Friday, January 25, 2013

Movable Chicken Coop

I thought that I would post a few pictures of a little project that I have been working on over the past few months. My grandson Denny came to spend a little time with us a few months ago. So I got this whim that I wanted to get a couple of chickens so he could see where eggs come from. I didn't think that it would be a big deal, but I didn't think Alex would like them. Anyway, she didn't seem to mind too much. So I sat down with pincel and paper and drew out my plan. Went to the Big Box and bought some 2x4s, chicken wire and some other material and got busy. It took me a week or so after work and on Saturday afternoon. Then a couple days before Denny and Becky arrived, I got on Craig's List, and looked for some hens. I found a lady that had trree hens and a rooster, that she didn't want to split up. I told her that that would be fine. I didn't want the rooster, due to the neighbors. I went and picked them up, and took them home. The lady that sold them to me($30 total), told me that she didn't want to feed them all winter because her husband was getting laid off. She just wanted to keep a couple for herself some eggs. I didn't mention that I planned to name one of them Rooster Noodle Soup. Since I brought them home, I get 2-3 eggs each day. With both of us eating as many eggs as we can we cannot keep up. Alex gives about a dozen a week away to her friends, so now I see that she actually likes the chickens. I let them out to run the yard each day when I get home from work, and they have about an hour of daylight. Then they return to the coop for the night. I have not had any problems with them, except that there is a hawk that sets in a tree and watches them sometimes. I guess that hawks have to eat too, but I hope that they find some mice instead.