We have been talking about chickens for a long time. After several months of studying everything we could get our hands on, and spending many hours on BYC we were ready this spring to become chicken moms. I grew up in a farm family and knew about egg layers & meat birds....but I soon found out pet chickens were a lot different, and I liked what I was learning. Light, comfort, warmth, plenty of space. Things have changed in the 40 years since I left the farm and began my adult life. My partner on the other hand was city-bred and raised and had lots to learn.
We bought 12 chicks April 16 from our favorite farm store, 4 Barred Rocks, 4 Buff Orpingtons and 4 Easter Eggers and brought them home and put them in our very large dog kennel converted to brooder. They soon out grew that and are now in the collapsable dog fence we use on camping trips. Don't be fooled they will continue to grow while you are planning their coop! We had 2 weeks vacation planned to get our coop built. We started gathering supplies, I had started pulling pallets apart 2 months ago, so had enough planks for siding.
We knew better, our vacation started May 16 and ends May 30. We never thought about vacation including Memorial Day week end ...always bad weather in Montana. And it has been! Record breaking snow, record cold temps and several days of rain. We are so behind schedule.
Here are pictures of our 8x12 Chicken Shack going up for our first group of 12 young ladies who are currently living in comfort in a very large pen in our spare bedroom! Some new lumber, some used lumber, and sided all in pallet wood, roofed in new & used steel that matchs the barn & house roof, it will be insulated, have exterior nest boxes, and is built elevated so while in the run they can go under it for shade. We were making good progress until the rain, snow & cold temps moved in. We are pretty happy with how it is turning out, like we say about all projects "not bad for a couple of girls".
After the Chicken Shack is finished and the girls moved in, they will be in there a couple weeks while we build them a very predator proof run, and then we will run underground wiring from the barn to the Shack. So our work is cut out for us ol'gals, we are both in our mid-50's and work full-time, so we are a little stressed about this bad weather....but we are enjoying building it as much as we enjoyed planning it and we know our Ladies will be very happy with it. The Ladies will end up with an 8x8 living space and we will have a 4x8 storage area for our chicken supplies and maybe some meat rabbits during the winter to help with the heating.
We will post more pictures as weather permits more building. And, a BIG thank you to all the members of BYC who so share advice, pictures and what works and doesn't work, you have all been so helpful!
