Plastic Playhouse Conversion

[tkdmommy]

I am trying to convince my husband to convert our playhouse into a coupe. For those of you who have done this- are you happy with the outcome? I am in NJ & temps can range from 10 degrees to 100 degrees- any hints to keep it warm in the winter & cool in the summer? Any pictures would be greatly appreciated. I have read the article from Tennessee

 

[lynnehd]

I am trying to convince my husband to convert our playhouse into a coupe. For those of you who have done this- are you happy with the outcome? I am in NJ & temps can range from 10 degrees to 100 degrees- any hints to keep it warm in the winter & cool in the summer? Any pictures would be greatly appreciated. I have read the article from Tennessee

Well, I'm no builder, but I can tell you that location is very important.

Since chickens tolerate cold better than heat, locate the coop in an area that is shady in the summer.

You can always add insulation, or whatever is needed, but it is really hard to cool down a coop baking in the sun.

Hopefully more will chime in with some construction hints!

Have you seen this thread?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/cottage-playhouse-plastic-chicken-coop

 

[tkdmommy]

That post is what made me think of converting ours! I was curious to see how the house actually holds up as a coupe so I was hoping someone who has converted theirs could give some suggestions and or pros/cons

 

[lynnehd]

That post is what made me think of converting ours! I was curious to see how the house actually holds up as a coupe so I was hoping someone who has converted theirs could give some suggestions and or pros/cons

@bluema just posted that in 11/15. I'm sure you could pm with questions. The thread does nice job of explaining details.

 

[bluema]

I'm very happy with mine so far. This winter has been mild so it's tough to compare to the last year's brutal cold, but so far the girls are very healthy and love their coup. I have not added my panel heater and this past week had been in 20s with no issues at all even through crazy rains and high ambient humidity. I've done much research and found that it's actually better to keep the coup around the same temp as outside (as long as it's above -20 F), so I probably won't be adding heater this year. The main thing to concentrate on is to remove direct draft on girls, and to have adequate ventilation. I get enough ventilation from the small side chicken door and the very top openings only.

 

[Poppy Putentake]

How many chickens can it house? I did note that the playhouse's interior dimensions are only about 3 1/2 feet square.

Now, if this really works well, that would indicate a market for similar structures, only optimized as chicken housing. (Without features like the doorbell which are not useful for the chickens, but with features like built-in nesting boxes and chicken sized pop doors. Or perhaps just bulit-in attachment points for nesting boxes and roosts.)

Also, a question about the aluminized bubble insulation. I was thinking of using it in the chicken tractor I am building for use here in Vermont. How has it lasted during the year since you installed it? Do the chickens leave it alone? I am thinking they could destroy it pretty fast if they decided to start pecking at it.

 

[JenniferCNY]

I chuckled at the comment about not needing a doorbell on a playhouse for chickens. My chickens were exploring my daughter's playhouse and one did manage to peck at and ring the doorbell.