I only have a small coop that I bought and I need to build a chicken run. Being a 77year old woman who is a complete klutz when it comes to doing anything I don't know how it will come out. I am the kind who when painting I step in the roller pan, I loose scissors when sewing. I put things away and never find them again. Do you let your chickens free range? I can't because of hawks and coyotes. But I learned with my last two that keeping them cooped up all the time causes very pale yellow yolks that didn't look very appealing . But when I let them out the hawks got them and left me with a lovely pile of black and white specked feathers. My husband had them tamed and they followed him. That was good because he has Parkinson's disease and it took his mind off his condition for awhile. He used to tell them if they didn't lay they were looking at Chick Filet. My chickens are Dominiques. That's what we had when I was little but my daddy called them domineckers. One of the sweetest sights to me is when the hen calls them to her and they gather beneath her and you can't even see them. There is a reference in the bible to this . The thing that I don't understand is that my hens don't cackle when they lay an egg. My mama used to send me looking for a nest when she heard hers cackle. When I find an egg it seems like a precious little gift in thanks for feeding watering and protecting my two little black and white hens. Good luck with yours and when your son gets home from school cook him a delicious egg freshly laid.
