Vent - I am terrible at coop making

[Leighe]

Well I'll be darn.....didn't even know about "playsets converted to coops". I am SO NOT a creative person. I see a playset and guess what I see? A playset . I cannot "imagine" anything which is why Pinterest is such a blessing for people like me. I'll betcha there's 15,000 pictures on Pinterest of "playsets converted to coops"....how in the world did I miss those????

 

[aart]

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Gorilla-Playsets-5-1-2-ft-x-5-1-2-ft-Play-Zee-Bo-with-Covered-Sandbox-02-3004/202188114?cm_mmc=Shopping|THD|G|0|G-BASE-PLA-D21-PlaySets|&gclid=Cj0KCQjwqvvLBRDIARIsAMYuvBHvGIqREFUcLAXHkqt-xjrPtCNqan30UakF2a7l72jjDSRsOXlksWQaAm9vEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CIzY7uHbtNUCFU2NaQodcCEN-w
I've been wanting to get this and turn it into a coop for years now. Husband is adamant that we don't need another coop. But it would be SO easy to convert.

My next coop, if I like this and decide to breed.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/KidKraft-Outdoor-Playhouse-00176/203594831

Those both might make decent little breeder/growout/isolation coops. They look good in the pics, and at least they appear to be made from much sturdier materials, thus would be easier to modify.

 

[royrector]

Just keep after it and it will come together nicely for you in the end. There is nothing like being able to stand back, look at something and say: "I built that!"

 

[royrector]

BTW, a carpenter friend once told me: "don't feel bad, the only difference between a good carpenter and a bad carpenter is that a good carpenter knows how to cover his mistakes better." ;-)

 

[wvchics]

Once I figured out the saw blade was bent, I got a new one, and I turned off the laser guide - but the whole base of the project is on off-kilter boards. I actually enjoy sawing/drilling/etc, so I'm enjoying it regardless. And I'm getting noticeably better. Sewing, I actively dislike and do purely because I like the finished products (I'm better at it, since I've never gone more than a few months without sewing.)



The rubbermaid sheds don't have enough ventilation for my climate - I thought about it.

I definitely wouldn't mess with the prefab. They are small and overpriced for $550 you can build a much better structure. I built mine out of plywood then sealed it from weather with latex paint, bought chicken wire and framed in the run. I did all this for about $250-300. Much bigger and about half the price. Also, I'm able to make any changes or modifications because I know exactly how it's put together.

 

[The Farmers' Daughter]

Oh wow, I feel the exact same way!! We have spent so many weekends with so little progress for the huge time spent. I see people posting on here...gave it 3 weekends and BAM, palace! After reading posts here I am always a bit depressed that I am not somehow completing a coop in 2 days. I can't count how many times I started looking up handyman ads on Craig's list for finishing the @#$%@#^% thing. Now I can't even do that as I am so close to done that I refuse to give up the right to say that I built it!

I also am annoyed with the lack of decent affordable coops. There are playset "kits" that you just go to home depot and buy lumber and put the playset together with the instructions and hardware provided. I wish there were options like that for coops! I found one that was somewhat like that, but there were enough things I didn't like about it that I might as well have just done everything custom. If there were more styles/finishes maybe I could have been less clueless. We do have amish around us, but I refuse to pay three grand for a coop! Also, they only seem to have this one style that has so little ventilation and a shape that I don't like.

I am now competing for how big a chicken can be and still be in a "brooder" Just watch for a post titled "How to put nest box in brooder?" in a few weeks!

 

[The Farmers' Daughter]

There's a great business idea!

 

[wvchics]

That's what I said I tried to talk my fiancé into building some to sell but I don't think he was crazy about building the one we have lol

 

[Ming Ming]

It took me a month but its was worth it in the end honestly. keep going, you'll be your feathers friends hero!

 

[paintedChix]

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Gorilla-Playsets-5-1-2-ft-x-5-1-2-ft-Play-Zee-Bo-with-Covered-Sandbox-02-3004/202188114?cm_mmc=Shopping|THD|G|0|G-BASE-PLA-D21-PlaySets|&gclid=Cj0KCQjwqvvLBRDIARIsAMYuvBHvGIqREFUcLAXHkqt-xjrPtCNqan30UakF2a7l72jjDSRsOXlksWQaAm9vEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CIzY7uHbtNUCFU2NaQodcCEN-w
I've been wanting to get this and turn it into a coop for years now. Husband is adamant that we don't need another coop. But it would be SO easy to convert.

That's CUTE! It would make a great brooder or if put on wheels, maybe a good tractor w/i a movable poultry net fence. I have a hard time bending, so would have to make sure it sat on the ground and was movable.

But for the same price, you can have an 8x8 coop that you can walk into standing up and still be able to move it (mine w/ a vehicle of some sort or a team of shetland ponies - I couldn't pull it by myself). For a little more $$, you could have the same project "beefed up" and prettier than mine is... Our 1st one was less than $100 because we had materials on hand that we re-purposed - the used bucket w/ the cracked bottom removed is the "pop" door. We always have cracked buckets available - more so now than 20 yrs ago since they aren't made the same. The standing up bucket with lid, stores 25# of feed that we then put into the feed tubs - again re-purposed from ponies... There are many of this type of coop/run/tractor here on BYC.



I could not rip 2x4s down, so opted to purchase pre-cut 2x2's for some of the wood and used 2x4s for other areas. It DOES work! We have 3 of these and plan on building more (much longer!) along with some different style of actual movable tractor that will work...

Cyneswithv - do you have any pictures of what you've built so far?