Building materials just keep going up in price, so building a playhouse that is convertible or can be repurposed is a great way to extend the longevity of your building project. Converting your children’s playhouse after they have outgrown that period in their life to a good-looking chicken coop gives you years more use for your cost of building materials and DIY project time.

Repurposing your children’s playhouse also makes good ecological sense, we believe if something can be used again, don’t throw it out to end up in the landfill. If you build your children’s playhouse with repurposing in mind to a chicken coop later this process is even easier. You would build the playhouse with awning windows instead of vertical or horizontal windows, this way the windows don’t need to be removed from the playhouse to convert it to a chicken coop.

The Playhouse to Chicken Coop Conversion Process

Most children’s playhouses can be converted into a chicken coop pretty easily. Also, most playhouses are at least 6 feet x 8 feet and will convert to a chicken coop that would house between 12 to 15 laying hens. You don’t need to have that many hens, but that is the capacity of most children’s playhouses when converted to chicken coops. Built with this idea or not, the process of converting a playhouse to a chicken coop is a pretty easy project.

Chickens are easy to take care of and produce a lot of eggs. Eggs at what they cost today if you have a growing family can be a chunk of money each week at the grocery store, especially for organic brown eggs without antibiotics. So, planning before you start converting your children’s playhouse to a chicken coop is a good task with what your chickens will need and the components of your new chicken coop.

Chicken Coop Functions:

• Security form predators
• Protection from weather and a stable indoor temperature
• Clean water access
• Food access that can’t be contaminated
• A place to sleep or roost at night
• A convenient place for your hens to lay eggs and for you to gather them each morning

Chicken Coop Parts:

• Starting with a playhouse you probably have the beginnings of a predator-poof henhouse
• A feeder for their food that is automatic
• Water source
• A place for your hens can roost
• Simple nesting boxes
• Feed storage that is accessible from outside
• Outdoor protected chicken run
• Windows for light and ventilation-awning windows are great
• Doors-tiny for your hens and a larger door for your access

Converting a Playhouse to a Chicken Coop

Let’s start with door access for you and your chickens. Your children’s front door to their playhouse is usually not adult height and is a great place to start with your conversion.

1. The previous front door to the playhouse will become the chicken’s opening to the chicken run. You need to remove the front door from the playhouse and install a slatted wood walkway down to the ground level for your hens to access their outdoor run.
2. Most playhouses have at least two windows for ventilation, we are going to keep one of them for a new chicken coop window. Hopefully, you have awning windows installed in your children’s playhouse, if not this is the time to uninstall all playhouse windows and install one awning window for ventilation.
3. If your playhouse has more than side windows, but also back and front windows, you will be converting the back window into an adult-size entrance to the chicken coop. The front windows can be taken out and you may install awning windows for light and ventilation.
4. The second window when removed and will start to provide access to the laying boxes. you will need to cut into your framing and remove the framing for the window to extend the access to the side of your chicken coop to be at least 6 feet wide and 2.5 feet tall.
5. After cutting the access area on the side of the coop and framing it for strength, you will install a piece of T-1-11 or suitable outdoor wood no thicker than a half-inch. You will cut your board so it covers the access area and allows enough leeway to cover it completely and install hinges on top with hooks to hold the door open and a clasp at the bottom of the door to make sure it is predator-proof from the outside.
6. You can easily create a nesting boxes area by framing a platform inside your chicken coop in alignment with your outside access door the length of your chicken coop and about 2 feet wide. You should allow enough room for at least 4 laying boxes.
7. Laying boxes can be as simple as plastic bins, such as Rubbermaid plastic tubs filled with straw and easily cleaned out on a regular basis.
8. You may repurpose an old wooden ladder for a roost for your hens inside the chicken coop, just cut it to size to run the length of the chicken coop on the opposite side as the laying box area.
9. Now it’s time to install your adult-size access door on the back of the coop for cleaning and storing purposes. You can buy a pre-hung door with just needing to cut the door area and frame to install the access door.
10. If your children’s playhouse had a loft your can repurpose it for storing chicken food, otherwise, you will want to create an area inside the back adult-size access door that is predator-proof and keeps the chickens away from the grain for storage.
11. A good way to supply water is with an old-fashioned gravity-fed poultry waterer or there are now reasonably priced automatic water feeders that are simple to install to keep a continuous supply of freshwater for your chickens. If you live in an area that freezes in the winter the gravity-fed waterer may be easier than protecting the hose that feeds the automatic watering system.
12. Galvanized hanging feeders that are automatic stay the cleanest, but if you want a low-tech version a plastic hanging feeder works well. Hanging feeders are best for chickens because they can’t poop in their food and their watering system if tipped over doesn’t get their food wet.
13. The next chore is laying straw on the floor of the chicken coop which you can recycle into compost if you use rice straw instead of conventional hay.
14. You want to build your outdoor chicken run. Using field fencing is best for the fencing part, stretched tight and using ground anchors to firmly attach the field fence to the ground so predators are kept away.
15. Using chicken wire stretched tight over the top of your chicken run enclosure keeps both flying and climbing predators out of your chicken coop.

We would love to see your finished playhouse to chicken coop conversion photos. You can count on Shed Windows and More for doors, windows, cupolas, and more for your playhouse to chicken coop conversion.

The post Playhouse to Chicken Coop Conversions Made Easy first appeared on Door.

We are fast approaching winter the season that delivers snow, ice, wind, and a lot of rain. Winter weather elements can cause damage to our home and your outdoor buildings if you aren’t prepared. We are sharing some simple, easy, and cost-saving tips on how to winterize your home and outdoor buildings that will save you money this year.

Many of the winterizing tips we share with you can be accomplished in a few hours and the largest project could be done in a weekend. Many of you are great DIY builders, so nearly all our suggestions you can do yourself and save money over jobbing out the tasks. Make a winterizing list and delegate to everyone in your family to pitch in and help. Many of our tips pertain to homes only, but there are a few listed below that also help winterize outdoor buildings including chicken coops.

Getting Winter-Ready Saves You Money

The benefits of winterizing your home and outdoor buildings are many. All of the winterizing tips we share help you take care of your most important investment, your family home, and help maintain its value. The added benefit of many of these suggestions is the money you save on your utility bills each month and also not needing emergency repairs. Emergency repairs happen at some of the most inconvenient times and usually hit your budget hard.

Protect Your Home Investment with Winterizing Tips

Below you will find a list of winterizing tips that can be performed on your home or your outdoor buildings. Many of these suggestions we have put on our list for the season or have already checked it off our list this year.

• How is your heating system? Depending on what type of heating system you have, this is the time to replace filters or you may need to clean out the whole system. If you have a gas heating system and turn off the gas in the warmer months, now is the time to check the pilot light and make sure that everything starts up and runs well.
• Check your chimney for loose bricks or cracks in the stovepipe, if you have a wood heating stove. If you are agile, the cost of a chimney brush and extension is very inexpensive and the cleaning of your stove pipe can be done quickly. Each year you should make sure that the fire bricks in a fireplace or heating stove or in good shape, that the gasket around the heating stove closure still fits well. If there are gaps in your stove door insulation, it is easy to replace and will make your stove much more efficient. If you don’t want to do the task yourself have a chimney sweep come and clean your chimney, fireplace, or stove.
• Winterize your chicken coop with fiberglass house wrap. You can cut the wrap to size and it will help insulate your chicken coop from the outside and help keep a more contact temperature for your chickens.
• Now is the time to check batteries on all smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. I know that most of our detectors have warning chimes, but you shouldn’t rely on those, each of these devices has a self-check button. Be sure each room has a smoke detector and that each hallway outside of a bedroom has a carbon monoxide detector. It is also good to have one installed in both your kitchen and living room.
• Be sure to disconnect your garden hose from the outside faucet and store it for the winter. Any water left in a hose can cause it to freeze and then your hose needs to be replaced.
• It’s time to insulate all outdoor above-ground pipes. I buy insulation wrap specially made for pipes, so it already has a slit and I use Guerilla tape to secure the wrap in place on all my pipes.
• Test your basement sump pump to make sure it is operational. If you live in a more temperate climate be sure to have a portable submersible utility pump available and in good working order. We use ours for our pool when the out-take hose can’t keep up with rainfall and we pump water out of our pool so it doesn’t overflow. I can’t tell you how many times for so many uses this portable pump has come in handy.
• This solution makes a great holiday gift, mud trays for boots, and also boot mats to scrub off snow, dirt, from entering your home. We use these outside our doors and then we have a mat inside the door that absorbs water and deflects fur, which is great when you have dogs coming in out of your house.
• Another great holiday gift is a mitten dryer that you can place next to your fireplace or heating stove to dry out wet mittens.
• Caulking and weatherstripping are inexpensive compared to leaking double pane windows and the cost of replacement. Check each of your exterior windows for cracks in the caulking and replace weatherstripping where needed.
• Installing draft tape on the bottom of your exterior doors helps keep your home warmer and your utility bills lower.
• Check your roof for leaks and clean out all gutters. Gutter guards save so much time and trouble. Dirty gutters don’t allow your downspouts. Be sure to check roof flashing around chimneys and vents, these are prime places on your roof that can cause leaks over time.
• Winter is the time to reverse your ceiling fans so they move to air down into the room and you need to heat your home less.
• Investing in a stovetop fan for your wood heating stove makes a world of difference in how warm your home is while you use less wood in the long run.
• Protect your air conditioner from the elements with either a jacket or a simple piece of plywood held down with bricks or strapping to keep your air conditioner in good condition for next summer.
• Buy a humidifier or combination humidifier and air cleaner to keep your home more virus-free. It’s important to keep indoor air humidity above 30% and below 50%. Keeping your air humidity above 43% helps deter viruses and keeps your skin in better condition.
• Cut back tree limbs from your house so they don’t fall on your home in a storm. If removing large limbs or a tree it’s best to have a tree service do the job.
• Consider a backup generator or investing in solar with all the incentives that are available today. The cost of a well pump solar system is relatively inexpensive and keeps water coming to your home in a storm and during a power outage. If buying a portable generator, be sure to invest in an inverter generator for your appliances and computers, they need the steady electrical output that a regular generator doesn’t deliver.
• Before the snow, sleet and rain really start is a great time to cover your outdoor furniture. Make sure your outdoor furniture covers have breathing slits so your furniture doesn’t mildew.
• If you live in a high wind area, prior to storms be sure to take your plants off their plant movers, it’s amazing that a strong gust can topple a 20-gallon pot that probably weighs in access of 40 pounds and crack, but it does happen. Once the storm has passed you can put your plants back on their plant movers till the next storm.
• Stock up on salt or lime depending on where you live. Salt helps give you extra traction on walkways, stairs, and paved driveways. Salt for our customers that deal with snow and ice and lime for our customers that live in areas that get huge amounts of rain. Lime added to your driveway helps soak up excess moisture and hardens your gravel driveway after lots of rain.

A little bit of planning can go a long way to enjoying the winter months instead of being bogged down with emergency repairs that take time and hit your budget. Many of these tasks we have or are currently performing on our homes. If you need to replace windows or other shed hardware or shed doors on your outdoor buildings, look no further than Shed Windows and More for a great selection at amazing prices with the great customer service you rely on from our company.

The post Winterize Your Home & Outdoor Buildings first appeared on Door.

We have discussed in other blog posts about growing your own vegetables in your backyard, but taking that one step further you can extend your mini-farm to include chickens, ducks, or rabbits.

Having access to fresh eggs, your own homegrown chicken for eating, duck eggs, duck meat, rabbits for rabbit meat has you and your family much more self-sufficient. Plus your homegrown eggs and meat are fresh and can be raised without antibiotics and GMO-free.

Raising Backyard Chickens for Eggs & Meat

Being able to have your own fresh chicken eggs each day is wonderful, especially with what eggs are starting to cost. You can be sure that the eggs your hens produce are antibiotic and GMO-free, plus eggs that come from your backyard have a longer shelf life.

We offer some tips below to raising chickens for eggs and meat, but one of your best local sources for information about backyard chicken raising is your local Farm Bureau or feed store. So here are some thoughts on backyard chickens:

• Start small because if you are a novice you really don’t know if you will have the time or enjoy the experience of backyard chickens.
• Our suggestion, don’t buy a rooster unless you are dead set on fertile eggs and possibly irritating your neighbors at all hours of the day. Remember that roosters don’t just crow at sun up!
• Start with standard breed chickens instead of exotics, they tend to be hardier and lay larger eggs. Rhode Island Reds and Plymouth Rocks are hardy and easy for a beginner to raise.
• Remember the lifespan of a chicken is anywhere from 5-10 years, so this is a commitment, much like taking on a pet.
• Buy a coop, they are experts or use a time-honored coop design and keep your coop weight lighter so that it be moved on wheels if you decide to go for a smaller coop.
• Remember that chickens need a run and not just a coop, and it is best that your coop run is fenced on all sides and has chicken wire or lightweight fencing material across the top.
• Make your chicken coop varmint proof, by putting chicken wired under the coop and then covering the wire with hay, which chickens love to nibble on.
• Make your laying boxes accessible from the outside of the coop, so it’s easy to pick up eggs each day.
• Keep in mind that you need enough space for each chicken so there isn’t overcrowding and disease and fighting. The minimum rule is 2-3 feet per chicken inside the coop and 8-10 square feet for chickens in the outside run.
• Keep in mind that it takes anywhere between 17 to 26 weeks for hens to start laying. Food intake and quality are important, make sureSt they are whole grain with at least 17% protein.
• Install an automatic waterier or use the time-honored chicken waterier for your chicken’s water source. Also, make sure you have feed on demand, there are many different automatic feeders available.
• Be sure to gather eggs every day.

Once you have experienced eggs from a backyard chicken, there is no going back to store-bought eggs. The yolks are bright yellow and are firm. You can keep a fresh basket of eggs on your countertop, but keep in mind once refrigerator, they need to stay that way. The colors of the eggs are beautiful and eating fresh eggs is an amazing culinary experience–everything you cook or bake just tastes better.

Backyard Ducks for Eggs & Meat

Starting with raising ducks in your backyard can be fun and produce both eggs and meat for your family. The easiest way to get started with ducks is to start with a few ducklings that you buy from your local feed store in the springtime. Another option is buying from a local hatchery or a trusted online source for ducklings. Another option if buying full-grown ducks from a breeder and forgoing the duck raising process. If you want to be part of the whole duckling to duck growth process there are a few things that you need:

• A brooder can be as simple as a large box with hay on the bottom or wood shavings.
• You need a heat source and a heat lamp with a red bulb will substitute for their mother’s body warmth at 90 degrees.
• For bedding you can use either pine shavings or hay, it will need to be changed daily because it will get wet.
• Start your duckling on a duckling starter food that includes vegetables, fruits, and protein.
• The best duck breeds for egg production are: Campbell ducks which can produce 340 eggs a year, Runners that produce about 300 chicken-sized eggs a year, Buffs which are also good meat-producing ducks lay about 200 eggs a year, and Welsh Harlequins which can be raised for both meat and eggs produce about 300 white eggs a year.
• Runners are also non-flying ducks, which helps contain them.
• Keep in mind that ducks are foragers and if loose will eat your landscaping and also your vegetable garden in no time flat. I have seen them take out a 50-foot row of lettuce in minutes! So containment is important with a well-fenced run.
• Ducks need access to water since they can’t swallow food without water.
• If you have leftover kale, romaine, or lettuce from your garden mature ducks love to eat their vegetables and they are also good for them.
• At the end of your vegetable garden season it’s a great idea to give your ducks access to your garden, they will help eat if down in no time flat plus add nutrients to the soil through their droppings.

Keep in mind that duck eggshells are thicker than chicken eggs so they stay fresh longer. Duck eggs tend to be richer tasting and creamier than chicken eggs with higher amounts of Vitamin D if your ducks are free-range. Duck eggs make for rich omelets and very fluffy and delicious cakes.

Raising Rabbits in Your Backyard

Rabbits are a great multi-use addition to your backyard farm. They are a great source of wool, meat, and manure for your garden. Rabbits take minimal time, space, and money and are also lovely pets. Different breeds of rabbits are known for different purposes. Your top pet rabbits are the Mini-Rex followed by the Dutch, Mini-Lop, and Netherland Dwarf rabbit.

Angora rabbits are known for their wonderful wool-producing attributes where you can pluck straight from their bodies and spin into the finest yarn. New Zealand rabbits and the Giant Chinchilla rabbits are bred for their tasty, high-quality meat.

Rabbits of all breeds produce about 50 pounds of manure a year and it isn’t as hot as chicken manure and makes great fertilizer for plants that need heavy feedings, such as roses and azaleas. What do you need to raise rabbits? Here is the shortlist:

• Rabbits need shelter, food, and water with a cozy place to nest.
• Buying a hutch or building a small hutch is a simple project. You want to make sure that your rabbit hutch is off the ground for digging reasons and also predators.
• Make sure your hutch has multiple levels so the rabbits can jump between the different levels.
• Provide additional run space for your rabbits, they will be happier and healthier.
• Rabbits need shade and well-ventilated living space or a shade tree as cover for their hutch and run space. Rabbits can tolerate cold, but heat is a serious issue for rabbits.
• You will need an automatic feeder and water source, nesting box. Remember rabbits love to gnaw so a wood hutch comes with challenges unless it is lined with wire.
• You should provide 10 square feet of roaming space for each rabbit.  Be sure that it is secure because once they have a taste of your vegetable garden they will find a way to get back there.
• Rabbits are highly efficient natural composters; just like backyard chickens. Rabbit manure is a great amendment to any vegetable garden or mulch around landscaping plants.

If you are considering raising backyard rabbits, consult your local Farm Bureau, feed store, or local breeders for information particular to your area. At Shed Windows and More we have a great supply of windows and doors that can help you construct a great chicken, duck, or rabbit coop or housing area. We have sizes and choices that you won’t find at a big box store with prices and selection that you can’t beat.

The post Start Your Own Mini-Farm first appeared on Door.

Lets find out what is the best chicken coop design for your flock and situation. There are many different choices in chicken coop design to choose from; mobile chicken coops, stationary chicken coops, and semi-portable chicken coops that marry the best of both types of chicken coops. Below we discuss the merits of each type of design so you can choose what fits your needs and flocks needs best.

Stationary Chicken Coops

Stationary chicken coops are meant to be stationary, permanent and not moved. Stationary coops can be converted backyard sheds or you may build your own stationary chicken coop from scratch. Stationary coops generally have a solid floor made or wood, concrete, or blocks.

Stationary coops usually have a chicken run attached to the chicken coop to give the chickens a yard for access to the ground and the outdoors. We suggest that the chicken run also has a chicken wire roof, to make it more predator proof and that the chicken yard is also wired in 1/4″ chicken wire mesh to keep varmints out and your flock safe.

Stationary coops are the safest, but are the most costly and time consuming to build. Also with a permanent coop you are looking at slopping out your chicken coop to get to that wonderful chicken manure. If chicken manure is not a priority for your garden many stationary coops with concrete floors can be built at a bit of a slope with a drain at one end to carry out the chicken feces when you spray down the interior floor.

Using pine shavings and allowing the chicken poop to accumulate on the bedding allows for decomposition to happen right on the floor of the chicken coop; keeping smells to a minimum and you have nearly instant compost this way. Just use a pitch fork or flat shovel to scoop out and use the compost on your garden.

When thinking predators and sturdiness, stationary coops tend to pull the lead. A stationary coop should be built well above grade or water table to avoid flooding during heavy rains. We suggest with a stationary chicken coop that you make it so you have multiple choices on attaching a run, so at least the chicken run can be moved. Moving the chicken run is important since the chickens tend to get the yard down to bare dirt making for more parasite problems, and finally vegetation won’t grown. So, rotating your chicken run is best for the health of your flock and gives you access to the chicken manure in the yard at intervals.

Semi-Portable Chicken Coops

A semi-portable chicken coop gives you the best of two worlds in many ways in chicken coop design. Semi-mobile coops can be moved but usually they are designed to be in a one location for weeks and months at a time. Shed style coops with wheels can be moved by a tractor or pickup truck. One of the advantages of a semi-portable coop is easy access to the chicken manure. No need with a semi-portable coop to slop out the chicken coop and also a great way to give your garden the nutrients it needs to produce great fruits and vegetables for your family.

Portable Chicken Coop Design

Having had both stationary and semi-portable chicken coops I tend to lean toward the semi-portable design and portable chicken coop design for under 6 hens. It’s wonderful when your are finished with your vegetable garden for the season to move your portable coop to the vegetable garden and let the chickens clean up the last of the crop while leaving their droppings to nourish the next season’s soil. As you expand your chicken flock you can always use the portable version for the smaller chickens once they graduate from a safe, warm, indoor location to keep them seperate from the larger hens.

Portable coops are great but they can be a bit of a design challenge when it comes to predators, wet weather, and high winds. For the predator problem we suggest checking your coop daily to make sure  there hasn’t been any intrusion of predators. Also having a wire mesh floor can help keep predators at bay and it also gives more stability to your portable chicken coop design.

As to high winds we suggest using curved rebar or heavy duty ground stakes to keep your portable chicken coop strong and stationary. Also for any rain challenges if you distribute 3-6 inches of straw or hay inside your portable chicken coop it gives your hens a dry place to stand till the rains subside.

For all your chicken coop building needs look to Shed Windows and More for chicken coop windows, and hardware for your chicken coop. Many of the photos you see in our blog today are designs that our happy customers have built to house their laying hens. Be sure to send us photos of your finished DIY projects.

The post Your Best Chicken Coop Choice first appeared on Door.

Starting with well made windows is a must for having a weather tight chicken coop. Our customers have sent us photos over the years of their chicken coop designs and they are come in every size and look. All of our backyard famers agree that good planning helps a chicken coop design turn out great. For your best selection in chicken coop windows count on Shed Windows and More.
There are some simple questions to ask yourself before you start gathering together materials and ordering your supplies:

What Are Your Goals?

• How many chickens do you plan to keep?
• How many eggs does your family consume a week?
• How much space do you have?
• Do you want your chickens to run freely or be only caged
• What is the purpose of having your chickens; 4-H project, family eggs, small farm business, etc.?

Designing Your Chicken Coop

With some planning your chicken coop whether a backyard chicken coop or a small family farm chicken coop can come together effortlessly:

1. Height-Two to three feet off the ground makes your coop more predator proof, too close to the ground and your chicken coop can easily be accessed by rodents.
2. Insulation-Chickens are hardy animals and can withstand temperatures down to 30 degrees, if your climate gets temperatures below 30 or over 90 degrees consider insulating your coop well to keep your chickens in good health. Heat lamps are a small investment and can raise the temperature and help with production since chickens like around 12-14 hours of sunlight a day for optimal laying conditions.
3. Ventilation-Because chickens eliminate in their coop it is important to have proper ventilation covered with chicken wire. Making your coop moveable by installing wheels allows you to harvest the chicken manure easily.
4. Food & Water-Make it easy and automatic, so you are only needing to fill the feed weekly and freshen the water a couple of times a week. Some of our customers put in automatic watering systems and feed leveling systems making the food and watering of their chickens very simple.
5. Perches-You need enough perch space so your chickens can perch without touching each other.
6. Litter-Litter is needed inside the coop floor below the screening and in the laying boxes to keep the eggs warm. Using rice straw which has no seeds makes for excellent litter since it doesn’t produce seed in your compost.
7. Nesting Boxes-Your chicken’s nesting box can be as simple as a plastic or rubberized box; easy to clean, simple to fill with nesting materials.
8. Ramp-With an elevated coop your chickens will need a way to go from their coop to the chicken yard; a simple plank with horizontal slats placed a one foot intervals makes for good traction and makes it easy for your chickens to exit to their fenced yard.
9. Fencing-Provide predator proof fencing for your chickens; either wrapping the edges and using landscape clothes pegs to keep in place or some other means for predator proofing your chicken yard.
10. Location-Positioning your chicken coop so it has some shade during the day, but the early morning sun shines on your coop makes for the best laying conditions. A great idea is putting wheels on a smaller coop so you can position it for maximum sunlight and also harvest the chicken manure for compost.

Taking the time for planning your chicken coop can save you both time and money in the long run. Also a well thought out chicken coop makes for happy hens and better egg production. View our chicken coop windows for the best selection of sizes and colors for your chicken coop design.

The post Top Chicken Coop Planning Tips first appeared on Door.