Building My New Coop

I started building my coop this weekend and it's coming along nicely!  We've only had to run to get "stuff" once, which is amazing to me since I really don't know what I'm doing I thought for sure that I'd end up going to town several times Yeah for me!!!!

 I still have a lot left to do but it's mostly insignificant stuff.  I need to put the roost in and hinges on the door.  I made it easy for me to clean and I can move the coop where ever I want it, because it's light weight of course it's just a "summer home" for Blue and Louie, when it gets cold out I will take them back to the dental office to winter them there with the other bantys!  I am hoping to get a three or four Silkie hens next spring, I just think they are so cute!  I wouldn't mind having some banty frizzles as well!  I think one nesting box will be sufficient for three or four hens. If not I can always add more!  Eventually I would love to attach a run to the coop since I live out on a farm and we do have critters that would love to have a chicken dinner I really think that is something to think about towards fall.  In the meantime the boys will be able to free range during the day and I will have to lock them up at night.  I think they are going to love it out here and I know I will  love having them here!

It's A Messy Job....

Well, yesterday I started in on the semi-annual cleaning of the coop.  I got the first part of the coop cleaned out.....wow didn't realize those nasty mice had done so much damage!!  I knew I had at least two places that they were getting in but I wow didn't know we actually had several holes to fix!!  I found some metal and cut it up to patch the holes....I will be putting dryer sheets all over the storage part of the coop, because they won't go in where the chickens are because I have a Buff Orpington hen, Hilda Mae who is a championship mouser!  She is better at catching them than my two cats put together!!  She had killed tons of mice in her short little life she is only a year old!  Hail to Queen Hilda Mae!  I am so glad that we only have mice I would be so freaked out if I saw a rat or a snake in the coop!  Hilda Mae would probably have a handle on them too!

Round two of coop cleaning will come on Saturday or Sunday not sure which day is going to be nice enough to get the job down that part is not going to be that big of a deal.....I just need to get the other nesting box out and cleaned up.  I want to put privacy curtains on the nesting boxes I'm sure the "girls" will love it!

Today the "kids" are getting a treat I bought them a cantaloupe for being such good chickens and having to put up with the dreaded vacuum yesterday!  That hate the noise, I can't say I blame them!  I will feel so much better when the whole coop is clean.  I did tell my hubby that he would have to move one of the roosts up because I have some chickens (I don't know who's doing it) that like to pluck the tail feathers off of their coop mates.  I thought raising one of the roosts will cut down on the plucking!  I hope I am right!  Two of our roos are missing tail feathers and they look so funny!  Our Black Frizzle Joey has NO tail feathers and neither does Chandler our White Crested Black Polish.  I think I can guess who might be doing it.....Jack our other White Crested Black Polish....probably pay back from when Chandler picked out all of Jack's (hair) feathers on the top of his head.  Can't say I blame him much.....Jack got his name because he only had "eyebrows" left and he reminded me of  Jack Nicholson.

I am off to go get the wood for building the coop.....

The Long Holiday Weekend

Looks like this weekend is THE weekend to start building my new coop!   I've changed the design a bazillion times....hopefully I'll figure it out by the weekend!!  The two roos I'm bringing home after the coop is done will be in seventh heaven they are in a small pen which is actually pretty good sized....they will love it at my house because they get to free range!!!!  Louis is still scared of me but Blue seems to be warming up at least he doesn't run when I go in to feed them.

I have been looking at hens on the internet and have almost decided that I'm going to get Silkies next spring...I would love to have one white, one blue or black and a partridge Silkie.  I even have names for them already!  I'm not sure if I will just get three or go ahead and get a buff Silkie as well, that would make 5 hens!! So if I make the coop a tad bit bigger I could have a total of 7 chickens, I know chickens are like potato chips......we will see what come of all of this!

Spring Has Arrived!

Finally it's starting to warm up!  I need to get in and clean up the pen, and give the coop a really good cleaning!  I think I'm going to start by revamping the nesting boxes.  I've seen on some blogs that they have put "curtains" on their boxes for privacy I think I'm going to try that!  As of late it seems like the girls are not laying much.  Not sure what that means, I did notice that they have been cracking open the eggs and eating them if they lay them on the ground especially outside, not so much in the coop.

One of the other things I am dealing with is MICE....oh do I hate them!!!  I am afraid of them I know it's stupid I'm bigger than they are!  They just freak me out to no end!  I did find where they were coming in at. I just need to find some kind of metal to bolt over the hole they made.  I can believe how destructive they can be!  I had the chicken feed in a Rubbermaid tote they ate right through it!!!  Nothing like contaminated chicken food!  It just makes me mad.  I did read that you should put either dryer sheets or sprigs of mint since mice don't really like the smell of either!  Make I will plant some mint around the coop!
 It's so
maddening to walk in the coop and see them climbing the walls.  I will say this though, our Buff Orpington Hilda Mae is an excellent mouser!  She is better than my two cats put together!! She is also my worry wart!
We have to Roosters that are not very nice and have been put in a separate pen until I can get a coop built at home for them. Hilda Mae spend lots of time (when she is not mousing) pacing with the two roos.  She wants them out with the others and not separated.....she would make a great mom!

I'm Getting My Own Chickens!!!

Well it looks like we have two roos that are not being very nice to the other chickens we had to separate them from the rest of the flock. The partners in crime are Louis an Araucana and Blue our Blue Cochin.  I've decided to bring them home with me. I first have to get a coop built before they come home...I'm sure they will be happy here with me since they will get the run of the place and not confined to a "prison cell" as they are now!

I will love having them here but when winter comes I will putting them back in the mix because it will just be easier on me!  Having them away from the other chickens will put these two on the low end of the totem pole so they can't cause trouble!  At least I hope not!!!  I am shocked that the two are not fighting, but Blue seems to want to fight Jack through the fence.....what a silly boy!!  He will learn some day...I hope!