R.I.P. Chickens

My original 6 chickens 3 years ago

 As if life were stressful enough for me these days,

I lost the last two hens from my original 6 chicks.

And I lost them during my son's family birthday party.

It was definitely a downer.

Seems a fox got my Buff Orpington Bertha down by the barn.

The other 4 older hens scattered toward the house.

Two went to the coop,

Martha Stewart, my Araucana, ran toward the house.

The fox got her next to our deck.

So I'm down 2 layers

until the other pullets get older

(not till August/September time frame)

and I won't have any more green eggs.

Bertha in the Garden

Bertha looking for a treat

Martha Stewart is the chicken on the right

 Now the remaining chickens are locked up.

Penny is still at my house, 

though I'm growing tired of having her there 

in such tight quarters.

I guess there will be more chickens

since we put all that money and time into making the coop bigger.

But honestly, with everything going on, I don't know if I have the heart to bother with more.

Sunday Chickens

This past Sunday I left the girls out for a bit while I cleaned out the coop.

They headed straight over to the angel in the garden.

Guess they knew what day it was.

Throwback Thursday

My first flock of pullets.

Today I only have 2 of the original 6 pictured above:

1 of the Buff Orpingtons 

and the Araucana.

I miss my Barred Rocks.

Might just need to get a couple more.

Wordless Wednesday

Squatch, Zombie and Martha Stewart at the watering hole

Wordless Wednesday

Someone is Eating the Sun!

As a kid, I enjoyed reading a book called Someone is Eating the Sun

It's about some farm animals that freak out because the sun is disappearing.

They think someone is eating it, only to learn at the end of the book that it's just a solar eclipse.

  It starts off with Hen who is picking at corn when she notices

 the sky getting darker and she takes off with a 

"flippity flap and a flutter".

Lately the chickens have been randomly taking off with 

a flippity flap and a flutter 

and I think about that book every time.  

Only my chickens are running for no apparent reason.

Bathing Beauties

Chickens like to take dust bathes.  

Here Bertha and Martha Stewart choose the area right next to the tomatoes to bathe

Spring is Almost Here!

I pulled a green egg out of the coop.  

To me, this is a sure sign that Spring is coming.  

My Ameraucana hen Martha has begun laying

after a winter long sabbatical.

Farm Chic

Boots for the stylish Chicken Herder

My mom bought me these boots last fall.  

I was looking for something that was waterproof and easy to slip on for those early morning and late night dog walks.  

It was the rooster weather vane design that really got my blood pumping in regards to keeping chickens. 

 I could see myself walking out to my chicken coop to feed my chickens wearing these boots.  

The idea of feeding chickens in my magenta boots with gold rooster weather vanes

 lead to reading this book.

Which in turn lead to chickens

And now I spend my early morning and my late afternoons walking to the chicken coop 

and stylin' in my magenta boots.

Best when paired with lime green athletic shorts and a purple shirt.

We Got Eggs

My son checked the coop a couple of days ago and discovered this egg sitting on the ladder to the run. 

 I'm glad I included that cozy nest box in the coop design.  

Since then, we've had an egg a day.  

Those other cluckers better get busy!

The Coop

This is the final product (minus the painting and a few other finishing touches).

The view from the back shows the external nesting box with hinged lid for easy egg collection.  

Making the nest box external freed up floor space for the chickens.  

The nest box is 1'x2' divided into 2 12"x12" boxes.

The view inside the coop shows the roosting bar, nest box and vent holes. 

I used 1/4" wire mesh to fence in the run and cover the vent holes.  

Most people would assume you should use chicken wire on a chicken coop.  

However, the holes in chicken wire are large enough for predators like raccoons to stick their arm through.  It's also easy to break chicken wire with your hands.  

Imagine what a dog's mouth could do! 

The Best Little Henhouse in MD: Good Lays Here

There are a couple of points I'd like to stress regarding chicken coopage:

1. Have your coop before you get your chicks.  This might seem silly (which is what I thought) since you're getting baby chickens, but those babies grow up fast and when they get big enough, you'll want them out.

2. Ready made chicken coops are expensive.  You can find a few in the $300 range online, but the quality is iffy.  Best bet in my opinion- build it yourself.  Better yet, get a boyfriend/girlfriend who is handy and knows their way around a saw and let them build it for you (which is precisely what I did).

First, I came up with a plan.  I researched coop designs, found one I liked and altered it for my personal needs (original plans found at The Tangled Nest). The coop design is a 4'x4' floor plan and 3' high.  The coop stands 2' off the ground and the area under the coop is enclosed with heavy wire mesh to provide a run that extends an extra 4 feet past the coop (so the run is 4'x8' and 2' tall).

Next you need to figure out the amount of lumber you need.  Don't quote me here, but I think we used 16 2x4's, 2 1x4's and 2 sheets of 4'x8' plywood siding.  We salvaged 2 large pieces of plywood for the roof and floor and also used left over shingles for the roof. After the wood, heavy screen and all the hardware, I spent about $200.  You could certainly spend less than that if you aren't worried about how the coop looks.  Since my coop sits within sight of the house, it was required to be as aesthetically pleasing as possible, and because I didn't have to buy plywood for the roof and floor, I was able to spend extra on the wood for the sides of the coop.

All that's left is for you (or your significant other) to take the plans and turn them into an actual coop.

Making the first cuts

If your chickens are able to operate power tools like mine are, that's a plus too.

Couple of the girls checking on the progress

All framed up

Working on cutting the sides

Finally looking like a coop

Stayed tuned for photos of the completed structure!

The Mother Cluckers

Somewhere, somehow, I developed the desire to raise backyard chickens.  

So, like every other crazy nutty farfetched good idea, I began to research it. 

It wasn't until I moved back to my parents' house with their 6.5 acres 

that I was finally able to set the plan in motion.  

l to r: Fetch, Camilla, Catch, Matilda and Big Berta.

I started with 5 chicks (the minimum required to purchase at the local feed store)- 

3 Buff Orpingtons and 2 Barred Plymouth Rocks.  

Both are breeds that are relatively docile and good "pet" chickens
(a must with a 6 year old boy hell bent on making everything his pet). 

I set the brooder up in the basement using an old 150 gallon rubbermaid water trough, some pine shavings, a brooding lamp and the necessary water and food. 

 A week later while shopping at the local Ace Hardware, I ended up purchasing an Ameraucana chick.  While the other 5 chicks were pullets (or girls),
this one was from a straight run meaning I had a 50/50 chance at another hen. 

News Flash: Chickens grow fast.

It did not take long for them to grow and start looking like grown up chickens.

Time to build the coop!

P.S. I found the book Chick Days quite helpful. 
It's short and to the point and written in a way that makes reading it enjoyable.
The author also has a blog that is both informative and inspiring: Cold Antler Farm