My hubby and I bought our house a year and a half ago. It is a huge remodel project! We rented the basement for 5 years and then bought the whole house which we are converting to a single family home again. The house was built in '66. Not sure when this shed was built. I started painting it last year when it was a garden/storage shed. Obviously I didn't finish that project...
We've been talking about getting chickens for years. We had chickens 12 years ago but have been on the move for too many years and lived in apartments and rentals. This spring I did some research to see who might have Black Australorps in this area. Nobody did but our local Ace Hardware offered to add 25 to their order and sell me a few. I got a call 2 days later saying they were ordered. I was a little shocked because I hadn't actually said to go for it. But, since I was the driving force behind it, I couldn't say no. I rushed around and made a brooder out of a U-Haul box and have been playing catch up ever since!
The plan was to build a chicken coop and run in another corner of our yard. But, the rain started and kept on raining for weeks and weeks and weeks! I know you know what I'm talking about!! Meanwhile, my three girls, Harriet, Wanda and Elda (named after our grandmas who have passed) got big enough to fly out of their box. We came up with the idea of turning this garden shed into a hen house. Easier said then done, however, because all the previous tenants over the past 30 odd years have used this shed for their personal storage. In addition to our stuff, we found all kinds of items including 2 sets of antlers and some old arrows! But, after a hectic weekend, the shed was cleaned up. We had to pull out around 3 dozen nails that had been used to hang things on the walls. We bought some scrap pieces of hardware cloth and secured it to the windows with screws and scraps of 2x4. Not very pretty but it keeps the raccoons out! We live in town about a block and a half from a creek so there are lots of curious critters around. I kept their heat lamp in the new "coop" and we built the extension cord into the window. I cut big holes in their U'Haul box so they could run in and out if they got scared. About a week of that and they were too big for their britches and didn't need their box anymore. They're now 12 weeks old and have still been confined to this shed. I'm just itching to get them outside!
The rain finally stopped, hubby finished his last day of school and we bought all the supplies for the chicken run. Our building supply mis-ordered the hardware cloth so we had to wait another week before we could start building. "We" meaning hubby, of course...
Finally this week he started working on the run. He's been digging up the 2nd driveway, which is gravel, since we don't need 2 driveways now. There is a ton of really nice sand and small gravel and he's using a bunch of that as a level base for the run. He's using concrete blocks as well. Here's the partially painted shed and the start of the run. We have had a flowerbed here for years and will have to move all the bulbs before the girls get to use it because they're toxic for birds.
We're using the apron method to protect against digging. Hubby cut 18 inches of 1/2" hardware cloth and placed it under the concrete blocks.
We're keeping the sod alive until the girls get out to destroy it! The Daylily in the corner between the run and the human door will stay there. We've been taking up sod all over the place and I give chunks to the girls to keep them busy.
He's putting the walls together in the garage and then assembling them at the coop.
First wall is up but not attached. Hubby spread some more of the gravel over the aproned hardware cloth. We're cleaning out around the coop and will spread more gravel all around it. Until now, it's been our compost pile area.
"Urban farming" is our hobby. We're trying to grow as much on our little 1/4 acre in town as we possibly can. We just planted this apricot tree a couple months ago. This should be a really protected little spot for the girls. The wind always blows from West to East. The run is on the East side so it will always be protected from wind. The Cottonwoods in the back give afternoon shade. Turns out our little garden shed is the perfect hen house! Who knew? I'm hoping to get more of the shed painted this weekend. Hubby hopes to have the run completed. Need to put up the other walls and the roof, build a human door in the run and a chicken door in the wall of the hen house.
Here are the 3 musketeerettes! They love to perch on my legs and peck at my hair.
There's very little done in the inside of the coop. This is from a couple months ago. Don't need the heat lamp anymore. I've upgraded to a big girl waterer but they're still using their chick feeder for food. I have to fill it up every day. Next on my honey do list is an actual roost (right now they love the wooden ladder in the back, which is one of the items I found in the shed), some nest boxes and a bigger feeder. I think I'll add a grit feeder to the list because they think it's great fun to dump their bowl of grit every day.
And a gratuitous garden photo because who doesn't like garden porn?
I'll post more pictures as we go along.
We've been talking about getting chickens for years. We had chickens 12 years ago but have been on the move for too many years and lived in apartments and rentals. This spring I did some research to see who might have Black Australorps in this area. Nobody did but our local Ace Hardware offered to add 25 to their order and sell me a few. I got a call 2 days later saying they were ordered. I was a little shocked because I hadn't actually said to go for it. But, since I was the driving force behind it, I couldn't say no. I rushed around and made a brooder out of a U-Haul box and have been playing catch up ever since!
The plan was to build a chicken coop and run in another corner of our yard. But, the rain started and kept on raining for weeks and weeks and weeks! I know you know what I'm talking about!! Meanwhile, my three girls, Harriet, Wanda and Elda (named after our grandmas who have passed) got big enough to fly out of their box. We came up with the idea of turning this garden shed into a hen house. Easier said then done, however, because all the previous tenants over the past 30 odd years have used this shed for their personal storage. In addition to our stuff, we found all kinds of items including 2 sets of antlers and some old arrows! But, after a hectic weekend, the shed was cleaned up. We had to pull out around 3 dozen nails that had been used to hang things on the walls. We bought some scrap pieces of hardware cloth and secured it to the windows with screws and scraps of 2x4. Not very pretty but it keeps the raccoons out! We live in town about a block and a half from a creek so there are lots of curious critters around. I kept their heat lamp in the new "coop" and we built the extension cord into the window. I cut big holes in their U'Haul box so they could run in and out if they got scared. About a week of that and they were too big for their britches and didn't need their box anymore. They're now 12 weeks old and have still been confined to this shed. I'm just itching to get them outside!
The rain finally stopped, hubby finished his last day of school and we bought all the supplies for the chicken run. Our building supply mis-ordered the hardware cloth so we had to wait another week before we could start building. "We" meaning hubby, of course...
Finally this week he started working on the run. He's been digging up the 2nd driveway, which is gravel, since we don't need 2 driveways now. There is a ton of really nice sand and small gravel and he's using a bunch of that as a level base for the run. He's using concrete blocks as well. Here's the partially painted shed and the start of the run. We have had a flowerbed here for years and will have to move all the bulbs before the girls get to use it because they're toxic for birds.
We're using the apron method to protect against digging. Hubby cut 18 inches of 1/2" hardware cloth and placed it under the concrete blocks.
We're keeping the sod alive until the girls get out to destroy it! The Daylily in the corner between the run and the human door will stay there. We've been taking up sod all over the place and I give chunks to the girls to keep them busy.
He's putting the walls together in the garage and then assembling them at the coop.
First wall is up but not attached. Hubby spread some more of the gravel over the aproned hardware cloth. We're cleaning out around the coop and will spread more gravel all around it. Until now, it's been our compost pile area.
"Urban farming" is our hobby. We're trying to grow as much on our little 1/4 acre in town as we possibly can. We just planted this apricot tree a couple months ago. This should be a really protected little spot for the girls. The wind always blows from West to East. The run is on the East side so it will always be protected from wind. The Cottonwoods in the back give afternoon shade. Turns out our little garden shed is the perfect hen house! Who knew? I'm hoping to get more of the shed painted this weekend. Hubby hopes to have the run completed. Need to put up the other walls and the roof, build a human door in the run and a chicken door in the wall of the hen house.
Here are the 3 musketeerettes! They love to perch on my legs and peck at my hair.
There's very little done in the inside of the coop. This is from a couple months ago. Don't need the heat lamp anymore. I've upgraded to a big girl waterer but they're still using their chick feeder for food. I have to fill it up every day. Next on my honey do list is an actual roost (right now they love the wooden ladder in the back, which is one of the items I found in the shed), some nest boxes and a bigger feeder. I think I'll add a grit feeder to the list because they think it's great fun to dump their bowl of grit every day.
And a gratuitous garden photo because who doesn't like garden porn?
I'll post more pictures as we go along.
