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

[Wildsky]

My coop has a dirt floor - easy!

I am using the deep litter method, come spring time or when it warms up - I'm going to clear out ALL the wood shavings I've been adding these last few months, and I will probably add a couple of buckets of dirt.


My coop actually has cinder block base, they're supposed to be buried and then the wood walls.... the chickens manage to dig around so much some of the cinder blocks are sticking out...

 

[SeaChick]

Ooohhhhh..... I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but IMHO that playhouse is WAY too small for 10 birds, especially if they're standards. I was thinking maybe 3 or 4 tops.

The recemended square footage is usually :
indoor space- 4 or 5 sqare feet per bird minimum
outdoor space- 10 square feet per bird minimum

So your 4 x 4 playhouse means 4 standards MAXIMUM......

and most people who keep them as pets aim for more space, I think. Everyone else? Opionions on this??

 

[mattmatts-momma]

Yes, I realize that.

But here is what I am thinking... my guess would be that sadly, not all of my 10 chicks will make it to adulthood. If they do that's fine also.

If they do, I also have something like a rabbit hutch type thing, that my husband made for some quail we had.

So, I think between the playhouse, this other type Hutch we have, and the tractor it will work out.

I wasn't planning on housing 10 chickens in the playhouse.

 

[User48]

I really feel like the housing issue and what is acceptable varies a lot according to how much free range time your chickens get. I have a coop that is about 80 sf and I currently have 20 chickens in it, though about half are bantams. Their run is about 100 sf. However, they are out free ranging most days in our very large fenced yard. I work from home so I'm out with them fairly often and/or my 5 yo daughter is out with them. They are happy and healthy by all accounts & spend very little time in the coop - sleeping only and then they are perching & scrunched up next to each other, except for the silkies who sleep in a heep in the corner. While the coop accomodates the recommended 4 sf per chicken recommendation, if you took a look in at night time, there is TONS of additional space because they choose to perch right next to each other. In my opinion, there's still plenty of room in the coop to house more chickens. Meanwhile, I have several tractors and some breeding coops that are separate. When we had a hawk attack & I was afraid that free ranging wasn't safe, I just rotated them in the tractors. Each chicken owner's needs & goals are different, and while recommendations are helpful I think the 4 sf per bird in coop & 10 sf per bird out of coop takes into account a situation where birds never free range & are literallly cooped up in a run all day...

Laura

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

I bought that same playhouse back in December and assembled it a couple of weeks ago by myself. I did build a 4'x4' floor our of 2x4s and double stacked 1/2" plywood. Eventually I will lay linoleum over that. The whole thing rests on concrete blocks so it's off the ground.
It wasn't that hard to build. The hardest part was getting the first two walls up and screwed together. After that everything could stand up by itself, so it wasn't so bad. My cordless drill batteried out about halfway through, so the biggest hassle was running an extension cord out to it!

I haven't put the shutters on. I think, with the proper hinges, that they could actually be working shutters as opposed to decorative. Thought that might come in handy some day.

I want to cover the windows and the top of the door with screen. The whole unit will sit inside my run (if I ever get that built).

My biggest decisions right now are all about how to arrange the inside. I'm thinking maybe run the roost along one wall (as you step inside the door) and the nest boxes along the other. If I have food and water in the run, do I need food and water in the coop? I guess if the weather was bad they would need it inside. Dunno. You could stack a couple of nest boxes in there. It's pretty tall inside.

I wonder if Lowe's knows hot popular that playhouse is with the chicken set? The lady looked at me like I was crazy when I told her mine was for chickens!

CG

 

[rikkitikki58]

LOL! And I thought I was the only one that had the playhouse idea! I went to buy mine at Lowes because I had seen it at $199 and thought it was a pretty good deal. When I went to buy it, I saw it on the internet for $175. So I pull up to Lowes and they only had one left. As I walked up to the front where the playhouse was located, I noticed the price tag now read $399! I couldnt believe it had jumped $200! I went inside and asked a lady that worked there why it had went up. She couldnt understand it either so we went to the mgr. After I told him that I had seen it on the web for $175, he agreed to sell it to me for that price. So needless to say, it pays to ask questions and have some data to back your self up.

Im looking forward to putting mine together and see some pics of others!

 

[silkiechicken]

Quote:
Chickens are pretty tough, if you pick them up locally, don't be surprised if you have 10 birds as adults.

 

[speckledhen]

If you intend to give them proper care, I'd say you'd still have 10 chickens as adults, as silkiechicken says. I've never lost one.

 

[countryboy]

the only ones we've lost were do to dog attacks, you could also butcher the extras.
you could add on to the playhouse and put a lean to roof

 

[ebonykawai]

I have this playhouse, it's wonderful! Got it for 199. Mine is for 5 hens, but they will have a big run and their chicken door will always be open. Anyway, this was easy to put together. I'm in NY near Niagara Falls and I got it a couple weeks ago when it was 60 degrees out, lol. Put it together that day, along with a solid floor made of 2x4s and 3/4 plywood. It's up on 4 cinder blocks. I stapled a tarp down before I put the shingles down, roof paper would be good too. I covered the windows with screening and plexiglass. My nest box is on the outside. I decided to insulated the walls a bit more with 1/2 plywood, which also makes the nest box attachment more sturdy. This is a VERY nice playhouse/coop, it's extremely warm inside once you cover the windows, and lets in a ton of light.

I've got it all covered with a tarp now, I'll finish it in the early spring (well before the ladies arrive, lol). I can't wait to paint it and put the finishing touches on it. GREAT BUY!!! You'll love it!