. As of right now they huddle as closely together as they can on one bar.

All in all this project cost me 800 dollars. A prefab coop and run of comparable size would have run me at least 1500 dollars. So, I'm pretty happy. I will probably build off of it as my birds develop their needs. But for now it works just fine.

 

[nuthatched]

It's very cute and you did a great job, it's great for 3 bird flock!

 

[DuchessVonRabblerousen]

It's very cute and you did a great job, it's great for 3 bird flock!

Yeah. It's a little small but I'm not nearly as worried about it with my 6 as I was initially. We shall see how they do as they get older but for now they are inseparable. And I think spending all day free ranging in the yard definitely wears them out enough to not care as long as they have a spot to roost. But once they get older we will revisit it and I may build a secondary coop the same way and mirror them off of each other with a bigger run. It will still be cheaper than the alternatives.

 

[nuthatched]

Yeah. It's a little small but I'm not nearly as worried about it with my 6 as I was initially. We shall see how they do as they get older but for now they are inseparable. And I think spending all day free ranging in the yard definitely wears them out enough to not care as long as they have a spot to roost. But once they get older we will revisit it and I may build a secondary coop the same way and mirror them off of each other with a bigger run. It will still be cheaper than the alternatives.

Yeah, unfortunately, you're definitely going to have to adjust your set up for full grown birds. It's too small for 6, so 3 is the max that could comfortably live in there. Prefabs use egg industry standards of space (1sqft per bird), numbers that aren't meant for birds that live more than a year.
Like I said, you did a great job but I'd reconsider the number of birds you put in it.

 

[Penpal]

I would keep the lights off unless you need to go there at night.

The roosts look too close to the wall, but I could be wrong. 18" from a wall or second roost is usually recommended.

It is very cute, but I agree they need more run space.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

Your idea and how it came together is awesome.

I wouldn't worry that much about the coop size. I have 6 in a 4×4. While I known it's not recommended, they roost and nest in the coop and that's it. No issues regarding the coop in the 7 years that ive been keeping chickens. I have a large covered run and they have plenty of areas to get out of the weather. They also free range a couple of times a week.
The important thing is providing them with enough roost space in the coop and enough protected space in the run. If predator pressure happens and you have to lock them up, it's a little tighter in sq ft than what is recommended for the run area. But, that looks like it can be easily expanded if needed.

 

[SourRoses]

I think you made good choices for something on the small side. It has good ventilation up high. It also looks very cute!
As long as you're ready for expansion and keep an eye on the birdies, it should be okay.

 

[BDutch]

Man, the struggle for proper, affordable chicken home is real! After a few weeks of researching options, plans, and seeing how outrageously over priced prefab coops are for what you get, I decided to build one. We'll, mostly build one.

After pricing out materials for the house, it became obvious to me that I could dive well into triple digits for a budget on this. Given that I'm a first time chicken mom, I wasn't even sure these birds were gonna make it. So I compromised:

Smart compromised choice!

I chose to use a prefab childrens playhouse too when I needed an extra coop for chicks/broodies.
The quality is way better than the chicken coops I could buy for a higher price. The price was €240,- and a little extra for the materials needed to finish it.

Adjusting the playhouse was very easy imho.

FYI
This is the one I bought:

Attached the playhouse to the run.
Openings covered with 1cm maze hwc.
‘Painted’ the walls with diatomaceous earth. And made oil baths under the roost against red mite.

I confined one of my bantams who was broody to the playhouse. The playhouse is without a nesting box for the time being.

With 2 roosts there is overnight space for 8 small bantams.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

Smart compromised choice!

I chose to use a prefab childrens playhouse too when I needed an extra coop for chicks/broodies.
The quality is way better than the chicken coops I could buy for a higher price. The price was €240,- and a little extra for the materials needed to finish it.

Adjusting the playhouse was very easy imho.

FYI
This is the one I bought:
View attachment 3927477

View attachment 3927482
Attached the playhouse to the run.
Openings covered with 1cm maze hwc.
‘Painted’ the walls with diatomaceous earth. And made oil baths under the roost against red mite.

I confined one of my bantams who was broody to the playhouse. The playhouse is without a nesting box for the time being.

With 2 roosts there is overnight space for 8 small bantams.
View attachment 3927484

Nice. What are the black things that the roost is sitting on?

 

[BDutch]

Red mite trays
If the red mite trays are filled with oil, the chickens are as safe as possible on the roost because the mites cant go back and forth to the coop walls.
The roost must be placed at a good distance from the walls to avoid feather contact with the walls. The trays only work if there is oil in them. By regularly checking the trays for blood lice, you know if there is an infestation in the coop.
I always add ribbed paper rolls under the roosts to check regularly for red mites too.

The link goes to a Dutch site with picture and. description. Weigeren means , I do not accept. cookies: https://dierencompleet.nl/product/olba-anti-bloedluis-kit/
I don’t think they deliver to the US. Maybe Olba or similar is available?