Rhode Island Red ~ 2My Coops…

The New Coop…

Below is a photo of my new Banty winter coop, taken in early January 2015. This structure arrived as a Old Hickory Farms, deliver to your site, building in June 2014. It started life as a sort of ugly brown stained utility shed, with no character to speak of. It has morphed quite nicely into a fine little structure that I am pleased with. The 'new coop' is ten feet by fourteen feet and is a very comfortable walk in design. The South exposure (with the double barn doors) and the East side have windows, the North and West do not. The cold winds here in Northern Utah's, Cache Valley predominantly arrive from those directions. I want to build a good sized covered run on the back (North) so the lack of windows on that side was just part of my early planing.



I bought this building on special order, meaning that I requested that the metal roof not be installed, and also that the factory vents not be installed. They were delivered inside the shed, and I will put them to use elsewhere, as needed or time allows. I wished that I would have requested that they not stain the building as well. It took three coats of good paint to block the bleeding of the tan stain. I overlaid the existing OSB roof with a much thicker, tongue and grove OSB, and created the eves and gables. I ordered some half round end vents and made them so that they fully functioned. The exposed rafters are dummys, created to match the style of my Craftsman home. I vent the coop via the soffits, which are of course screened in hardware cloth, and a very nice working twelve inch turbine vent crowns the top of the structure. Thus far, in its first winter, all has gone well and no surprises with any moisture from the respiration of the chickens, the vents seem to do their job and it is draft free, getting a building to work, is always worrisome for me. I am glad when they are tried and tested, found to be sound.

The Old Coop…

My old original coop was constructed by my grandfather, in the late 1920's or early 1930's. It is twenty feet by twelve feet. A classic design it has three south facing big windows and is of the type that slopes from about seven feet in the front, to about four feet high at the back. I do not like the short, back end, as I am kind of too big for such a tight design, but it is in good condition and dry. I am actually quite proud of it, and at 240 square feet of cement covered floor, I don't believe I could really afford to replace it. I really like the cement floor, I keep several inches of pine shavings on the floor in this building. At present it houses my large fowl laying flock, twenty one birds in all.




My Pens…

Well there was a little bit too much love going around my place this spring, so I decided we needed a bachelor pad for the over enegertic boys. I'll move it to grass when deployed, and nobody said there would be home cooking… at least while one is batching it. The six or seven spare roos I have will have to suffer the fate of all whom have been convicted of a first degree fowlinee. I suppose if one can not do the time… best to not commit the crime.




My Birds…

This fine prize winning Plymouth Barred Rock rooster, was re-homed to me by another kind member of the Utah thread. We are very happy and pleased to have him head up our flock(s). His name is Rooster Cogburn, but we mostly call him RC, sometimes the Duke. He has that John Wayne swagger or quality about him, struts his stuff and reigns supreme over a flock of large fowl hens listed below.



Large Fowl… @ present = 3

Icelandic ~ 2 + 1 Roo

Banties… @ present = 20

OEG Black Breasted Red ~ 3
OEG Silver Duckwing ~ 9 + 1 Roo
Silver Sebright ~ 2
Serama ~ 1 + 1 Roo
Modern Game, Brown Red 3 + 1 Roo

Chicks for 2016…

We have Icelandic chicks for this year, twenty-four of the little beauties.

My mixed flock out on a spring like day in early February 2015, everyone was very happy with the unexpected mild weather.



Thanks for looking at Chicken George's Doings…