The Minimal: Luxury Edition
I've been drooling and lusting over all of the beautiful coops on this forum, but due to lack of experience, I was hesitant to build anything on my own. I found Building Chicken Coops for Dummies, and was inspired. It was exactly the motivator I needed to attempt this project.
I put together my list of features I wanted my coop to have:
I put together my list of features I wanted my coop to have:
- Large door for ease of cleaning
- Small door for everyday maintenance
- External eggbox
- Room for 3 hens (I can never have more than 3 where I live)
- Plenty of ventilation
- Easy to build!
- Pop door to the run
- Windows
Kinda cute, isn't it?
So with my trusty and battleworn book in tow, I began. (..... and soon, pictures!)
Who: Julie V. (AKA Wishingbee)
What: Acquire Three Hens
Where: Seattle, WA
Why: Eggs, Entertainment, Relive Childhood Memories
Introduction
It all started in March. I had been eyeballing an older foreclosed home that had just dropped below $100k in the Seattle area. After four years of owning a condo, I was ready to stretch out and have my own patch of lawn to dig in. We visited the home with our agent. Small house, yes, but 1/5 of an acre? I was tempted. I drove home that night, and immediately scoured the local codes and bylaws. And this is what I found:Small house? Check. Nice yard? Check. I can have chickens? CHECK!
I put in an offer. I found this forum. The offer was accepted. We completely gutted the house, rewired the electrical, laid down new plumbing, put up new walls and moved in! And now I'm moving onto the most exciting part of this journey... CHICKENS! But not just any kind of chicken... I want BEARDED chickens.
I made the mistake of stumbling onto the Faverolles thread. It was love at first sight. So this is where phase two of my chicken adventure begins- Operation Faverolles Procurement (OFP).
Operation Faverolles Procurement
I managed to find some eggs from a member on this forum. She had listed eggs up for auction earlier in the year, but at the time we were in the middle of renovating the house and had no idea when construction would be finished. I sent her a message, and she was kind enough to save me 16 eggs, and they arrived on 9/30. I candled them, discovered that nearly all of them had a very strong air bubble that wasn't completely out of place (with the exception of two), weighed them, then tucked them into the incubator. This is where the fun part begins- waiting.
Estimated Hatch Date: 10/21/11