Need some advice.

[Fraurloth]

So, I saw a brilliant post about using a play house as a chicken coop. Low and behold I checked craigslist and I found one too for 25 bucks. Lol.
http://fortmyers.craigslist.org/lee/bab/1630876107.html

However, looks like there might be an issue with the door, what do you all think? Any ideas on the door problem?
Thanks

 

[Manok-Tao]

All depends on a few things
how many birds?
climate year round?
predators?
usability by you?
feasabilty?
there is a thread running where a member has a bunch of playhouses and is making a coop town with them.

Whatever you use make it easy for you first...then the birds....they'll love it all

 

[Fraurloth]

Manok,
how many birds? 3
climate year round? Mostly warm, I live in Southwest Florida
predators? Raccoons, Oppossums, Hawks, Snakes
usability by you? Thought about putting good quality chicken wire over the windows and putting it up on stilts.
feasabilty? It would be nice, because I'm not much of a builder and I don't have a very large budget at the moment.

 

[midget_farms]

The nice thing about chickens is they are not picky.

You can use an old cardboard box & the hens will be just as happy as if they were in your own bed!

You are on the right track with the play house. The predators are a problem though. I live in Illinois & lose hens to raccoons all the time. They can figure out things you wouldn't imagine.

The other thing to consider is rain - Florida gets lots of rain if I am correct - you may want a way to shutter the windows instead of just have open wire to keep the girls dry.

Otherwise I think you have a great idea here. Easy - durable, hose it out, not much work. I bet it will work just fine!

 

[GardenGranny]

I am using a similar play house in Augusta, GA. I put a piece of plexiglass over the window on one side and closed the shutters. That left the door and one window open which I put toward the most protected side to cut down on drafts. You have to have a very secure run to put it in to provide protection from predators. I have a 6 by 10 dog run with hardware wire around the bottom 2 feet with the apron extending all around. We put on a slightly sloped roof of the clear suntuf (?). The pen is under some trees so I wasn't worried about too much sun/heat. My four girls have done fine in it all this winter. The roof keeps them dry. When it gets hot again I'll open the shutters.

We plan to put the house up on stilts soon. It is sitting on a piece of treated plywood covered with a scrap of vinyl flooring so we can attach sections of 4x4 to the corners to lift it up.

Go for it!

 

[Manok-Tao]

It all sounds good.
IMO I'd put the playhouse coop completley inside a fenced run, fence the roof of the run too.
good luck and post some pixs as you get going on it