getspotted's Member Page

Coop Ville, WA

When I was a young girl, our family moved to Wisconsin and bought a small hobby farm.  Included in the real estate deal was a petite barred rock hen.  Penny was the first of many, but as my siblings and I matured, the chickens became a passing fancy.  I have often revisited those childhood memories and shared them with my husband.  One day this past September, I was particularly nostalgic and admitted many of the experiences I missed by not having chickens...namely, the anticipation of reaching into a nesting box in search of a farm-fresh egg, the early morning wake-up brought on by an astute rooster, the comfort gleaned from cuddling with a coddled hen, and the softly muttered "guwoop guwoop" of a contented, clucking flock.  When I returned home from work that evening, my husband smiled and said those six fateful words, "If you want chickens, order chickens."

Happy dance!

While most women prefer jewelry, flowers or spa treatments, my spouse has learned the way to his little woman's heart is through her pets, furred and, now, feathered.  While visions of Marans, Wyandottes, and Americaunas danced in my head, my husband grabbed a restaurant napkin and sketched his idea for my approval and input.  The design was concocted in his head and the first sketches he created were those on the napkin.  He was dead on aesthetically with the design and had already accounted for several husbandry/maintenance concerns that I had mentioned and that will be covered below.

The building plans included on this page were created post-construction for the viewer's knowlege and ease of reconstruction, if desired.  The adjustments were made as we built the coop...not exactly what you'd expect from a man who earns his living as a planner, but it works for him.  After all these years, I've learned to be flexible and voice my opinions and concerns as we progress so his "mental blueprints" can be edited as necessary.  You will find as you puruse this page, the system works well for us and the outcome of his creativity, my husbandry concerns and our combined perfectionism (to the point of anal retentiveness!) has resulted in a coop that will spoil our little chick-a-dees for years to come!

Patience, patience...Coop Ville is under construction!