A Fiber Farm Blog

Posts tagged ‘Chicken Coop’

Chickens’ Day Out

Sunday was a beautiful day here in Missouri, especially for February.  It was unusually mild, mid-50s and just a nice day to be outside.  So it was the day I decided to let the chickens out of their coop.  As the weather gets nicer I plan to let them out most of the day so that they can forage around and enjoy more space.  It was a little nerve wracking, letting them out of their safe space. I wondered if I would be able to get them back in the coop.  I was also worried about how our dogs Balto and Shadow would do and if they would bother them.  Balto is our new LGD and judging by the calm, protective way he had acted around all our other animals, I felt he woul be fine.  But I had no idea how Shadow, our black lab, would react.  But the time came when we were ready to let the chickens explore more of their world.  Chicks Day Out 1

We opened their door……

Chicks Day Out 2

And it didn’t take long at all for them to venture out…..

Chicks Day Out 3

Balto took a good, up close (and rather personal) look to make sure all was well…..

Chicks Day Out 9

Then while the chickens were exploring the new world outside, Balto was curious about their world inside…..

Chicks Day Out 5

Shadow was perfect around the chickens…..didn’t scare them or bother them in any way.  Everyone got along beautifully.

Chicks Day Out 7

Chicks Day Out 8

The chickens wandered a little further than I though they would, but when I went out around 5:00 to get them inside and safe for the night, they were already settled down back in their coop.  The chickens first day out went really well. 

Chicks Day Out 10

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Chickens

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Oh Happy Day!

The chicken coop is now complete and this weekend the chickens were put in their new home.  They had the best time exploring and pecking around. 

There are still things that I want to do, but for now, the chickens have plenty of room and a safe place to spend the winter.  Next spring, we will work on replacing some of the rotted boards, paint the coop, stain the wood, and work on the windows so that they are comfortable when it gets warm next summer.   I am also reading a book called Chicken Gardens by Jessi Bloom in hopes that by next spring I can do some landscaping in and around the coop that will add beauty to the coop but be healthy for the chickens as well. 

I couldn’t wait to get in with the chicks and take pictures since I finally had some room and plenty of good light.  But do you know how hard it is to get a good picture of a chicken when it is running around, pecking at anything and everything?  Plenty hard!  I picked out some of the best so you could enjoy seeing the chickens as they explore their new home.

 

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Chickens

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Chicken Coop Renovation Update

Hi, thought I would do a quick coop renovation update.  We pretty much have the outdoor area framed in.  Not too bad for a couple of non-woodworking type people!  We also tried to use as much reclaimed lumber as possible.  That presented a few challenges but all in all I think we did a great job.  We still need to finish around the bottom, put in the door and put up all the screening.  We are well on our way and it’s a good thing too.  Our chickens are getting bigger and bigger and if the weather doesn’t get too cold too fast, are more than ready to get outside where they have more space.  Keep you posted.

 

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Chickens

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Chickens Day Out (And Coop Renovation Update)

The new chicks are 3 weeks old now and just full of fluff and feathers. They are growing like weeds and already seem to have their own personalities.  It was nice enough today to have a “chicks day out”.  I put them in one of our large dog crates where they could get some fresh air and still be safe.

They had a great day, pecking at the ground, and watching the big world outside.

And, they even practiced roosting for the first time.

And best of all, they got a special treat, tomatoes, parsley and bread crumbs.

While the chicks were enjoying their day, Jeff and my nephew Myles were working on the coop renovations.  Jeff had pulled all the warped and rotting floorboards up, filled in the hole underneath and sealed up the cracks in the foundation.  He and Myles worked to lay down the new flooring in the coop.

There is much more work that I want to eventually get done, but for now we are trying to do just what is necessary.  The chicks are growing like crazy and I want to make sure that they have a good, safe home when they are ready to move out to the coop. 

And….as usual……we had our alpaca supervisors watching over the coop remodel.  Today, it was Renegade, Frisco, Weston and The Dash.

Watch for my next post on the chicks and our progress on their coop.

 

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Chickens

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Chicken Coop Renovation

I have been thinking about getting good laying chickens for some time now and have done a lot of studying on types of coops or housing for my hens.  I have looked at all kinds of coops, some very, very expensive, some not so bad.   I have considered both permanent coops and the mobile, tractor types that can be moved about the farm.  I considered housing the chickens in the barn with the alpacas and building a coop within the pastures.  Once I took everything into consideration, I decided to use the chicken coop that had been on the farm for many years. 

It is very sturdy and must have housed many chickens over the years.  There are a few things I need to do for the safety and health of the hens and a few things I think would make the coop more convenient for me.  And, of course, there are a few aesthetic things I would like to do as well.  Now that the chicks are here (and seem to be growing so fast) we need to get busy on the coop renovation.  So last weekend we got off to a good start. 

Jeff removed the warped and rotting floorboards and began filling the space below the floor with some of the leftover limestone chipping we purchased for the barns.  It is a slow process, one wheelbarrow at a time, but hopefully we will be done with that by the weekend. 

And, of course, Sun Tzu kept a careful watch on the project.  Wonder what he will think when the chickens are added to the coop? 

I will keep posting as we continue with the Chicken Coop Renovation.  Hope you will enjoy the transformation!

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Chickens

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