Okay, so I was silly and not aware of chicken math when I started out this summer. I thought I'd only be getting a "couple chickens". I mean really - two hens are plenty. They'll keep each other company. And I only need a little coop for them. Ooh there's a really cute little pre-made coop for sale! And I can build a run around it! There'll be plenty of room!
Oops.
So, the first week I bought two girls - a buff orpington and a brown leghorn. Then I saw an ad for a Sicilian Buttercup - and OH she's so pretty! I had to have her. So all summer I was good and had three pullets. And they fit okay into the little coop. But, then cherylcohen was selling babies. And, well, they were so cute. And I had to look and well, I'm sure I'd be able to fit them in the little coop *somehow*.
Hrmmmm. Buffy is now sleeping in the nest box cuz she's too big to fit on the roost (which is too close to the roof of the little coop) with the other two Big Girls. So the nest box is getting poopy. Oops. Not good. Especially now that all three Big Girls are laying!
So there's this really nice metal garden shed right next to the run. I don't really store my garden tools in there anyways. So, there really isn't any reason to *not* convert it into a big coop for the girls. So instead of napping today, I was planning out the design of the new coop. It's got pretty clay roof tiles just like the big house and a nice concrete floor. It's got not so good sliding metal doors, which I can cover with hardware cloth to provide ventilation and predator protection and light. And help keep it cool in summer and close the sliding doors to keep it warmer in winter. I can build in a hardwarecloth-covered door.
It'll have a nice airlock passageway to the run (to be predator safe in crossing the 3 inches between the Faraday Cage run and the shed. I'll have a couple of nice roosts with plenty of room for all the girls! And 2 or 3 nice nesting boxes *separate* from the roosts. And even a poop board under the roosts. So I'll be able to collect eggs without getting rained on! I'll be able to walk in and see the chickens! The little pre-made coop can get taken out of the run so there will be plenty of room for the girls to run around in the run when they're not freeranging. Yay. I'm looking forward to all this new building!
Oops.
So, the first week I bought two girls - a buff orpington and a brown leghorn. Then I saw an ad for a Sicilian Buttercup - and OH she's so pretty! I had to have her. So all summer I was good and had three pullets. And they fit okay into the little coop. But, then cherylcohen was selling babies. And, well, they were so cute. And I had to look and well, I'm sure I'd be able to fit them in the little coop *somehow*.
Hrmmmm. Buffy is now sleeping in the nest box cuz she's too big to fit on the roost (which is too close to the roof of the little coop) with the other two Big Girls. So the nest box is getting poopy. Oops. Not good. Especially now that all three Big Girls are laying!
So there's this really nice metal garden shed right next to the run. I don't really store my garden tools in there anyways. So, there really isn't any reason to *not* convert it into a big coop for the girls. So instead of napping today, I was planning out the design of the new coop. It's got pretty clay roof tiles just like the big house and a nice concrete floor. It's got not so good sliding metal doors, which I can cover with hardware cloth to provide ventilation and predator protection and light. And help keep it cool in summer and close the sliding doors to keep it warmer in winter. I can build in a hardwarecloth-covered door.
It'll have a nice airlock passageway to the run (to be predator safe in crossing the 3 inches between the Faraday Cage run and the shed. I'll have a couple of nice roosts with plenty of room for all the girls! And 2 or 3 nice nesting boxes *separate* from the roosts. And even a poop board under the roosts. So I'll be able to collect eggs without getting rained on! I'll be able to walk in and see the chickens! The little pre-made coop can get taken out of the run so there will be plenty of room for the girls to run around in the run when they're not freeranging. Yay. I'm looking forward to all this new building!
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