Chicken Coop

Someone had questions about the coop and I realized I did not mention the construction. I built the coop mostly out of repurposed wood. When I see a good piece of lumber, I drag it home and put it in my garage. I never know when I can use it on a project.

The chicken coop was started way before I got my chicks. I wanted no more than four hens, so I drew plans for this in mind. Each chicken needs about a 3-4 square feet area in the coop. My coop is 3'x5' with a nesting box built out on one end. I ended up with only two hens, so they have plenty of room.

My yard is mostly shaded and the coop is located under a big pecan tree. The sun only hits the west side of the coop for a short time at the end of the day, so the temperature inside is not a problem in the summer. There is a screened window on either end of the coop that can be opened for ventilation. It also has a window above the door. This window doesn't open, it is there for the winter months when the screened windows are closed. 

The roost is close to this window and they usually get close to it at night to see out. When they were small, Henrietta would sit on the window seal. They are too big now, or she would probably do it today. I used metal bracket to hold the 2x4s I used for the roost. They just lift out to make cleaning easy.

The door was place next to the nesting box for easy access to gather eggs. 

The coop is 24" off the ground. This gives a dry place to hang the feeder. The hens like to hang out there and take a nap, or run and hide when they hear strange noises. I am pleased with the design.

MY CHICKENS

When my kids were young, we decided one Easter that we would get a few little chicks. They were adorable and the kids loved them. They grew to adulthood and started laying... at least the hens did. The roosters made it to a pot of chicken and dumplings. Well, all except one and his name was Homer. He was beautiful. My neighbors liked him, until he woke someone up at 4am with a few crows. It really wasn't his fault though. The dumpster lid woke him up and he was just trying to alert everyone of danger. Too late, the police knocked on my door and told me Homer had to find a home in the country. 

About February, I was thinking about those hens and decided I wanted to have a few. I thought maybe 3 would satisfy my want of hens. I learned that Tractor Supply has Chick Days in late February. After work I would stop by TS, but there were none left by 5:30. This went on for over a month. Then one day, my mother said she would go and get chicks for me. I sent her with a list of breeds I wanted. She went down one Tuesday morning (that's when they got the shipment) and called to tell me that there were none of my preferred breed available. I asked what breeds they had. She went back inside and said they had the Amarucana. I didn't remember much about that breed, but told her to get four. They were so cute. 

I had a big box from an online order. That was their home for the first six weeks. At about four weeks, their dander was more than I could take in the house. At six weeks the weather was warm enough to move them to the finished Chicken Coop.

I had started on the Chicken Coop long before I ever got the chicks. There was a perfect spot behind my garage for the coop and run. I calculated the size needed and drew up plans.... and then modified them many times. The materials used were mostly scrap lumber gathered from two boxsprings from the alley, furniture, plywood scraps and pallets. 

R.I.P Abner

After 8 weeks, I suspected two were not going to be egg producers. And I was correct. Loco and Abner went to Freezer Camp. In the city limits of Lubbock, you cannot have a rooster. If it's due to the crowing, the dogs in my neighborhood are a lot louder than my roosters were. I did silence the roosters before the police were called with a complaint. Loco was... not right in the head, but Abner was so pretty.

At exactly 21 weeks, I received the first egg. It was what is called a Fairy Egg. The first few eggs are usually small, thus the name Fairy Egg. In the first five days, I received seven eggs. The last one was full size.

My hens do more than produce my breakfast, they are my entertainment. They run to the fence to greet me when I come in the backyard. I enjoy sitting with beverage in hand and watch them peck and scratch. They are fun.

Eleanor

Henrietta