Chicken Coop is Done

Today we worked until 6:30 pm; only stopped for lunch and never took a break in the afternoon. We wanted to get the chicken coop done before the rain came and we succeeded.

Our nesting boxes are accessible from the outside. All we need to do is lift the lid (which is locked) and check for eggs. Thanks to Robert, we will start off with golf balls in the nesting box we want the birds to use. They think the golf ball is an egg and they all want to lay their eggs together. We've seen three birds all crowded into the same nesting box. Not sure if they feel safer, were cold or just having a "hen" party.

From the door, you can see the nesting boxes, the pole for the girls to roost on and the top of their feed container. The floor is elevated to make it easier to clean everything into a wheel-barrow when clean-out time comes. Tomorrow we will put down wood shavings before the girls arrive to inspect their new home.

There is a penned in area for the chickens to run if we decide to go away for the day. This way they can go outside and still be protected.

If you click on the picture below you will see a string hanging behind the rake handle. This string allows us to open or close the trap door to either let the girls out in the morning or close it when we put them to roost for the evening.

Along the top of each side wall we have it open but covered with chicken wire to protect the girls but give adequate ventilation when they are inside. Since we will not be keeping them over the winter we did not have to insulate the coop.

That's it, DONE!

Tomorrow we get the girls and we will see how quickly they adjust to their new home. 

Check back in a few days for their pictures and an update on their progress.

Thanks for dropping hy.