I inadvertenly found this site the other day and wished I'd found it years ago. We are on our second flock, neighbors dog took care of the first one about five years ago. Out of the blue this spring I decided it was time to start back up. I started with around 25, but kept going by the feed store and we ended up with an even 50, thats when she said thats enough. Lucky for me you can blend 25 more chicks in with the first group fairly easy so we stopped at 75. ( I say we, but for some reason she doesnt) That was all fine and dandy until I realized I that these guys are more than I had room for, so I've been looking for ideas for a good coop design and this place has more examples then any site I've ever run across in one spot. But winter came on us too fast, or I started too late, one of the two, and the flock had to move into something that could accomodate the whole flock and our old 28' pull behind camper was just setting there doing nothing. Sounds funny but it has more room and is more weatherproof than the old coop was going to offer. The camper, we started calling it the "Cooper," has the kitchen and seating area removed in the front and laying boxes installed (milkcrates with the fronts cut out), a roost, and plenty of cabinet space to store supplies. I haven't converted the back half yet but I'm sure it will happen soon enough. The intentions are to use this to get them through the winter and build the coop in the spring. The hardest part is getting the chickens to adapt to a new roosting area, there for a while our nightly routine was to go around and gather them up from all their different spots, their favorites were our front steps and the hood of my truck, uncool cause we all know what they do when they sleep! Well enough for now, I'll add more as it gets worth writing.
