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Monday, July 28, 2008

coop de ville

d put outdid himself once again designing and fabricating our chicken coop.

cooped up

after much research, we decided against a permanent coop, and opted for a "tractor" instead. the thought behind this being that we can move it around the yard, fertilizing as we go. we looked at what was available commercially (and were tempted by this), but felt that d could build one that answered all our criteria and was budget-minded as well. we needed a safe place for the chickens to sleep, with good ventilation (the henhouse) and a safe area for them to play and eat in during the day, with extra shade for our hot summers (the run). we also wanted to take advantage of the byproduct of all the food the chickens consume (and they do like to eat!). we settled on a variation of the many "ark" images we found. the droppings in the henhouse fall into bedding of shredded newspaper and all that can go straight into our composter, and the droppings in the run go right on our "lawn". the henhouse contains a perch for them to sleep on, as well as a nesting box, for when they are ready to lay (somewhere between 6 mos and a yr). the run will serve them when we aren't home, but the plan is, when they are a little bigger, to let them roam the yard when we are around.

we are enjoying our three girls so much. they are such fun to watch (really!) and each has their own distinct personality. little red (a rhode island red) - the curious one; chick-a-dee (a buff wyandotte) - the little sister, always trying to get someone to play with her; and annie (an aracauna, we think) - as in oakley - (or fluff, depending on who you ask) who is very brave, a great performer, but also very cautious.

curious bird

9 comments:

lisa solomon said...

that is a STYLISH coop!

Rebecca said...

sweet coop. those chicks will be so happy to have a stylish place like this to land.

Mama Urchin said...

D did a great job. So nice looking

shim + sons said...

WOW! That is one cool coop! D is so talented!

BunkleLife said...

Nice digs for the girls!! I do envy you. Look forward to lots more on the newest family members as they grow up :)

xoj

this single spark said...

Is there nothing D can't build?!? You "chicks" are lucky to have him around!

Anonymous said...

my dream

Anonymous said...

I will have to live vicariously through you as our yard is not chicken friendly. Thank you for sharing. Love the new coop!

Unknown said...

Fabulous! I'm living vicariously through you!