The old coop, before -- summer 2014[/caption][caption id="" align="alignnone" width="375"]
Looking at the coop straight on, summer 2014[/caption]We have an old chicken coop in our backyard. For a couple years I've been itching to raise some chickens but two things have held me back: the state of the coop and my son's reluctance.
This year, the planets aligned. O and his friends are always looking for schemes to earn pocket money, so they all agreed to clean out the coop for me. And because we've been through some tough times with our pets in the past couple years, O has grown to understand that animals and pets have shorter lifespans than their owners. The thought of losing a few chickens to predators--a very real possibility around here given that our property borders a habitat teeming with coyotes, fishers, raccoons, and hawks--isn't as horrific to him as it would have been a few years ago. Plus, that has been motivating him to research the best ways to secure our coop.
It goes without saying that our coop needs a lot of work, so much so that I considered buying a prefab coop. The prefab coops I like, however, are a couple hundred dollars so I figure it's better to do some DIY on the structure we have in place.
Today it's overgrown with vines and we need to do some serious tree branch pruning. The structure is very sound. There's a wooden floor inside, along with nesting boxes. We'll replace the chicken-wire covered window openings with real shed windows that open for ventilation, and build a door. The structure doesn't have electricity but we can run an extension cord from our garage. As for the outdoor enclosure that's currently fenced with chicken wire ... I'm not so sure. It would be nice to have a completely enclosed run, but our neighbor doesn't have one and they have only lost one chicken in the last couple years. Other to-do items: the coop will need scraping and painting after the windows and door are installed and the coop has been cleaned out.
O is having a sleepover tonight and the boys have their first paying job, clearing out some of the brush and branches around the structure. Our plan is to have a coop ready for chicks mid-spring ... that gives us the fall, winter, and early spring to get it into shape. As for chickens, I have my heart set on Araucanas, the chickens that lay pastel-colored eggs. Word is they've got friendly dispositions, are good layers, and are cold-hardy.
Do you own chickens? Any advice? The one thing that's creeping me out is the thought of snakes getting in the coop to eat eggs. I don't mind seeing them out in the open, but I'll seriously freak out if I'm gathering eggs and put my hand on a snake! An acquaintance has told me, however, that her chickens kill snakes ... around here, the snakes are too small to be a real threat to eggs.
Araucanas are great for the gorgeous eggs, though not my favorite as far as personality. For character in the coop, I'm a fan of Barred Rocks or bantam Black Cochins. (You're going to love having them, I think!)
ReplyDeleteKris, Barred Rocks are also on our list. They seem to do well in New England. How many chickens do you have?
ReplyDeleteWhen we used to live on an acreage we had some Araucanas and absolutely loved them. My boys are now 30 and 32 and they still talk about the coloured eggs!
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