Winter is finally over! Time for a new coop!

Sooooo, I know it has been a while since I posted a blog entry, but I didn't have too much to talk about during the dreariness of winter. Winter depresses me. I hate the cold and wet and all around yuckiness. Blech!

Now that spring has sprung in north Georgia I'm breaking out of my winter rut and jumping into new projects around the house.  My main one being the construction of a new and bigger coop for my 7 hens, and the 6 new pullets I picked up from the feed store a few weeks ago... bringing my chickie total to 13. Yeah... we definitely needed a bigger coop.

When we went from 6 to 7 hens I knew our old coop was plenty big enough.  But then I saw those little fuzz babies at Tractor Supply and I knew we HAD to add them to our chicken family. Thus, the requirement for bigger accommodations. ;)

In actuality, I'd already decided to build another coop because I wanted to do some upgrades to make their enjoyment and my time spent caring for them easier. So back in late February the hubby and I walked around the property and picked out the perfect spot, and it was no where near the original coop's location.

 



Since we'd had issues with night attacks in the past, the new coop--though much more secure--was placed near the fenced in area for out big outside dogs. This way the dogs will bark and (hopefully) scare away any night prowlers.  That is, after they stop barking at the chickens. *Face Palm*

On March 9, 2013, we hit Lowe's and came home with $400 worth of building supplies.  Eek!  It took a few days before we could get started though. Rain, rain, rain.  Ugh! I thought we'd never get started, and when we finally did I wondered if we'd ever finish.  Stupid winter.  :(

Thankfully, the hubby was ready to go once the skies cleared, even though I was down with a foot injury (I was sitting in a chair taking this picture). I would hop on over when he needed more hands, and then he'd send me back to my time-out chair.  LOL.

 

I had previously drawn out crude and unprofessional designs on what I wanted, but it was really something for me to see the thoughts in my head appear in front of me in real life.

By the time we finally got the coop "in the dry" the chicks were big enough to move out of my laundry room. Woohoo! They lived in one corner of the coop while we finished it off.

And then it was time to get everything else done.

 

 

The chicken run was enclosed on the left side of the coop and wraps around the back. We covered the entire area with plastic, black netting to keep out any flying predators and keep the hens inside. The coop is about 4 times bigger than the old one, and the run is more than double the size of the old one. The girls are loving all of their space.

It only took about a week for them to clean out the run of all things green, so I'm hauling leaves from around my 9 acres to the run every 2 weeks. This helps me clean up my property, while giving the hens something to scratch around in. They eat bugs and seeds and weeds while breaking down the leaves. It also helps keep the run from getting muddy and poopy.  ;)

The coop isn't 100% finished though. We'll be adding a few things here and there over the next few months. I'm adding some decorative metal signs and flowers, and we're also going to add a small deck on the front and a storage bin to keep the feed in.

Anyway, this is what we've been doing lately. I'm glad to have the girls in their new place, and even happier that they found their new nests on the first day. So far everything is working smoothly, and there's still room for more chickies in the future.  I'll be sure to share more pictures when we finish deck and clean up the construction mess. I'm waiting on a lovely spring day and then I'll be out there snapping all sorts of pics for you guys and gals out there.

Happy Monday!








Building a Chicken Playpen

Since the weather is getting nicer and the temperatures are warming up, it's time to start getting my newest chicks outside for a few daylight hours each day.  They need to start getting the hang of sunlight and the fluctuating temperatures in order to be ready for when the big day comes that they'll be outside permanently.

So in honor of spring arriving tomorrow, Tim and I spent a few hours this weekend making a chicken playpen.  It's a portable fencing unit that's lightweight enough for two people to move from one spot to another.  Not only will it be useful in getting the chicks out in the fresh air, but I'll also use it to direct my older chickens in their natural garden tilling duties without me having to be right there watching them the entire time.

Since other people might like to know more about this project, I took a few pictures for you.

First off, here is the list of supplies:

10 -- 2X2s, 8' long
1 -- roll of plastic poultry netting, 36" wide, 25' long
8 -- 2" inches
2 -- 2" hook & eye closures

All of this was under $60, and we only used a staple gun, hammer, and nails to put it all together.  This is also one of those project that can be expanded to as big as you want just by adding another panel.

First, we used five of the 2X2s to make ten 4' boards.  Then the other five boards were cut to make ten 3' boards.  Once nailed together, this gave us five panels at 3' wide and 4' tall.

Next up, we added the plastic poultry netting to one side of each frame using the staple gun.

After that, we put all the panels together on the long sides with two hinges each.  And then the last panel will receive the two hook and eye closures.

Lastly, we stood it up and had a pentagon-shaped portable chicken play pen.  Yay!  It's tall enough that the outside cats can't get in, and big enough to give the chickens an area to run, play, and scratch in the sunshine. 

Later today, I'll be putting the same netting over the top that I used last year on the chicken coop's run to keep any hawks from swooping down and swiping my babies when I'm not looking.