http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/grd/2306267200.html
Could this be used as the base for a coop? The area where I am thinking of putting the coop is large enough so this could be (I hope) enclosed so it could be the place they would go to be locked up at night...then during the day I could let them roam around the whole pen. There are a lot of Raccoons around here so I feel sure they would love a chicken dinner. My house is in the city, but there are still wild animals..we have seen Possums and have smelled Skunks...also have heard Coyotes.
Take a Look at this...
And this person has the banties I am wanting...
http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/grd/2315334403.html
Melva, those containers look great, Those are a steal. You could add hardware cloth where the big holes are and have yourself a very nice little coop. I like it and the price is really great...Good luck my dear...Hay
They are not very tall so they would get pretty hot.....I have a friend who has a truck, and I am pretty sure he would go and get it for me. If nothing else I could use the wood to make a coop.
Melvatoo, I'm not sure what height has to do with heat. I just looked at them again and if a person put some leg's on them at the height one wanted and put a top on them you could make a ramp for them to walk up and down. Chicken wire or hardware cloth around the large holes I think they could be great little coops for maybe four birds (full size) or six banties. I really like the looks of them...Hay
What I was thinking in regards to the heat....is that heat is trapped if there is a roof, and if it is not very tall, the heat would not be able to rise very much.
I was also thinking because of the height, the coop would have to be raked out and since it is six feet long it will need an opening at each end so it could be raked out from either end.
The idea of making legs to raise it up is a good one.
I am going to call the woman who is selling them tomorrow and set up a time to go and see them. I plan to take pictures. I plan to take a friend with me who seems to be able to see things I don't..
I like the size, but they don't look tall enough to have a roosting area? 28" isn't very tall for a roost? Maybe I'm not getting the vision.. but I agree they are a great start! A lot of the work is done for you! :)
I worry about the height too
You can make another wood frame to the top of that crate to make it taller after you get it home and put legs on it..lol...I would use 1/2 inch hardwood cloth all over since you have predators there..even on the floor as well...
Those are cool! How about one for the bottom, and another turned over for the top? Loks like they'd be pretty adaptable, and I can see a door on one end, but maybe just a small, clean-out door on the other? Just big enough for a rake.
Also looks as if you could just add height as Moodene suggests, the basics are there, you just need to adapt it a bit.
I want some. Four would do.....
Shipping would be a bit high, though..
Maybe I'll look on my Craig's List. $30 I could do:)
Go For it Melva! They would provide the bones for a really great coop start!
Two together would be just about perfect, seems to me. Go for it!
If You bought two of them and turned the top one upside down on the other, then attached them with hinges in the back you could then flip the top up for easy cleaning and the roost would be in the lower part of the top half. Shoot I wished I could come help you, you would see how easy and nicely they would work. Sixty buck, what a deal...Hay
Great idea!
Guess I am spatially impaired...just don't see things unless they are right in front of me.
My friend is not able to go and look at them with me..she is able to look at something and in her mind she can see how it should go. She suggested using saw horses for the legs, would that work? And an old ladder to use as a roost?
I don't have the money to do it today..but I just sold something on ebay, as soon as I get paid I will get in touch with that woman selling these things, she has 20 of them so hoping she will have them for a few days.
or there is this one...
http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/grd/2307899878.html
Melvatoo: I would never pay $350.00 for that coop: Not only is it too small but you would find it very difficult dealing with the chickens and the eggs. Sixty bucks for the two boxes and maybe forty bucks for wire and you'll have a better sturdier and more practical coop thats easy to access. A hundred bucks tops...Hay P.S. Put an ad on Craigs list and ask a good Samaritan who would be willing to help you put it together. I'll bet you'll get a positive response. I help ladies often and there a lot's of good men who would be privledged to help you...
I agree with Haystack... There will come a time when you have a sick or injured chicken, and I'll guarantee you, crawling in there chasing a chicken around is NO fun! You need to be able to get inside.. it's cute, but not realistic.
I used a piece of board that is about 12" wide with 1 tiny trim board cut into 1' pieces nailed to the plank for a ladder.. It's not that hard, and with a solid floor, you are prepared in case you have chicks needing to climb it.. trust me.. you need to be prepared for it! LOL ;)
I think those frames would be awesome, cause most of the hard work is done. (Framing) and figuring how big, etc. The two of them together would be ideal.. should be easy to figure out where you have doors, etc.
Thanks for your input, guys. I posted an ad on craigslist...will see if I get any response.
You could hire someone to put together the Playhouse coop and still be money ahead!
I need to find someone who will barter, work, for roses....
I am just fooling around..look at this one in San Diego
http://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/grd/2304290483.html
I have a friend from high school who just got the crates (she is in California) and she is going to let me know tomorrow about them...she is a big time chicken head!
Why don't you use the plans for the Playhouse coop? If I can do it anyone can! :)
Expensive (of course) but I like the design. It looks very accessible.
melvatoo, your ad comes up as flagged for removal? Did I do something wrong?
It was there earlier but now it's gone...?
They took it down don't know why...oh well.
am at a loss of how to respond to this woman...
I deleted her d-mail as it was meant for me, and as it has been pointed out to me it shouldn't have been shared.
This message was edited Apr 12, 2011 11:47 AM
Well, that woman was exactly right.. You aren't gonna like what she has to say! I would like to have a word or two with her... LOL
I bet she was using DE and got respiratory infections..
Either way.. I have a dear friend who probably feels the same way about chickens. She just doesn't get it.
Melvatoo, you have a support system here, with a lot of good advice, tips and tricks to help that learning curve not be so traumatic as that person's was.
I would thank her for her warning.. and thank her to stay out of it too.
What ZZ Said!!!!! Ditto!!
I deleted this one too, for the same reason.
This message was edited Apr 12, 2011 11:50 AM
Melvatoo,
I have had a rough two days with chickens and carnage but I would NEVER trade any of the time I have had with my chickens or my friends I have met here.
I face moving out to a new home, no coops having to start from scratch to build them, the loss of 11 or so chickens in the last 2 days some in such bad shape they did not live to see the sunrise this morning, one died but she left me an egg to remember her by... In this time of trouble I TURNED TO FRIENDS THAT POST ON HERE, ones I have made thru out the years, about a chicken that has half its breast feathers hanging.
Will she make it, I dont know, only Mother Nature knows, but I am NOT giving up. they have given me awesome advise today and support and words that hold me up. Yes she is a every day run of the mill white leghorn, but to me she is family... Just like my friends on DG, they are my family.
Raising chickens are not easy, I will be the first to say that, but if that is your wish, it will come true... Heck Billy had babies in his room for a long time, his personal chick TV, he knows what has happened the last two days, he is always with me and he found the dead ones last night. But I WOULD NOT TRADE THIS LEARNING EXPERIENCE for him, he see's the good the bad and the ugly...
The joys will always out weigh the sorrows trust me... As I sit here in tears, my blood boils at the thought of someone telling you "I know you really want to have the chickens but please think. It is not only the things others have pointed out but also what if you find your self in the same fix that you just get out of and can not care for them. What then? Who will care for them" If I didn't take the risks I have taken in life would I be where I am today??
PS Billy is a good chicken wrangler, I could loan him out to you after he is done at ZZ's.....
Melva your friends care about you and do not want you to get hurt. You have been hurt to much in life. If we sound negative then we are sorry but we DO NOT WANT YOU TO GET HURT.
We want you to go into it with your eyes open, take you time.
Also remember that your immune system is lower do to your diabetes. My DM has it and she is always getting sick.
Please look into this with your eyes open. The good and the bad.
If this is what you want and can handle care of the chickens and handle the cost, then go for it.
Melvatoo, having just a couple of pet (Family) Chickens isnt hard at all! They give so much back in return! There is nothing more calming and satisfactory than sitting in the late of the afternoon and just watching and enjoying your Chicks and there peaceful and funny antics!
Providing housing, food and clean water, is a challenge sometimes , but that is life. Take a serious look at how many chicks you can enjoy , NOT handle. I mean I would love to have hundreds of all varieties, that just isnt possible, I only have enough to keep me pleasantly busy and active outside, which I thoroughly enjoy! Having projects , Like building a coop, or planning a chicken run, is mentally challenging as well as satisfying. Take a chance, You will more than likely see an improvement in your health and wellbeing for it! If not and you see it was a mistake for you, it is very easy to find homes for 2 to 3 chickens.
MissJestr.... I have to go back and read some.... what happened to your Chickens!!! So Sorry!
I just wrote a really long and detailed post, which promptly disappeared into cyberspace.
But, basically it's all been said.
There are drawbacks. There are positives.
Think it through, make sure you've done all your due diligence, and then go for it, if it still looks good.
Yes, chickens are work.
There will be tragedies. Sometimes life just sucks.
But I get lots of joy, and a surprising amount of peace from my chickens. Sometimes I just stand and watch them, and for a little while, the world seems a better place.
Or, I intervene in an uneven fight, and wonder as I doctor the injured one, if life is ever fair.
I've learned a lot from my chickens. And the cows, cats, and dogs.
p.s., I'm also diabetic.
Eufaula,
Did not post what happened, but lets just say Billy does not have any more puppies which we were keeping the last three to move to the new home with cause it is way out. They were taken off last night and I would like to believe they are in a better home. They attacked and killed many of our chickens, and I wont have a dog that has the taste of blood.
Roper is still around for Billy and I am sure that if we are ment to have another dog, it will be...
I know that another DG'r had the same issue with a chicken and I sent out a SOS to her and she was able to give me hope....
Oh My, I am sooo sorry! I understand! Give Billy a hug from me.
I'm sorry, MissJestr. I understand. Sometimes you do all you can, and it just isn't enough. I'm very lucky in my adult dogs, but it took work.
I was beginning to worry about my neighbor's new puppies. They simply could not keep them penned, and they kept wanting to come into my yard. My chickens free range, and I have cats who love dogs, so are in danger from others. I asked them to keep them contained, and said I could fence the rest of the front (we'd already fenced most of it), but can't fence the acres in the back. Their daughter didn't like to have them penned when she was home, but was unable to control them. It was a tragedy waiting to happen.
The male was becoming aggressive, so I was watchful.
I haven't heard them in four days. I feel badly about it. I hope I wasn't the reason for their being gone. I only spoke to the mother once, as nicely as I could manage. I did talk to the daughter once, when Mom wasn't home, and the pups were out and running rampant.
There'd been issues with a dog of theirs before, who also disappeared. I think they're just not in a position to have dogs right now, while the kids are so young. Mom obviously had no use for them.
I do feel bad for the pups. It wasn't their fault.
Melvatoo, I have to add that there is no therapy like sitting with your chickens. The magic these silly birds can do is amazing.. they can take the whole world away.. but at the same time, they can take away your ability to know when to stop. Be warned.. Chickens, hatching eggs, etc. is very addicting.. you can get in over your head before you know it.. In fact, even knowing this after years of hatching, I have a broody hen getting ready to hatch babiez and I have no place for her! It is something you have to work on constantly. I see people warning you, and I also see it is not out of malice, but compassion.
I have to tell you, it can get expensive.. and it can be heartbreaking... but there is always Craigslist to offer your birds to sell or, in a pinch, for free... just to bail out if you have to. I've had to sell down many times.. sometimes it was at a huge loss.. but every time it was for my own good. Craigslist is a great resource.
I'd also recommend getting good layers.. Even a few eggs a day can help ease the financial burden.. and who knows, you might be able to sell a few dozen to help pay for feed.
No one can tell you what to do.. it is your decision. You obviously already have a lot of support here.. and that won't change.