chicken coop

As you can see I’m not much of a carpenter. But this is our chicken coop. In the past at other homes we have lost hens due to raccoons, foxes and snakes (the snake was here in TX). I was very concerned about keeping them safe and in the end I think this coop is the sturdiest building on our property. If there ever is a tornado those hens will be just fine while my household belongings will be blown up to Oklahoma. I sifted through a lot of pics on the computer when we were building one and thought if anyone (with no carpentry skills like me) googles CHICKEN COOP—maybe this will help.

The sides are hinged for easy egg gathering on one side and coop cleaning on the other. The wheelbarrow fits right under the drop side and makes cleaning the coop very easy.

The other two sides have hinged windows lined with chicken wire that stay open pretty much all summer. We elevated the building to provide additional shade and so my imagination wouldn’t envision a snake-all-expenses-paid-resort-hotel under it.

We feed them a tray full of laying crumble in the morning and a small pail of scratch feed in the afternoon. Four times a week I give them organic greens --as much as they can eat in 10 minutes- usually a couple handfuls. Also they love any scraps of bread and vegetables, especially tomatoes.

Being a military family we move often, it might seem strange to invest in a coop or even have animals. It just makes sense to us to “live” in each place we move to. Having chickens is part of that.

So is seeing a warted toad in the yard.

And catching your first catfish in the pond.

The turkeys have been visiting us nearly everyday. I think because someone made a deal with them that we wouldn’t eat them. This was a vocal contract which was made by a six year old with good yelling skills.

Shall I close this post with a funny but not so funny chicken story?

Remember when my son had his toenail removed? (I can’t find this post)

A couple days later he was sitting in the porch letting his foot air out and on a whim decided to check for eggs…in flip flops... and a chicken pecked his toe really bad. It was terrible. I had to take him back to the DR and was extremely embarrassed. When he asked my son what happened he told him a chicken pecked it and all my nervous energy came out in hysterics. Of course I was the only one laughing. Can you say mother of the year?