Repurposed playhouse coop

[Rasputin66]

I built this! I bought the playhouse on Craigslist for $50 and added some stuff. I'm embarrassed at how much time I spent on this thing.

Obligatory flock pics. The coop is up on a couple of pallets to keep it dry. The birds like to hang out on the porch.

My neighbor's kids threw a papaya over the fence, so now I have some papaya trees. I planted lettuce in the flowerpots, but the Serama won't let them grow more than a centimeter. Open to suggestions on something else I can put in them.

The nest boxes are made out of cat litter buckets so I can access them from the outside. They're watertight. It rains constantly here so this is a concern for me.

This fake egg is supposed to convince them to lay in here. It is not really working consistently.

Nest box under construction. The plastic flap at the back is for the egg drop. I added a block at the front under a piece of carpet so the eggs will roll towards the back and under the flap.

The back wall is shuttered for ventilation and easy cleanout. I can close the slats if it's going to rain.

The windows and gables are all plastic shutters that I cut down to size. Ignore broody bird and general coop grossness. Pop door is under the little poop awning.

 

[Spartan22]

Nice job! The only suggestion I have is for your nesting boxes, they’re a pain to open and close, so there will be a lot of jarring of eggs and laying hens in the future. With it exposed to the weather in your area that cat litter bucket will deteriorate overtime, so maybe an overhang roof over it and an easy to open seal tight doors. Otherwise you did an awesome repurpose construction, good luck with your chickens.

 

[aart]

Very cute, but very tight quarters for 5 LF birds and the bantam.

 

[Rasputin66]

Very cute, but very tight quarters for 5 LF birds and the bantam.

You think so? They only go inside to sleep and lay eggs.

 

[pibb]

Ha. I converted the exact same playhouse just a little differently. I have 6 chickens roosting comfortably in mine and 3 nests. I could probably get a couple more chickens in there.

I spent alot of time on mine too. I really would have been better just building from scratch, but I do like it.

 

[Rasputin66]

Ha. I converted the exact same playhouse just a little differently. I have 6 chickens roosting comfortably in mine and 3 nests. I could probably get a couple more chickens in there.

I spent alot of time on mine too. I really would have been better just building from scratch, but I do like it.

I'd like to see yours!

 

[pibb]

I reach in through the side windows to get my eggs as you can see in the second pic. The middle nest is hard to get to but doable. The windows are a hinged piece of plywood now.

I clean the roost poop up every morning with a plastic putty knife and dust pan. I used 2x6s for the floor. I did have straw in the floor for the winter but now it is removed to ease my poo cleaning and to save straw.

The front is open into an enclosed run. They mostly only go in the coop to lay an egg or roost. Sometimes I see my rooster in the nest thinking he is going to lay an egg.

I had to shingle the roof because it leaked so bad even after I siliconed every joint up there so you should watch yours closely. Mine had a half door at the bottom in which I put it on the top then put a piece of plywood at the bottom.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

I built this! I bought the playhouse on Craigslist for $50 and added some stuff. I'm embarrassed at how much time I spent on this thing.

View attachment 1707634
Obligatory flock pics. The coop is up on a couple of pallets to keep it dry. The birds like to hang out on the porch.

View attachment 1707635
My neighbor's kids threw a papaya over the fence, so now I have some papaya trees. I planted lettuce in the flowerpots, but the Serama won't let them grow more than a centimeter. Open to suggestions on something else I can put in them.

View attachment 1707636
The nest boxes are made out of cat litter buckets so I can access them from the outside. They're watertight. It rains constantly here so this is a concern for me.

View attachment 1707637
This fake egg is supposed to convince them to lay in here. It is not really working consistently.

View attachment 1707633
Nest box under construction. The plastic flap at the back is for the egg drop. I added a block at the front under a piece of carpet so the eggs will roll towards the back and under the flap.

View attachment 1707639
The back wall is shuttered for ventilation and easy cleanout. I can close the slats if it's going to rain.

View attachment 1707640
The windows and gables are all plastic shutters that I cut down to size. Ignore broody bird and general coop grossness. Pop door is under the little poop awning.

That is so cool and cute looking! You really got creative! I love it! I bet you had a lot of fun working on it! My girls love their kitty litter nest box the best. Here is the photo, I took the flap off and put a little curtain on it and put a brick inside so it wouldn’t tip over when they get in. The kitty litter box is in the middle and the roost and poop board are above the three nesting areas. This is my current coop for my big girls. I want to have fun building a playhouse one though for my Polish that I’m getting in August.

 

[theoldchick]

 

[SurferchickinSB]

View attachment 2503090

I love chicken coops and how creative people get with them!