Childs playhouse

[sdonz]

Hi I live in NJ and used a child's playhouse for coop for 4 chickens with an outside run attached. Does anyone have any experience with a coop of this type? It keeps out rain- but do you think it will be okay in heat & snow? It is in partial shade & raised off the ground.

 

[wesandsam]

don't know about the heat, but it being off the ground is a great idea for the cold. Chickens give off heat I only put my heat lamp on when it gets down to -10C outside I think thats 15F I have 6 chickens in a 4x8x4 coop and I use a heated dog dish in the winter to keep the waterer from freezing.

 

[Alaskan]

I would just worry about
1. Good ventilation
2. The windows will be difficult to cover with hardware cloth
3. Predator proofing, not so sure about that


If you cover the top three points, I think the plastic play house will work wonderfully. It looks cute, and that run you have looks very nice!

 

[wildsam]

Have to agree with Alaskan. The run already looks really nice, and there is actually a Step5 coop and its modifications listed under small coops, so there are definitely some ideas on how you can chicken and predator proof it!
Was wondering about the insulating capabilities of it too, since it get's quite cold here in NW Wisconsin and I don't want my chick and duckies to be cold! Maybe someone else has experience with a tyke house in cold climates?!