Hi there everybody, my name is Nikki and I am from Driftwood, Texas. Last October I became a vegetarian. After watching food inc, I wanted absolutely nothing to do with corporate farming or industrial ag (whatever you call it-- its disgusting and wrong). I actually tried going vegan, but just COULD NOT hang with soy cheese (UGH!)... it lasted about a month, way too restrictive. My mother found this really great website...the cornucopia institutes website, actually, and they have this rating for different companies, and exactly how they treat their animals and what conditions they have etc. So I decided to do dairy and eggs as long as it was from a trusted source and organic and whatnot. Well, good, humane, organic eggs weren't cheap, so I thought, "Heck, I'll get my own chickens." So, since about the beginning of December, I have been researching chickens, coops, eggs, and everything else forwards, backwards, and sideways... driving my family crazy with all the "chicken talk." So I decided to register on this forum so I could talk chickens with some like-minded folks.
I agonized for weeks and weeks over coop design. I agonized for weeks and weeks over how the heck I was going to BUILD something-- I have no tools besides a drill and a hammer and even fewer skills. I was totally tripping over the prices of a teeeeeny tiny coop kit (seriously three chickens can fit into THAT? THAT costs four hundred dollars---and that was cheap!? These people are on crack!
) I read "Building Chicken Coops for Dummies" cover to cover, like, three times. Then there was the run to worry about, how to get it and predator proof the run. How was I going to build a run--the dirt's THUMB-deep here? Could I use chainlink dog run and put the coop inside? How big? How on earth was I going to get a cheap dog run? I got so obsessed with this chicken business I was checking craigslist and ebay at least five times a day!!! Even if I found a good one on c-list, how would I get it to my house? UGH!!!! ALL such a pain, and I'm so not a patient person, I want it now, and I've been waiting since Christmas!
So, finally, I decided to fork over the cash and got a kit, and I'm going tomorrow with a trailer to pick up the dog run I'm going to use as my chicken run (going to put several anti-predator latches on the coop inside and run chicken wire out a few feet around the run)....
But anyway, it is FINALLY HAPPENING AND I AM SO FREAKING EXCITED!!! I've decided that I want a golden laced wyandotte, a silkie, and a maran and their names will be Natalie (Naddy), Marney (who I once met), and Emily (
) Bonus points if you knew where I got those names!!
Oh well, I better get to sleep (one of the many nights I've lost sleep because of my chicken obsession). Thank You for listening to my chicken story...
I agonized for weeks and weeks over coop design. I agonized for weeks and weeks over how the heck I was going to BUILD something-- I have no tools besides a drill and a hammer and even fewer skills. I was totally tripping over the prices of a teeeeeny tiny coop kit (seriously three chickens can fit into THAT? THAT costs four hundred dollars---and that was cheap!? These people are on crack!
So, finally, I decided to fork over the cash and got a kit, and I'm going tomorrow with a trailer to pick up the dog run I'm going to use as my chicken run (going to put several anti-predator latches on the coop inside and run chicken wire out a few feet around the run)....
But anyway, it is FINALLY HAPPENING AND I AM SO FREAKING EXCITED!!! I've decided that I want a golden laced wyandotte, a silkie, and a maran and their names will be Natalie (Naddy), Marney (who I once met), and Emily (
Oh well, I better get to sleep (one of the many nights I've lost sleep because of my chicken obsession). Thank You for listening to my chicken story...
