So last weekend we put the chickens in the coop even though it was not finished. They were just WAY too crowded in the box! I'm so lucky to have my awesomely talented husband who can do these things for me. I told him that I thought a chicken coop was an awesome 10th anniversary present and he just laughed at me. Hey, I'm a simple girl!
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| Handsome husband doing the roof! |
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| The coop! |
We still need to put the siding on and make the chicken door and chicken run, but it was closed in so the chickens could be in there! It's 10x10 and we plan on a 20x20 outside run for them. Everything I have read recommends at least 4 to 10 square feet per chicken for happy, thriving chickens. We will have 450 square feet for 22 chickens! Yes that's 20 square feet per chicken. Hey, room to grow our flock if we want! I don't want to have to do this again! We live in the city limits of our town and town regulations say that we may have up to 49 chickens inside the limits. I like living in the mountains sometimes! Freedom is prized. :)
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| Claire and Chandler trying out the coop |
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| Our temporary set up |
We laid a bale and a half of straw on the floor of the coop and hung the feeder and heat lamp from the rafters. The tree branches are temporary roosts until we can build some (and they are big enough to climb up to them!). The waterer is in the corner of the coop, but eventually it will be in the run so it doesn't get the straw wet.
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| Their new home! |
We transported them down from the porch in rubbermaid containers very carefully. Excuse my kid's big winter coats! It was a little bit of a cold snap that weekend and they were cold! Silly kids.
The girls! As far as I can tell - and I probably have been obsessing over this too much - we have 6 Black Stars, 5 Plymouth Barred Rocks, 4 Buff Orpingtons, 3 Rhode Island Reds, 3 Dark Cornish and 1 bonus Easter Egger! (She is the white one on the right side.)
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| Chandler and Daddy petting one of the Buff Orpingtons |
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| Claire making a silly face with her favorite chicken "Ella" |
I can't wait for them to be able to scratch and peck outside - hopefully within the next few weeks we will have the outside run ready. And then yummy brown eggs in early spring!
