Lowes playhouse 4x4 "My Little Playhouse" Kankakee Illinois $149!

[hensdeliverthegoods]

So glad to hear others are getting the playhouses at a good price too!

Kindred, we put two houses together, and just installed one of the walls upside down so that window will be the chicken door. It's about 12" x 16" so it's the perfect size. We'll also be doing a winter/summer setup with the windows. The top part of the double-dutch door will be covered on the inside with plexiglass, so they'll still get light but it will be secure. We've also caulked the inside of it pretty heavily, especially the roof, to keep it more weatherproof. I'll have pics to post pretty soon, but I want to wait till we get the run finished. Looking forward to seeing what else y'all are doing.

 

[mtphillips]

I was wondering if anyone has the ad for the $99 playhouse, I tried and it is showing the $399. Can anyone help? I am trying to start raising hens and would love to start out with a cute coop. Thanks in advance.

 

[hensdeliverthegoods]

I don't think you can find it for $99 anymore, but some are getting it for $149. Just go to Lowes.com and check the stores listed on this thread till you find one. Then print out the ad, and take it to the manager your local store. Don't let them tell you they can't do it, because it's their corporate policy to match their other store's prices. Good luck!

 

[mtphillips]

Thanks, I will check on it. I am so excited to start having hen to raise. I am now looking for what breeds I want to raise. Do you have any suggestions? I will start out with 4 to 6 and go from there is my thoughts but I am new. We just purchased 23 acres and I have endless farming I would like to do with it. That is if I can talk my husband into it. Thanks again.

 

[hensdeliverthegoods]

How exciting to have 23 acres, mtphillips! I only have 2 1/2, and I'm trying to do some small scale livestock farming myself. It's probably a good thing I don't have 23, I'd go nuts and my husband would be squawking louder than a scared hen!

This site has good info on the various breeds, as does Feathersite. I have Gold Comet sex-links because I want lots of eggs, but I'm probably going to branch out a little. I'd like to get Welsummers for the pretty dark brown eggs, and the roosters are pretty. Just look at the "BYC Online Poultry Show" thread here and you'll find breeds you like.

Just as an amusing side note, I finally got my husband to agree to get chickens when he saw the bumper sticker on this site that says "My pets make me breakfast". Egg lover that he is, that's what it took to sell him on the idea - who knew?

 

[mtphillips]

Thanks for the information. I have enjoyed check out different coops and the great chicken stories. I think that I just want hens for now, I want brown fresh eggs. I have done some research but I am still working on the breeds and details. I get ahead of myself and think of all the eggs and recipes I can make. I have 3 kids and I am in hopes that this will be a great experience. Do your kids help? Are they excited? With the breeds you have do they lay white or brown eggs?

Marianne

 

[hensdeliverthegoods]

My kids are grown-up, and my step-kids don't live with us,

but even so, we're all excited. The sex-links I have (as do most of them) lay brown eggs. Your kids might like it if you got Easter-Eggers since they lay green, blue and sometimes pinkish eggs. Here is a link to pics of the coop we put together out of two playhouses. (we've done much more work on it since this, I'll post more pics soon)


http://backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=31934

You'll learn SO much from this forum!

 

[Backyard Buddies]

Quote:
Although you have many more options than I do with all that land, I wanted to encourage you to get your kids involved in the process from the very beginning. My two kids, 12 and 10, are very much involved with the chickens. We bought them from the feed store when they were just a couple of days old and the kids have been responsible for caring for them from day one, with guidance of course. The chickens will be 2 years old at the end of March.

In preparation, we purchased the book, Your Chickens: A Kid's Guide to Raising and Showing by Gail Damerow. Both kids read the book before we got started so that they'd know all about the needs of these chicks. Each child has Chicken Chores - either feeding, poop scooping, or coop cleaning.

Honestly, I thought they would tire of the chickens, but it's the very first thing they do when they come home from school. Because these chickens have been held since the beginning, they're very comfortable and friendly around the kids. They love to be held, and they've even been known to be held by a child on the tree swing.

So, yes, I highly recommend chickens with kids. Do pick breeds that are known to be friendly (see Feathersite.com ) and be sure that they are handled as much as is safe for them to encourage them to be as friendly as possible.

And, be sure the kids get an opportunity to collect the eggs. What kid wouldn't love Easter every day?!!

 

[mtphillips]

What a great idea to read books about it. I have 11,9, and 6 year old and they have very little knowledge of chicken care and living. I think I will probably learn just as much. I was wondering if I should try chicks but thought that getting the hens would mean eggs soon. I think that if I get them from baby that they would become more of a pet. (which is fine for later) Do you have the playhouse as a coop? Thanks for all the helpful inforamtion, I will check out the site and let you know what I decide. If you have any insite that you have done that would do differently, let me know? I know that I always try something and then think later I will or would do it differently. Thanks again
Marianne

Also Happy Valentine's Day!!!

 

[Backyard Buddies]

Thanks! Happy Valentine's Day to you, too!

I have "a" playhouse coop, but not the one that everyone is purchasing here. I posted pictures on the 8th page of this thread:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=30278&p=8

My playhouse was given to me, a hand-me-down, by a friend. My kids used it as a playhouse for a while, but then wanted to turn it into a chicken coop instead.

I have only raised from chicks, so I can't speak to whether a purchased pullet would be friendly or not. I'm sure that others may have more experience with that than I. I do know that my girls are very friendly. In fact, my kids are out in the yard snuggling as I type.

When we got our chicks, we also purchased a chicken calendar. On it, we kept all kinds of information about our chicks - and the kids were involved in it. We wrote down their ages for the first half of the year, breaking it down by the week. Once they were a couple of weeks old, we weighed them each week (on a postal scale) and the kids wrote that down on the calendar. This only went on until they got too big for the scale, but it kept the kids busy for a while.

As a chicken started getting a redder comb, or started squatting (both signs of impending laying) that information went on the calendar as well. And, when the pullet finally laid her eggs, that was listed too. Molting, coop cleaning, etc is also listed.

By doing this, I think it helped the kids through the waiting period before the eggs came. Learning patience is as good a lesson as any!

Plus, we can tell you all kinds of things about our three chickens - when the first eggs were laid (EE: 20.5 weeks of age, RIR: 23.5 and 27 weeks) and how many eggs were laid in each hens' first year of laying (RIR: 307 & 301) and (EE: 214).

Your kids are good ages to be involved in this. Even the youngest can help fill the feeders.