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| We have eleven chickens, a mixture of Buff Orphingtons and Rhode Island Reds. Tim ordered sixteen baby chicks who arrived by overnight mail about 4 months ago. We gave a few away and currently have eleven. They are all supposed to be hens, but we suspect we have one rooster on our hands. It is pretty difficult to tell for sure when they are still so young and small. Time will tell. |
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| The winter location for the chicken coop. The accessory roof off the garage will serve as protection from the massive amounts of snow in the winter. You can see the orange snow blower (essential to living in the Clarktic Circle) which we will use to keep an area free of snow for them to come outside should they choose. |
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| A very young Buff Orphington is checking out the scene before deciding to venture out of the house. These guys will get huge. Notice the plug in the upper right corner of the photo. In the winter this provides power to heat the house with light bulbs. |
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| Inside the house. In the summer months the floor is an open mesh wire that allows the poop to fall through, as well as provides for ventilation. There are also two vents near the ridge. In the winter Tim will install an insulated floor and plug up the vents to keep the heat in. The insulated walls and roof of the house keep it both cool in the summer, and hopefully warm enough in the winter. |
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| Bella loves hanging out under the chicken house when I'm not watching and eating the poop that falls through the mesh wire floor. This is what happens to dogs who hang out under chicken coops. Gross. |
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| This photo shows the hinged roofs in their open position. We (or should I say Tim) refills the water and food by opening the large roof on the right. The nesting box on the left also has a hinged roof so we can easily get at the eggs when the ladies start laying. We expect that will be sometime in September or October. |
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| Tim did a lovely job of making the hen house look like a small version of our house. |
Are you worried about the neighborhood dogs coming around? How old were they when you let them out of the coop?
ReplyDeleteI'm a little worried about the neighborhood dogs, but the chickens are going under the deck and I think they can stay safe if a dog decided to go after them. We are only letting them out when we are home. It started about 3 weeks ago with only letting them out in the evening. We would sit out there with the hose to ward off lurking cats and dogs. Our animals have gotten used to them and are leaving the alone now. I'm letting them out all day today while I'm home, but obviously not watching all day. Keeping the windows open so I can hear any ruckus if it happens.
ReplyDeleteCool chicken house! That guy has talent!!
ReplyDelete