Finished Little Tikes Coop and Run!

[chickp]

The roost, attached with long screws:

Annnd the girls greatly enjoying their new home!

Cost:
Coop $60, paint for coop, $20
Lumber: free from a friend who had dismantled her deck

3 rolls of hardware cloth: $90

Total: $170

BARGAIN! And very secure, as far as we can tell. We will attach a nest box on to the right hand window soon as the girls are only 8 weeks old. They are so great....on the 2nd day they went out cautiously to check out the new run, and have loved scratching around. Then they go right back inside at night and put themselves to bed on the roost. SO great.

Any questions about a Little Tikes coop, please ask. It worked great and was very economical, even buying one off CL. We live in Georgia and so heat was more of a concern than cold, although I have heard you can add insulation. So far the house has been perfect as we can open the windows to vent and there are two vents at the top, too. The run is entirely enclosed in hardware cloth with a 1-2 foot apron (we will add some more on when we can).

 

[patman75]

looks great! Good job!

 

[Ironmaiden]

That is so cool!!!!!!!!!!

 

[gryeyes]

You did REALLY well! Very nice run. I have a Little Tikes playhouse which I converted into a "grow out" coop. Yours fits into the landscape MUCH better than mine... which is a Barbie playhouse in pink and purple.

I love the idea of the playhouse coops. There is enough room, usually, for four chickens. And they just look so CUTE in them!!

Thank you for showing us yours. Not only is it a nice example of a CUTE playhouse, the run you built for it is perfect!!!

 

[JoAnn_WI_4-H_Mom]

Do the shutters lock closed, or is there plexiglass/hcloth over the window opening?

If not I think a coon could go through the window easily.

Really cute!

 

[chickp]

Yes! The shutters which will be the nest box are locked closed with a metal latch and a zip tie until the box goes in. The rest of them are hardware clothed from the inside. trying to take NO chances with our girlies!

And you can paint your house if you want....Little Tikes says you can't but if you get the Krylon fusion stuff it works pretty well. As you can see there's some fading but that's because I ran out of paint and did NOT want to go back to Walmart.

Our HOA allows chickens as long as they are not a commercial venture, but it does want our house to be along the lines of our house! So, it is.

Thanks y'all! It is so nice to see the girls happy in their new home.

 

[joebryant]

One of the prettiest coops I've seen. Looks like something right out of a fairy tale's land.

 

[GoAngels]

If you don't mind me asking, how do the chickens enter the playhouse...is it through a window or through the floor? I'm finishing up adding on the same little tikes playhouse to my existing hoop coop and I'm debating whether to lift up the playhouse off the ground like you have it.

 

[chickp]

They enter and exit through the back window. It is a bit high, but we did a ramp with two "stories"....one goes down on to a cinderblock and then another the rest of the way. They have had no problems so far and they are only 8 weeks old.

We debated too but for several reasons decided to raise it up: extra room for them underneath and shelter, and no danger of a rotting floor (plywood) or predators coming in under it. I would probably make it a little lower but we were working with what we had which didn't include a saw.

 

[chaoschicken]

Just adorable.

A very nice job making an interesting coop for the girls.

May they enjoy it and produce well.