Old Playhouse Rennovation

[bluer78]

I am so excited to see how this plays out!
I got on Facebook for free her daughter's retired Playhouse to turn into a chicken coop for my 8 chickens. It is about LxWxH : 6x4x5. Plan to bring it up a little taller on a few cinder blocks with a plywood floor. I have read about the ventilation windows being above the chickens heads, so the windows on the door and the back concern me a tad..

My husband and I finally got started, I started spray painting it red.. I'm gonna need a lot more spray paint than I thought!

We also put together their nesting box station, which will hang on the big open space opposite from the little picnic table. The opening with the picnic table will be where we install the coop door.

The bottom ones don't have a lip in front because it will hang low enough in front of the hole, the playhouse itself will make that lip..
I plan to attach a metal chicken wire behind all the windows.
This is a fast as we got so far, will post updates as we go. Any tips welcome

 

[JoeCT]

It is great that you are repurposing and not afraid of a little bit of work! If I had limited budget I would remove the rear wall and flip it so the openings were lower. I would use those openings for 3 nest boxes off the rear ( I know you already built them so I am not trying to rain on your parade) I would use the opening on the side for an access door instead of the nest boxes. I would put 2 6ft roost bars, 1 @ 18" off rear wall and the 2nd another 12" in front, both at the same hieght. Placed just higher then the top of the nest boxes. The front I would leave as open as possible (I see palm trees in the pics) and use hardware cloth to cover openings. The side with the table can be a window. Sorry for the long read, I have been where you are at and it is easy to mess up and then wish you did it different. Good luck!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Chicken wire isn't predator proof, so unless the entire coop is sitting inside a predator proofed run, you should go with hardware cloth or welded wire no wider than 1/2".

You don't mention your climate but assuming you are in an area with hot summers, you might want to consider opening up some of the upper triangles on the side for additional ventilation, like so:
- https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/the-coop-is-done-now-for-the-run.1381538/
- https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/coop-ventilation.1452812/page-2#post-24868607

 

[AmeliaBedelia]

The lower windows probably aren’t an issue in warm weather. You could attach some plexiglass over the hardware cloth in winter though

 

[Brooks_]

I am so excited to see how this plays out!
I got on Facebook for free her daughter's retired Playhouse to turn into a chicken coop for my 8 chickens. It is about LxWxH : 6x4x5. Plan to bring it up a little taller on a few cinder blocks with a plywood floor. I have read about the ventilation windows being above the chickens heads, so the windows on the door and the back concern me a tad..
View attachment 3372432
View attachment 3372433
My husband and I finally got started, I started spray painting it red.. I'm gonna need a lot more spray paint than I thought!
View attachment 3372436
We also put together their nesting box station, which will hang on the big open space opposite from the little picnic table. The opening with the picnic table will be where we install the coop door.
View attachment 3372438
The bottom ones don't have a lip in front because it will hang low enough in front of the hole, the playhouse itself will make that lip..
I plan to attach a metal chicken wire behind all the windows.
This is a fast as we got so far, will post updates as we go. Any tips welcome

Please state you general location, adding to your profile is even better. Climate is such an important factor in all things chicken.

 

[bluer78]

Please state you general location, adding to your profile is even better. Climate is such an important factor in all things chicken.

I thought I had mentioned I'm in Central Florida, but I guess I deleted it. East Coast.

 

[Brooks_]

I thought I had mentioned I'm in Central Florida, but I guess I deleted it. East Coast.

I didn't see any moss. lol. Yes, more ventilation. The lower windows open will be fine as far as drafts go most of the year. Some nights in winter will need to be covered. Opening the triangles like @rosemarythyme said will be needed year round. Some flashing to block rain may also be needed. How many chickens do you plan? And what are your plans for the run?

 

[aart]

I thought I had mentioned I'm in Central Florida

Might have, better to add it to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[bluer78]

I didn't see any moss. lol. Yes, more ventilation. The lower windows open will be fine as far as drafts go most of the year. Some nights in winter will need to be covered. Opening the triangles like @rosemarythyme said will be needed year round. Some flashing to block rain may also be needed. How many chickens do you plan? And what are your plans for the run?

I have 8 and probably going to keep it that way.. Might even let the numbers drop down...I already have more than I'm supposed to! I bought a big enclosure of Amazon. It's about 19.5'x10'. Then they have access to the rest of my yard after work on the weekdays and pretty much all day on the weekends.

 

[bluer78]

The play house is coming along nicely!!
When we got it, you could tell it was weathered and needed extra support, it was pretty flimsy and when trying to secure the bottom better with some extra screws, they went straight through the wood and further like as if you shoved your finger in a cupcake... So, we used up a whole bunch of wood in the garage and structured the heck out of this thing!

Closed up where the automatic coop door will be.

Put a little shelf at the entrance and a couple bars for accessing the nesting boxes and the bottom has a base board.



I am in love with how this is turning out! And this thing is now so heavy with all the extra wood we put in there! It's not going anywhere
And I think I have my Pepper's approval. I didn't have my phone at the time so I couldn't get a picture, but she keeps going inside, finding a corner then hunkers down and starts... Purring?? Chuckling?? Every time she hears me working on it, she come running over to investigate how far we've come. She wants her new home bad!