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

[HouseMouseHens]

That is brilliant! Well done you, such an adorable coop xxx

Thanks! And that chicken in your picture is fabulous. Haha! What kind it is?

 

[HouseMouseHens]

Got the rear and peak panels on today. And deciding how to add a large vent on both peaks. The second picture below is what were thinking. Using plantation shutters backed with hardware cloth just in case. They can be closed down in really bad rain and still allow for ventilation when closed(But can be pushed fully open other times). Thinking the same thing on the back wall. The picture is of the vent just propped up with a scrap of siding to see how it looked. the random hole over the door is because the siding was cut oddly and was rotten. It'll be covered tomorrow.

 

[Erin~TheChickenLover]

That looks fantastic! The window and vent design look great. I love the sign: Hippies Use Side Door

 

[HouseMouseHens]

That looks fantastic! The window and vent design look great. I love the sign: Hippies Use Side Door

Thanks! We got the sign from a friend of ours years ago who always used to call my husband and I hippies. Hahaha! The arrow points to the side that the chicken door is on, so were going to put it on the coop somewhere.

 

[HouseMouseHens]

Got a bunch done today, but only really have a couple pictures of it. We put in the wire fencing on the ceiling to prepare for the plywood ceiling to go up this week, though I don't have a good picture of that. We really just put the wire up so soon so we could bring the girls out to see the coop for the day. It only has trusses and paper on the roof now, so they can't stay out there, we just wanted to let them see it for a bit while we changed the shavings in the brooder. I feel bad putting them back in the tiny brooder after they had so much fun in the coop!!

Here is what the front of the coop looks like now. We put an awning over the door and windows to give extra rain protection since the overhang of the roof in the front and back is a bit shorter than I would have liked. We installed the vent in the top, and the shutters can be open or closed depending on the weather. We are going to line the inside of the vent with hardware cloth just in case though, same goes for that tiny vent at the peak of the roof. There is a foot long six inch tall vent under the awning right over the door, a two foot wide by one foot tall triangle peak vent in the back, and six inch wide vents that run the entire length of the roof from front to back where the trusses sit on the walls. We made a 6.5 foot tall "ceiling" out of hardware cloth and will line the inside slants of the roof with plywood to keep the chickens out of the rafters. I still have to caulk around all the windows and doors and it is getting a real roof this weekend. We threw a huge tarp over the top for now and secured it down since its supposed to rain tomorrow. It also still needs the vinyl flooring before we can out the sand down. I'm not sure just yet how much sand we need to put in though. Maybe three inches?


And some pictures of the girls their first time in the coop. We just put a very thin layer of shaving down so they weren't slipping around, and at firs they huddled in the corner, but were running around and trying to fly really quick. They can't get up on the roosts yet, but they climbed up the rant and were having flying practice from the chicken door platform. Haha! It was so funny to see them so excited! Their brooder is a quarter of the size, so its big enough, but they just loved the huge space.



My husband Dan and daughter Basil and I sat in the coop with them for an hour feeding them treats and letting them climb on us. They were so comfortable with us when we were in there!



Our dog Takoda sat watching them through the window for a few hours. He loves them so much (and is super gentle with them), he just doesn't get why they get such a big house and he doesnt! Haha! He's the non-chicken eating of our two dogs.


And this one is Juno Fiona, the chicken eater. Well, she hasn't actually eaten a chicken... she just tries to play with them, since she is a puppy, and doesn't get that playing = eating when it comes to small animals. She's not allowed near the chicks.... And when we say were predator proofing the run, were really Juno proofing it, since she hops fences and digs under our sidewalk. She's not a bad dog, just a young one... She's learning.


And here is what the coop looks like this very moment... with a temporary tarp roof in case it does actually rain tomorrow.... Haha!

I just realized as I posted this picture that we never put the side trim back on the corners of the coop after we put the roof on. Haha! Adding that to my lists of things to do this week.... We're almost done with the coop itself. Then we start the run.

 

[sdsmowen]

I just love this design for a coop, it's amazing how much you have done with this playhouse!

 

[Pharm Girl]

Looking great! Sweet family you have. Are you making poop boards? They are the best thing ever. If I were you, I'd put poop boards with sweet PDZ on them under the roosts and keep the shavings on the floor. Sand is wonderful and I use it myself, but you will have to scoop it every day. Shavings, you can sweep out and replace once every couple of weeks. Just a thought!

 

[HouseMouseHens]

I was planning on doing poop boards originally with sand and Sweet PDZ but I can't find sweet pDz anywhere! I was thinking maybe just do sand in the run and scoop it. Hmmmm.......

 

[Spud Chicken]

Great job on the coop. I like all of the windows. Your chickens are going to be very happy.

 

[Pharm Girl]

Coastal Farm and Garden in Oregon City has it. That's where I get mine.