Old Playhouse to Hen House :)

[l1sagayl3]

Before we leaned all about chicken math, I ordered a coop kit from amazon thinking we’d only have 3 hens. Well now we have 7 and there’s just no way they’ll all for comfortably. Because they will free range during the day and sleep in their coop at night, we really didn’t need something huge.

I found an old playhouse for free on a local Buy Nothing group and am currently in the process of converting it. It’s not quite done yet but I did want to go ahead and get a thread started for it!

A couple of disclaimers:
We used Rustoleum 2x because it claimed to bond to plastic but, we have had a few places it’s scratched off. We also live in Oklahoma so the weather here is wild and we can experience all 4 seasons in a week so there are no promises on how long it will take for me to get it outside and assembled.

Before:

After painting and attaching hardware cloth to doors & windows:


I still need to get locks for the shutters/door, find a cute little door knob and figure out what to do for flooring and put in a roosting bar/nesting boxes.

More to come in the coming weeks!

 

[l1sagayl3]

Yes, this is correct! I just put hardware cloth over the doors and windows! It is done! And it works perfectly for us. They free range during the day, so this is just a sleeping spot. We just used a slide lock on the door.

 

[Angeline1978]

That is awesome! Great idea!! Definitely show us more as it gets done.

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

Oh. Lol I live in the desert so “rain” to me is probably a sprinkle to most. I would use a jigsaw to cut a hole in the roof and then put a covered vent on it, with the flashing facing down. That way you can close your windows if you need to.

The Windows aren't made to close. I have to rig something up. The vent is done - I left the roof up and screwed it down. Then, placed hardware cloth to cover any areas where something might slip in.
It is currently 25 degrees and feels like 16. I won't be working on anything at the moment.
I actually don't recommend playhouse structures now that I have one.

 

[chickie22]

Cute!

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

How did you add ventilation? Is your coop finished?

 

[JDN]

How did you add ventilation? Is your coop finished?

She wouldn't need to. She just put HC on the doors and windows.

 

[ChickieChickieMama]

Great job! It's super cute.

I have a Victorian playhouse for my kids...and I fantasize sometimes about the day I can evict them and move some chickens into it haha. Kids in a tiny house are adorable but chickens in one are just beyond!

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

I don't understand why you left a gap in the roof if you have windows? Would the windows not provide adequate ventilation? They are not a glass/plastic window, just open, correct?

I left the gap in case I needed to close up the windows. I haven't closed the two windows I left open, but if it rains the right direction everything gets wet in there from the open windows.

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

One of these guys

Thanks for the advice, I posted my question in May. Everything I need is done except for totally closing off one window. The more you cut into plastic, the more you are going to degrade the structure. So, I opted not to use a vent such as you posted.
If this is what you are choosing to do, good luck, but I'm already thinking of a new structure for my ducks come this spring.