Coops and Blooms!!

[Kuntry Klucker]

I am going to have to check out your blog. What a wonderful chicken wonderland you have created!

I am impressed with your success in having plants so close to your chickens. And, all the various coops; I was beginning to think I was the only person who had a gazillion separate houses for all the chickens. My 11 chickens live in four coops, plus a separate shelter for the ducks and a separate shelter for the geese. (Plans for a fifth coop are under way; they are more chicks in the brooders).

I tried planting in cinder blocks next to my coops, but eventually gave up, replaced them with patio squares and moved the blocks out to my veggie garden (where I filled them with strawberry plants -- well beyond the reach of my poultry).

Also, I have a few aronia bushes, but I didn't know chickens liked the berries! Good thing the bushes are also over by the out-of-reach veggie garden.

Thanks so much for sharing with us!

Thanks so much, I have a lot of of posts on my blog that you might enjoy as well. I have to be creative in having plants near the chickens because they as you know will eat absolutly everything. I make use of as much vertical space as possible, making sure that they are hung above their heads. When I can't, I just make sure that they are barricaded out of the area where the plants are. So far it has worked well, I have few girls that will jump the fence no matter what, but that's what chickens do

My girls love the Aronia Berry Bush, so much so that I have to make sure they are unable to get to it, otherwise they would strip it bare. I do however make sure that they get their share of the berries, its a super treat for them.

I like to put the berries in smoothies, they are so good.

 

[Mybackyardpeepers]

I love your creativity!! I especially like the cinder block idea, I just might have to snatch that idea from ya, lol.

 

[Eggscaping]

Spring has sprung at the Kuntry Klucker Farm, chicks are peeping and flowers blooming. I am going to dedicate this post to the plants and flowers of the chicken yard. It is no secret that I tend to go overboard when it comes to decorating the backyard for my girls, this will be a virtual tour, a flower walk if you will. So, I guess we will start from the coop closest to the yard entrance and work out way out.

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When entering the backyard the first coop we come to is Henwarts. Henwarts is the newest addition to the “Coop-hood” and shares a large outdoor pen with The Kuntry Klucker. So thus some of Henwarts decor is shared with The Kuntry Klucker. In front of The Kuntry Klucker I have a row of cinder blocks. These blocks have two purposes, keeps the girls and the dirt in the outdoor pen area and doubles as planters for flowers. Every year in this cinder block row I plant petunias. I love these little super bloomers for many reasons. A few of the most important are the fact that they display lot of color, tolerate the hot afternoon sun well, and most importantly hold up well around chickens. I do have a row of chicken wire in front of the cinder blocks to offer some protection against the girls pecking but this by no means keeps all of the girls out of the flower row. I have a few ladies that despite the obvious boundary will still hop over the fence and help them selves to an afternoon snack of petunia blooms. The petunia’s being the prolific bloomers that they are do not look any worse for the wear recovering very quickly.

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The next coop we visit on our backyard tour is my largest coop The Kuntry Klucker. For this coop I thought that hanging flower baskets were perfect. Found at the dollar store these cute little baskets are just the perfect size for a few flowers. Instead of using cocoa liners that seem to loose their shape after the first two waterings I opt to use thick weed barrier to hold the potting soil. What cute chicken home wouldn’t complete without a window basket. Attached to the wood of the pen I have planted a variety of flowers in these baskets. Petunas once again taking center stage. I feel that they add a bit of fun to the girls homes.

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As we proceed on our coop tour we come to The Coop De Ville. No one lives in this coop, but rather this coop is used for storage and a few nesting boxes. Even though no one lives here I still just cannot pass up an opportunity to decorate a coop. Like The Kuntry Klucker I have mounted hanging baskets to this coop as well. Once again Petunia’s take center stage.

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Next we come to the spice garden. In this garden I have lot of things planted. The tall bush with the small red blooms is a red honeysuckle bush. Taller than me (I’m 5’8″), this bush is one of the largest in the garden. These highly fragrant little blooms blanket the whole backyard with a sweet fragrance and attract many butterflies and hummingbirds to the backyard, adding to the beauty of the girls surroundings. I have many of my kitchen spices planted here among the two coops that call this plot home. Roy’s Roost and Betsy’s Bliss are situated here among all the plants a spices. This year I planted a red butterfly bush, in a few months it will be beautifully loaded down with blooms giving the butterflies another place to rest and spread their wings. The chickens are fenced out of this garden area so all the creatures that visit these plants are protected from the girls. This allows many caterpillars to spin cocoons among the thick foliage of many of the plants here.

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In the center of this garden I have planted an Arona Berry bush (kin to the Acia Berry), this bush which too is taller than me has the most beautiful white blooms. I use many of the berries that this bush produces in my smoothies. The chickens also love these berries, another reason that I have to fence them out of this garden area. After the berries appear I make sure that the girls get a good share of the spoil which they go absolutely nuts for. Amongst other plants in this garden I have a Goji Berry Tree, Sage, Rosemary, Oregano, Thyme, and Mint.
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Next we come to the TARDIS! This is one of the funnest coops in the “coop-hood”. This coop belongs to my son who is a massive Dr. Who fan, he even named all his Silkie girls after the characters in the Dr. Who series. Being that this is my son’ coop he did not want me to decorate it too heavily with flowers. After all the real TARDIS does not have flowers attached to the sides of it. Naturally, I had to agree with his point and allow him to put his personality into decorating his coop. I did however get away with planting a rare Red Hydrangea next to his coop. I thought that this plant would add a nice pop of red and contrast well with the blue of the TARDIS.

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Finally we come to the Bantam Boutique! This coop too belongs to my son. Each of my boys have their own coop with their own special breed of girls. This coop is home to White Crested Polishes, my youngest son’s favorite breed. Again I have to lay off the over the top flower decorating but I got away with a few things. At the end of the Bantam Boutique I have a pot with several colorful annuals in it. The Polishes enjoy jumping on top of the pen to take a few samples from the flowers. On the far side of the Bantam Boutique I have planted two yellow butterfly bushes. Not only are these bushes beautiful, they offer lots of afternoon shade for the Polishes that call this coop home.

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With this we come to the end of our little backyard tour. Every year I pretty much plant the same annuals varying the colors from year to year. As far as the perennials, bushes, and spices I only replace them as needed. The girls seem enjoy their little piece of heaven living the good life here at The Kuntry Klucker Farm. As for me, getting to play in potting soil and frequent my local plant nursery is as close to blissful as it can get.

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I hope y’all enjoyed this post and the tour of my backyard, coops and blooms.

Till next time keep crowing, the girls and I will see you soon.

~ The Kuntry Klucker Crew ~

Good....gosh.…!! What awesome pictures and what a wonderful yard you have!! I am beyond impressed! Thanks so much for sharing!!

 

[Kuntry Klucker]

Good....gosh.…!! What awesome pictures and what a wonderful yard you have!! I am beyond impressed! Thanks so much for sharing!!

You are so welcome!! I am so glad that you like the girls and their "coop-hood". If you want to read more about The Kuntry Klucker Crew I'll leave the link to my blog.

https://thekuntryklucker.wordpress.com

 

[Kuntry Klucker]

I love your creativity!! I especially like the cinder block idea, I just might have to snatch that idea from ya, lol.

go right ahead, they are cheap and hold up well throughout the years. They don't take much maintenance just add dirt and flowers.

 

[Mybackyardpeepers]

go right ahead, they are cheap and hold up well throughout the years. They don't take much maintenance just add dirt and flowers.

Awesome, thanks!

 

[BY Bob]

Spring has sprung at the Kuntry Klucker Farm, chicks are peeping and flowers blooming. I am going to dedicate this post to the plants and flowers of the chicken yard. It is no secret that I tend to go overboard when it comes to decorating the backyard for my girls, this will be a virtual tour, a flower walk if you will. So, I guess we will start from the coop closest to the yard entrance and work out way out.

View attachment 1766705

When entering the backyard the first coop we come to is Henwarts. Henwarts is the newest addition to the “Coop-hood” and shares a large outdoor pen with The Kuntry Klucker. So thus some of Henwarts decor is shared with The Kuntry Klucker. In front of The Kuntry Klucker I have a row of cinder blocks. These blocks have two purposes, keeps the girls and the dirt in the outdoor pen area and doubles as planters for flowers. Every year in this cinder block row I plant petunias. I love these little super bloomers for many reasons. A few of the most important are the fact that they display lot of color, tolerate the hot afternoon sun well, and most importantly hold up well around chickens. I do have a row of chicken wire in front of the cinder blocks to offer some protection against the girls pecking but this by no means keeps all of the girls out of the flower row. I have a few ladies that despite the obvious boundary will still hop over the fence and help them selves to an afternoon snack of petunia blooms. The petunia’s being the prolific bloomers that they are do not look any worse for the wear recovering very quickly.

View attachment 1766709
View attachment 1766711

The next coop we visit on our backyard tour is my largest coop The Kuntry Klucker. For this coop I thought that hanging flower baskets were perfect. Found at the dollar store these cute little baskets are just the perfect size for a few flowers. Instead of using cocoa liners that seem to loose their shape after the first two waterings I opt to use thick weed barrier to hold the potting soil. What cute chicken home wouldn’t complete without a window basket. Attached to the wood of the pen I have planted a variety of flowers in these baskets. Petunas once again taking center stage. I feel that they add a bit of fun to the girls homes.

View attachment 1766722
View attachment 1766725
View attachment 1766798

As we proceed on our coop tour we come to The Coop De Ville. No one lives in this coop, but rather this coop is used for storage and a few nesting boxes. Even though no one lives here I still just cannot pass up an opportunity to decorate a coop. Like The Kuntry Klucker I have mounted hanging baskets to this coop as well. Once again Petunia’s take center stage.

View attachment 1766729
View attachment 1766730

Next we come to the spice garden. In this garden I have lot of things planted. The tall bush with the small red blooms is a red honeysuckle bush. Taller than me (I’m 5’8″), this bush is one of the largest in the garden. These highly fragrant little blooms blanket the whole backyard with a sweet fragrance and attract many butterflies and hummingbirds to the backyard, adding to the beauty of the girls surroundings. I have many of my kitchen spices planted here among the two coops that call this plot home. Roy’s Roost and Betsy’s Bliss are situated here among all the plants a spices. This year I planted a red butterfly bush, in a few months it will be beautifully loaded down with blooms giving the butterflies another place to rest and spread their wings. The chickens are fenced out of this garden area so all the creatures that visit these plants are protected from the girls. This allows many caterpillars to spin cocoons among the thick foliage of many of the plants here.

View attachment 1766732
View attachment 1766752
View attachment 1766755
View attachment 1766757

View attachment 1766763

In the center of this garden I have planted an Arona Berry bush (kin to the Acia Berry), this bush which too is taller than me has the most beautiful white blooms. I use many of the berries that this bush produces in my smoothies. The chickens also love these berries, another reason that I have to fence them out of this garden area. After the berries appear I make sure that the girls get a good share of the spoil which they go absolutely nuts for. Amongst other plants in this garden I have a Goji Berry Tree, Sage, Rosemary, Oregano, Thyme, and Mint.
View attachment 1766766
View attachment 1766768
View attachment 1766771

Next we come to the TARDIS! This is one of the funnest coops in the “coop-hood”. This coop belongs to my son who is a massive Dr. Who fan, he even named all his Silkie girls after the characters in the Dr. Who series. Being that this is my son’ coop he did not want me to decorate it too heavily with flowers. After all the real TARDIS does not have flowers attached to the sides of it. Naturally, I had to agree with his point and allow him to put his personality into decorating his coop. I did however get away with planting a rare Red Hydrangea next to his coop. I thought that this plant would add a nice pop of red and contrast well with the blue of the TARDIS.

View attachment 1766776
View attachment 1766777
View attachment 1766786

Finally we come to the Bantam Boutique! This coop too belongs to my son. Each of my boys have their own coop with their own special breed of girls. This coop is home to White Crested Polishes, my youngest son’s favorite breed. Again I have to lay off the over the top flower decorating but I got away with a few things. At the end of the Bantam Boutique I have a pot with several colorful annuals in it. The Polishes enjoy jumping on top of the pen to take a few samples from the flowers. On the far side of the Bantam Boutique I have planted two yellow butterfly bushes. Not only are these bushes beautiful, they offer lots of afternoon shade for the Polishes that call this coop home.

View attachment 1766788
View attachment 1766792

With this we come to the end of our little backyard tour. Every year I pretty much plant the same annuals varying the colors from year to year. As far as the perennials, bushes, and spices I only replace them as needed. The girls seem enjoy their little piece of heaven living the good life here at The Kuntry Klucker Farm. As for me, getting to play in potting soil and frequent my local plant nursery is as close to blissful as it can get.

View attachment 1766796

I hope y’all enjoyed this post and the tour of my backyard, coops and blooms.

Till next time keep crowing, the girls and I will see you soon.

~ The Kuntry Klucker Crew ~

What an amazing setup and post. We are working hard to get our setup to this level. I did pot some flowers today it nothing like yours. More landscaping to come on my part. Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful setup. You have done an amazing job!

 

[BY Bob]

I love your creativity!! I especially like the cinder block idea, I just might have to snatch that idea from ya, lol.

Me too. Cinder block idea just makes sense. What a great border for an area!

 

[Kuntry Klucker]

What an amazing setup and post. We are working hard to get our setup to this level. I did pot some flowers today it nothing like yours. More landscaping to come on my part. Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful setup. You have done an amazing job!

Thanks so much! It has been a work in progress for over the past 10 years. Its nothing that I did all at once but a little bit at a time. Currently I have 7 coops and around 50 guys and gals according to chicken math. The plants were also a slow work in progress as well. I just plant a bit each year and eventually it started to take the shape of a "coop-hood". I still have plans for one more coop, so I not done yet.

I have lot more pics and posts on my blog. I'll post the like in case you are interested.

https://wordpress.com/view/thekuntryklucker.blog

 

[Kuntry Klucker]

Me too. Cinder block idea just makes sense. What a great border for an area!

You are more than welcome to steal it! They really work great. It keep the dirt and so forth in the outdoor chicken yard, secures the chicken wire, and add beauty to their home. They are easy to maintain, just add dirt and flowers. They flowers grow very well in them too. I was afraid that they would not have enough room but to my surprise they do wonderfully.