and the stars of our show ... in no particular order....
Mrs. Olsen ... Nellie ... Gracie ... Rose ... Miss Beetle
the beginning ....
chicks in one box .... day old buff orpingtons .... coop in another .... savannah wooden playhouse
and so they grew together.
DH built foundation for the coop and put together an awesome run.
(thanks Cass, for measuring your savannah playhouse for me!)
Our little ladies, meanwhile, are outgrowing the box in the basement ...
... and I'm working on the playhouse piece by piece.
A piece or two at a time -
finally turned into moving day!
The little coop is 4x6 ..somewhat smaller inside after rigid foam insulation and 1/2" plywood backing.
The run is about 6x10, 6ft high, with 1/2" hardware cloth all around and on top.
We used plastic ties to secure a piece of shade cloth over it.
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We can reach clear across it to clean with squeegee and dust pan, just by opening the top of the dutch door. | An extra large pet door serves as pop hole. As was mentioned here somewhere, we tacked the center up until they get used to it, then we'll let it down. In winter we can close it completely with included sliding door. |
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The back corner was a bit low, so I edged it with large rocks and filled it with dirt and compost - it's their favorite corner dust bath. | Found "coop cups" at the ag store, 1 each for oyster shell, granite and milk. |
In or out, everyone is one big happy family!
So far, safe and dry, even through a couple rough summer storms.
I love looking out the kitchen window at the "little house."
We should have made sure the "run" matched the "coop" to begin with.
I spent the better part of a day sawzalling the end out so the windows would open into the run.
A border garden is in the works to soften the edges.
~view from the window ~
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