Lowes Playhouse for $199, Floor Type and Deep Litter Method? DE WWash

[mattmatts-momma]

I bought the playhouse yesterday at my Lowe's on Sale for $199, plus the man gave me an extra 10% off. This playhouse does not have a floor, so I am going to put in a floor (really my husband) that can be removed if needed for cleaning. I also want my husband to add some 4x4 feet underneath it. I also want to have windows cut out and need a nest box added to the back. The one on display in my store seemed to be solidly constructed.

On another post mentioned a removable pan for the bottom. Does anyone have any ideas on how to do this?

Would it be okay to do the Deep litter method over say a plywood or similar type wood floor, could I cover the wood with the heavy plastic from Walmart?

I have another question regarding the DE White Washing. If I decide to whitewash the inside of the house, will I need to reapply it if the whole house needs to wash out?

I am new to all of this and there is alot of good information on this board.

 

[AtRendeAcres]

Welcome & Great find!

 

[Wynette]

Can you give more information on the playhouse? Do you have a part number, or could you snap a photo of the box or something? I'm interested in getting one for a chicken run addition I'm planning this year. Thanks!

 

[SeaChick]

I saw that at Lowes and Olivia and I thought it could be a great henhouse for 2-3 hens. IS it the one with a french door, couple windows with plastic mullions, and a doorbell?

All your ideas sound good. You'll definitely need to put hardware cloth on the windows if it's the one we saw. How about getting some cheap vinyl flooring remnants from Lowes or a building supply recycler like Habitat for Humanity Re-Store? If you do that I don't know why it'd need to be removeable... that is as long as you can crawl in there to sweep it out. We use 3-4" pine shavings over a vinyl-covered wood floor and it is SUPER easy to clean out. Remember that you need a "lip" of some type at the door to keep litter in. Maybe you could use 2x4s to frame a base for the playhouse, floor at the bottom side, then that floor on something to lift it off the dirt (cinder blocks on the corners, or those prefab deck footings?) that way the 2x4s would contain the litter and it wouldn't spill out the door. Otherwise you need to add a board along the inner edge of the door.

DE whitewash is super-easy to reapply when it wears/washes off. I do it every time I do a major cleaning of the roost pole and stuff, every 6 weeks or so.

Hope this helps-
Stacey

 

[Smitty's Farm]

Welcome to BYC!

I saw some playhouses at Lowe's. Those are really cute. Congratulations on the find! How many chickens do you have and what kind of breeds?

For our coop we covered the wood floor w/ vinyl/linoleum. I wanted something to cover and protect the wood to make cleaning easier. I love it! It works great for us.

I know some members do have a removeable floor that works great for them.

Some people have a concrete base, which is great b/c it can be power washed to be cleaned. We didn't know where we wanted to place the coop, so we didn't do it.

You just have to pick what flooring will work best for you.

It's personal preference to paint the inside of the coop. We did, but it's not white wash. Are you talking about white wash paint????? My coop is painted w/ colored paint. We've deep cleaned it several times, but I haven't power washed the inside yet. I haven't had to repaint it yet. My flock just moved into their coop in Aug.

I would definitely recommend purchasing some DE to keep critters off your chickens and to help dry up the chicken poo. I'm waiting for mine to come in the mail. I don't know how often people apply it to their coops & runs. I definitely would after a good cleaning.

Deep Littler Method: I think most members here use it. It doesn't work well for me, b/c I think I need more or better vents. It works well for most, esp in colder climates, b/c heat is given off as the chicken waste is breaking down to keep them a little warmer in cold climates. After I get my vents working properly, I may try it again.

This site is so helpful. I wish I would have found it before we built our coop.

Post us pictures of before and after. Good luck!

Kim

 

[stilwellchick]

The playhouse I saw on Lowe's website was 4x4x6 and cost 399.00. I might call to see if it is on sale in the store. Does anyone know how easy or hard it is to assemble? How many silkies do you think would fit in there?

 

[mattmatts-momma]

Yes, I will put the hardware cloth on the windows. I think that once the wood for the windows is cut out, I have to come up with a way to close the house up during the winter. I am thinking of maybe getting some sort of metal track that I could slide a piece of wood back in to close it up. I have to ponder that a little more still.

I did see vinyl flooring remnants yesterday at the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store. They had all kinds of stuff in there. I think that sweeping it out will not be a problem. I am going to put a board across the front so the shaving don't fall out.

We have lots of cinder blocks here, I am trying to see if there is a way I can use those. We have the regular rectangle ones and L-blocks. I would like to have the house raised off the ground 1-2 feet. That's why I was thinking of the 4x4's.

This playhouse is really cute. I am trying to decide if I should paint it barn red (my favorite color), white trim and black roof. Or, match it to my house, Cream, white trim and brown roof.

I am going to start with 10 Chicks from Ideal. They should be here 2nd week of February.

My husband is also going to build me a "UK Designer Inspired" Chicken Tractor. Do you think it would be okay to rotate the chickens from the House and run to the tractor?

 

[silkiechicken]

Rotating would work if the birds all learn to sleep in different areas. Generally they like to have one home and will stick with it with great stubbornness.

 

[mattmatts-momma]

Quote:
The Lowe's website said it wasn't available at my store, but it was. They had it marked down from $399 to $199 in store. I would call your store.

The man told me that it wasn't that difficult to assemble. I think the walls are all put together, you just have to hook the together. I haven't taken mine out of the box yet. I will take pictures of the process as we go and post them.

 

[mattmatts-momma]

Quote:
That's what I was thinking. Maybe they will all fit in the tractor at the same time.