Got an idea....just not sure what yet. Suggestions?

[kuntrychick]

We have one of those old wooden play things...swing sets with the elevated deck/platform. It was here when we moved here. Our son is too big for the slide & it doesn't have the swings on it anymore. It has a very weathered/rotted rope where a swing used to be, I guess.

Anyway, the chickens love the thing. It has little ladders (a couple of the rungs bad) going up to the platform area. The bottom is framed in the same size as the platform. If they're outside & get caught in the rain, they'll sometimes go hang out under the platform. They also dust bathe here a lot....got holes dug out. In the evenings before turning in for the night, they'll sometimes hang out under it, on it, on the rungs to the ladders, etc...

Well, wheels in my head are spinning...lol. This thing could have many uses! It could actually probably be made into a coop. But, hubby started on a new coop yesterday.

He can't work on it anymore until the weekend.

So, I'm thinking of maybe making it into sort of a chicken playground or something since it's already practically that anyway. I was thinking on the underneath part to put sand in it & let it be a sandbox for them to dust bathe in.

Any suggestions?

I'll try to take some pics of it & post them tomorrow if it isn't raining again to show you what I'm talking about.

 

[TigerLilly]

I think it's a great idea to use it for the chickens! Besides, you never know when you're going to need another coop, what with chicken math...
Looking forward to seeing pics.

 

[kuntrychick]

Ok, let's see if I can do this right. Here's some pics of the thing.

On the following one, you can see the yellow slide on the other side of the yard (top right of pic) that hubby took off.

Here's a closer view of the little ladders & the underneath part where I am thinking about making a sandbox for them.

Any of you creative people have any suggestions for uses of this?

 

[smokinjay]

Oh thats to easy! Add rafter to the top sheet and roof it. Pop the side decking off use it for roost and put on sideing on the top. Fence in the bottom as run.

 

[kuntrygirl]

How many chickens do you have? Looks like it could be a 2 level condo with wire around it and covered in some areas or leave it as an open/air coop with a lot of ventilation. You could also put some wheels (tractor) on it and move it (depending on how heavy it is). You could also make an extended run for them to free range during the day and then they could go in at night. Well that is what I would do if I had a few chickens.

 

[GoldDogsMom]

Here's one someone did in the coop contest...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=89205

 

[Shayna]

Quote:
Wow! They did a great job- what a great suggestion!! I think that's a wonderful use of a playset!

 

[kuntrychick]

I have 8 grown chickens, 4 16-week olds (one of which is a rooster...gonna have to find him a new home soon) & 10 6-week olds (4-6 of them are probably roos that will have to be rehomed).

Because of chicken math, hubby is having to build a new coop...LOL I'm sure when the weather gets warmer I'll want to hatch out some more. I'm addicted to chickens!

I would like to have a few bantams. Was thinking for now I could let the chickens use this just for hanging out or whatever (with sand box in the bottom) & convert this to a bantam coop if/when I get some.

 

[kuntrychick]

Quote:
WOW! Oh my! That's awesome! Gonn have to show that to hubby!

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
Yep. Exactly what I was thinking.