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<\/a>Heat lamps don’t make for the best pictures…<\/em><\/p>\nLights out. Poorly framed shot of Fea, Megatron, & Goldie\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Once the days cleared up we introduced them to the garden under strict supervision of the cats.<\/p>\n \u00a0Mr. Rosewater & chicks<\/em><\/p>\n Mr. Rosewater was completely indifferent to the chicks, all the cats were. They’d come around their crate to\u00a0investigate\u00a0the chirps, but they didn’t seem to show any predatory interest in them. I had thought they were going to be\u00a0inciting\u00a0play things for the cats, but that wasn’t the case.<\/p>\n Then one day Jasper and The Hunger were watching them peck about and Megatron\u00a0decided it was time for a flight. She stretched out her wings, started flapping, and flew for a meter or so. The cats looked at each other in disbelief, but quickly returned to their\u00a0leisurely\u00a0pursuits<\/p>\n The chicks were growing quick and were going to eventually need something more\u00a0permanent than the cardboard box. We got to\u00a0work\u00a0building them a coop. We used, 2×3’s, some reclaimed siding, hardware cloth, and\u00a0corrugated\u00a0tin. We just sorta threw it together from some sketches we had. We wanted to build a coop that we could tuck behind the garage where they’d get winter sun. The tin roof was replaced with one of UV resistant clear plastic so they could get what little sun we have in the PNW and stay\u00a0sheltered from the rain.<\/p>\n How it started<\/em><\/p>\n How it finished \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Fancy door<\/em><\/p>\n Nesting boxes<\/em><\/p>\n The project came together over the course of a week while N was in India. Once it was compete I had to get it behind the garage. We had started with the idea of\u00a0building\u00a0a chicken tractor, a portable coop that you can move about the yard. No way was thing was in the\u00a0portable\u00a0<\/em>category. Once it was all together, I was unsure I could even move it by myself.\u00a0Luckily,\u00a0we had the tractor wheels. So, I bolted them on,\u00a0built some ramps, and set it up behind the garage.<\/p>\n Cleared the arbor<\/em><\/p>\n Parked\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n For security from chicken pestering pests, I laid a hardware cloth skirt around the edge [a choice I’d later regret]. It extended about a foot out from the sides of the coop. I held it in place with yard\/garden staples. Looks good. No? The yard quickly grew up through the cloth I was pleased.<\/p>\n Against the garage<\/em><\/p>\n Finished? Yes. Secure? Maybe.<\/em><\/p>\n The chicks were still to young for the coop and needed the warmth of the heat lamp for the cold nights. We were still dipping into the low 40s some nights. However, our friends who keeps a bit more livestock than we do had a hen that had gone broody and they were looking for a place she could nest. They asked us if we’d keep her in out coop till she hatched her clutch of eggs. Sure! We candled the eggs and spoiled Broody Hen on quality kitchen scrap. Mostly though, she’d just sit on her clutch.<\/p>\n Broody Hen<\/em><\/p>\n #1<\/em><\/p>\n She hatched 4 of the 5 eggs<\/em><\/p>\n Once our chicks were pullets, we returned Broody and her chicks and moved our birds into the coop. My poor choice for securing the perimeter from vermin came back to me one day in July. We were gardening and the chickens started to making a fuss. Nevada saw a rat run up into the hen house from inside the enclosed run. I had a little panic thinking how we, I, was going to have to kill this intruder. As I was rattling off ways we could dispatch it, she suggested we simply let it go. Great Idea! We opened the hatch and shooed it out with a sturdy branch. We then upgraded the perimeter. We moved the coop and dug a 1′ deep trench slightly smaller than its footprint. We then laid more hardware cloth in the trench and up the sides overlapping the original cloth that was left in place. We then set the coop back into place and packed soil under low spots until there was contact all around. The weight of the hen house keeps that side grounded. We\u00a0hammered\u00a0stakes on the gate side and screwed the coop in place. This configuration seems more secure and we haven’t had any more issues with chicken foes.<\/p>\n Keep out!<\/em><\/p>\n Goldie, Megatron, & Fea<\/em><\/p>\n Egg machines!<\/em><\/p>\n Goldie started laying first in October while my mom was visiting!. She lays a brown egg. Megatron started laying her green eggs a couple of weeks later. Fea began laying a pinkish light brown eggs in\u00a0November. We usually get 3 eggs a day! That’s a lot! We can’t eat ’em that fast, but we’re trying. The taste is truly\u00a0incredible and their yolks are deep gold. The chickens love cruising around the yard and get pretty\u00a0noisy when they’ve been in the coop for extended periods of time. They’re digging machines and are going to town on the worm and grub population. Slugs wont be an issue this season. However, they leave a destructive wake as they forage for goodies. We had to put a fence around our garlic bed and have the onions covered with crates. We’ll have to get more fencing once we start planting for the 2013 season.<\/p>\n Megatron, Goldie, & Fea taking a dusty<\/em><\/p>\n Mike & Megatron<\/em><\/p>\n Goldie foraging in the rain<\/em><\/p>\n Fea laying an egg<\/em><\/p>\n The updated coop. Food and water now hang in the run. We insulated the water bucket with the mylar covered bubble wrap to keep it from freezing in the winter. The new roof lets in plenty of sun and keeps the run dry on soggy days. The cloth around the perimeter is\u00a0completely\u00a0covered in earth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" After\u00a0hemming and hawing for a couple of seasons we\u00a0finally\u00a0decided to get some chickens! We plan on eating their tasty eggs and composting their nitrogen rich poop for\u00a0the\u00a0garden. Nevada picked up some chicks over Labor Day weekend in Issaquah\u00a0and we housed … Continue reading <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>Goldie, Megatron, & Fea getting the tasty\u00a0bits about the grapevine.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>Jasper<\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>The Hunger<\/em><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n