From There to Here: The coop that moved with us and crazy life.

[becstalls]

Hi all. As we are getting back into raising chickens and working on rehabbing our coop, I though I would start a thread of our adventures just to share pictures and be able to get opinions and ideas.

Waaay back in 2010, my husband and I decided to raise chickens for eggs. I discovered backyard chickens and did my best to research and find out what the chickens would need. My husband and FIL built us an 8x8 coop that could later serve as a shed if we stopped having chickens.

It had 7 nest boxes, which was great, but because we didn't totally understand chicken behavior, they were too high up, even though they were lower than the roost bars (which were also too high). They were seldom used, which was super annoying.

I don't remember the exact dimensions, but we had a roughly 8x20 open run. We ordered 8 pullets and a roo from Meyer Hatchery, and things were pretty much hunky-dory.

Later that fall, we ended up buying a house a mile down the road and moving, Of course, we took the coop with us. I so wish I had pictures of that process, but we didn't have anyone there to take them, and everyone involved with moving it needed to be on task. Needless to say, it was a sight. We got to our new place and after a bit of leveling with some cinder blocks, etc. we were in business. The best part was that our new back yard was fenced in so we could let the chickens free-range no problem. Or so we thought. More another time. I leave you with a picture of Rooster Cogburn, who was very handsome, and a total jerk.

 

[becstalls]

Oh my goodness, mom for the win! I felt like I remembered seeing pictures of moving this thing, but I didn’t remember taking them or my mom being there. But I asked her if by chance she had them and she did!! Here is the coop move:

 

[TwoCrows]

Wow, well gotta take the most important item with you when you move....the chicken coop!

Good job and thanks for sharing!

 

[sourland]

Nice !

 

[becstalls]

After the move, we had a couple of uneventful years chicken-wise, but added two daughters to our family

My oldest at 2 years old with one of the chicks. She stayed in the carrier to protect them from each other.

Unfortunately, in the summer of 2013, a raccoon broke into our coop through a weak spot in the roof vents and killed the whole flock. After that we decided to wait for a while to buy more chickens. The girls were little and I had my hands full with them.

We added a son in 2016 and then in 2017 got the shocking news that I was pregnant with triplets, who were born in 2018. Fast forward through a pandemic and a lot of resulting craziness to eggmageddon 2023. Rising egg prices made us remember how much we missed fresh eggs, and now the all the kids are in school, I feel like I can tackle caring for chickens again. So now we are working on fixing up our coop which served as a shed for nearly 10 years, and making changes based on what we learned the first time around.

The coop at the moment:

The glass We've pulled the nest boxes off the side in order to rebuild them lower to the floor. We had installed them at arm height for us to collect eggs, which was too high, and our last flock decided they preferred to lay eggs on the floor under the nest boxes, rather than in them. So, down they will go to a more chicken-y height. We'll also be fixing the roof, adding new plexiglass in the window, adding hardware cloth, replacing the hardware cloth over the roof ventilation and blocking the knotholes that have opened up over the years.

If anyone sees any other glaring issues that need to be addressed, I'd appreciate it. Now is the best time to deal with them.

 

[becstalls]

The chicks are here!! I made a brooder out of a 50 gallon storage tote with the center cut out of the lid and 1/4” hardware cloth screwed on. I opted for the thinner stuff so it doesn’t torque the plastic lid so much, and because it will be indoors and only has to keep the cat out if he gets inside.

Because everyone has decided they want chickens this year, I couldn’t order them through my feed store and had to wait for a local(ish) farm to have their monthly chick days, which are first come first serve. After an hour of travel, this was the line a full hour before they opened:

It took a full two hours to get through the line. But we finally have our chicks. Two each of Barred Rocks, Mottled Javas, Easter Eggers, Olive Eggers (who look just like the barred rocks), Salmon Faverolles, and Cream Legbars. Unfortunately, we lost one on the second morning. I think one of the barred rocks. I found it next to the feeder. My best guess is that it somehow choked on a piece of food, because there was nothing visibly wrong with it, and it had been acting normally the night before. But everyone is doing just fine now and we are all enjoying some chicken tv.

 

[TwoCrows]

Aww....SO Adorable!!! Enjoy this new journey and your chicks!!

 

[becstalls]

This is Star, the oopsie-roo. I think having the kids around is socializing this batch of chicks better because this guy hopped on my knee of his own choice.

 

[TwoCrows]

View attachment 3498035
This is Star, the oopsie-roo. I think having the kids around is socializing this batch of chicks better because this guy hopped on my knee of his own choice.

What a cutie pie!

 

[becstalls]

We have 6 out of 11 on the big kid roost bar now. The other five are still sleeping on the kickboard at the door that keeps the bedding in, even though there are lower roost bars they could use.