Old Wooden Playhouse Coop Conversion in Progress- Picture Heavy and more to come!

[aggiemae]

Very nice coop! We did the same thing with our rain barrel on the coop and put four on the side of the house too. We live on a slope so hope that gravity will allow us to attach the barrels to a soaker hose next summer.

We are also redoing our yard and have been letting the hens "help" all summer so just got busy putting up the wire mess on the sides of our covered run before the rain (and the mud) returns.

 

[Melabella]

Can I come pitch a tent in your backyard and live with you? I promise to work for food!




Love it!
Melabella!

 

[GulfStar]

Nice coop and good way to repurpose something.

 

[HouseMouseHens]

Can I come pitch a tent in your backyard and live with you? I promise to work for food!




Love it!
Melabella!

Haha! Trust me, you DON'T want to live back there! You'd be covered in a three inch thick layer of dirt after a week. It's a scary place. It's going to look really nice once it's done though. Maybe you can come after we've finished the patio and put in the sod.

 

[HouseMouseHens]

Eeeek, We are so close to done now! We still have to put the two feet of boars along the very back of the run, fix the peak metal flashing on the run roof and paint the whole run white, but it's officially predator proof! Oh, and we have to build the rainbarrel and put some weather stripping on the door of the coop and the egg collection hatch... but those can wait a bit so we can finish the patio. It will definitely be done this weekend!! YES! I am SO ready to be done!


All the bare wood on the run is going to be white. And the door is the same color as the coop, it just looks weird here because it was painted over a yellowish blue and needs another coat. And the paint was still wet.

The white thing sticking out between the coop and run is the gutter.. We haven't cut it to size yet. The rainbarrel will go on it's side right under it. We're also planning on building a little lean-to structure next to it to keep the metal garbage cans we keep the food and bedding in.



Hubs didn't take the white price stickers off the steel before we put it on the roof. Hahahaha!

And last but not least, the light I made from a mason jar and the top of a solar pathway stake light. Since it's solar, it turns on when it starts to get dark and stays on most of the night. It's not super bright, but it's really only so we can see the door latch to the run to go out after dark and shut the chickens up. We're going to put one on the coop door too, just haven't gotton around to it yet.

 

[kichohana]

Love your recycled coop! Isn't it gratifying that you did it yourself - and out of reused materials? What really caught my eye was in your last post - the solar light. I have the exact same thing in my yard done with large pickle jars. Just popped in the top of the solar light without the stake and they glow so nicely! I may have to steal your idea and do one small one in a mason jar.

The one suggestion I would make is to make your roosts larger. Instead of the closet poles/dowels, use at least a 2x3 or a 2x4 turned wide side up. This way they can actually sit on it at night and squat their bodies down over their feet to cover their toes. With the poles/dowels, there isn't much to sit/balance on and they're doing a lot of gripping with their toes. I also HIGHLY recommend the poop board. I started with a vinyl covered one that I used to scrape with a taping knife. This summer I switched it out for a tray filled with Sweet Pdz and DE. I scoop it out like a cat's litter box. So much easier to clean and I love the change - as much as you can love dealing with animal poop that is...

Overall awesome job! Two thumbs up. And I can't wait to see your greenhouse project with all those windows you've been saving!

 

[Crazy Mitch]

Totally love it. . . I like the colors. . . . The design. . . . everything. . . You did a great job!

Mitch!

 

[chicken pickin]

Eeeek, We are so close to done now! We still have to put the two feet of boars along the very back of the run, fix the peak metal flashing on the run roof and paint the whole run white, but it's officially predator proof! Oh, and we have to build the rainbarrel and put some weather stripping on the door of the coop and the egg collection hatch... but those can wait a bit so we can finish the patio. It will definitely be done this weekend!! YES! I am SO ready to be done!


All the bare wood on the run is going to be white. And the door is the same color as the coop, it just looks weird here because it was painted over a yellowish blue and needs another coat. And the paint was still wet.

The white thing sticking out between the coop and run is the gutter.. We haven't cut it to size yet. The rainbarrel will go on it's side right under it. We're also planning on building a little lean-to structure next to it to keep the metal garbage cans we keep the food and bedding in.



Hubs didn't take the white price stickers off the steel before we put it on the roof. Hahahaha!

And last but not least, the light I made from a mason jar and the top of a solar pathway stake light. Since it's solar, it turns on when it starts to get dark and stays on most of the night. It's not super bright, but it's really only so we can see the door latch to the run to go out after dark and shut the chickens up. We're going to put one on the coop door too, just haven't gotton around to it yet.

Just curios if you get snow where you are? If so I was wondering will the sow collect in the middle where the 2 roofs meet? Ive been trying to figure out how to cover my run but cant come up with an idea to prevent snow build up. Oh and I LOVE the mason jar solar lights! What did you cap the jar with, is it the actual top to the solar light?. If its ok Im going to steal that idea and put it on all 3 of my coops

 

[This_chicks_place]

What a beauty! Your so creative, I love the light!

 

[TBR Prophetess]

Very awesome project, really like the solar lamp customisation as well...