This is the start of our chicken journey. I have been in love with the idea of chickens for many years but always felt it just wasn't the right time. I have poured over books, online articles, sketched coop plans placing the coop in various spots in my back yard. I finally feel like we have reached a place in our lives where chickens would be an amazing addition to our family. My husband and I have four kids ranging in ages from almost two to almost 20. We are a busy crew between four different school programs, two different scout troops, and music lessons/bands. The husband occasionally travels for work and I am a Per Diem RN. Our schedules are busy but have become manageable and we are home regularly. The time finally hit and the husband was receptive to the idea of starting our own brood. We toured coops in our area. I think that was key. The husband needed to see that the chickens were pleasant and that the coops were as fancy as you chose to make them...the most important factor was having a functional and predator safe coop. I promised the husband that I would only get a couple of girls and I was going to build a simple 4x4x4 coop that was one foot off the ground and had a nice run for the girls...out of anyone's visual field. I marked out my territory and took inventory of our available scrap lumber. Did I add that I want the majority of the coop to be recycled products? The husband must have seen my excitement and determination and subsequently offered me our old wood shed. He is going to help me get it into coop shape and now we will be able to not only start with a larger brood...but we will also be able to add more girls later if we choose to do that.
The girls have been ordered and will arrive between April 21 and April 23, 2015. I had each member of the family choose their favorite breed from a selection of breeds that I had already researched. The end results: Easter Egger "Esther"(they didn't have any Americaunas left), Silver Laced Wyandotte, New Hampshire Red "Chicken", Buff Orpington "Penny", Dominque "Clucky Potter", and Black Australop. Most of the girls have names already as you can see in quotation marks. "Chicken" was the breed chosen by my 21 month old. When I showed him pages of chickens he was always pointing out the New Hampshire Red and repeating chicken over and over again...it seemed appropriate for it to be his pick and the name be chicken.
For now, I am reworking the garden to provide herbs and other plants that have good reviews for chicken care. Grabbing a plant here and there from the garden center so that once the girls arrive, there is a decent start and by the time they actually make it to the coop at the start of the summer...watch out! Once I figure out exactly how this member page business works, I will add pics of the coop progress and then later of our girls.
The girls have been ordered and will arrive between April 21 and April 23, 2015. I had each member of the family choose their favorite breed from a selection of breeds that I had already researched. The end results: Easter Egger "Esther"(they didn't have any Americaunas left), Silver Laced Wyandotte, New Hampshire Red "Chicken", Buff Orpington "Penny", Dominque "Clucky Potter", and Black Australop. Most of the girls have names already as you can see in quotation marks. "Chicken" was the breed chosen by my 21 month old. When I showed him pages of chickens he was always pointing out the New Hampshire Red and repeating chicken over and over again...it seemed appropriate for it to be his pick and the name be chicken.
For now, I am reworking the garden to provide herbs and other plants that have good reviews for chicken care. Grabbing a plant here and there from the garden center so that once the girls arrive, there is a decent start and by the time they actually make it to the coop at the start of the summer...watch out! Once I figure out exactly how this member page business works, I will add pics of the coop progress and then later of our girls.