Plastic Playhouse Coop?! Please Look!

[dbounds10]

OK BYC - I am really starting to stress because my 9 day olds still dont have a permanent home. I have been looking at pre-fabs but decided agaisnt them. I am also looking at trying to find someone to build me one but I have heard several of you on here say that plastic playhouses can be converted nicely. I think I found one that might work and want your expert advise!

It is somewhere between 19 and 25 sq feet. Why the big range you ask? Because there are 2 sets of dimensions on the dang website and I am not sure which one is correct. So I ask, if it is 19 Sq feet, is that enough for 6 hens?

I plan to attached nest boxes to one window and cover the others with hardware cloth. I would also attached better latches to make it secure, etc


http://www.swingsetsandmore.com/Swing-Town-GWPH-9300-AOU1003.html

 

[gryeyes]

If I were you, I'd go for the Little Tike's Picnic in the Playhouse model, instead. It's on sale and I think it would be easier to transmogrify into a coop. Better ventilation, good support for exterior nest box on that table....

If your weather is mild year round, you can squeak by with the square footage because they would only be in there to roost at night and lay eggs in the nest boxes.

I have a Little Tike's playhouse as one of my coops. Not that model. I don't really like the looks of the Swing-Town model you listed, but that's just me.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i bought this one for my ducks. It's only $250 and ships free, although i was able to pick one up at my local store. It has a large back open space/window, but i covered that and all the windows with hardware cloth. It's a little short for me to get into and clean comfortably, but not too bad.

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4400914

Edited to add that this would be big enough for 6 hens.

 

[Peck Johnson]

We use one of those plastic jobs for chicks and then larger birds when they need to be segregated for health reasons. 6 full grown birds at a maximum and even that will not be a healthy longterm setup. Not secure against predators at all. Not an ideal space for egg laying either. Not worth the money new. We got ours from a neighbor for $10.