The Taj Ma Coop
We were walking through the local feed and hardware store looking for... well to be honest I don't even remember why we were there. Regardless of the intended shopping list: we came home with 15 adorable little fuzzy soft chirpy stinky chickens. That's right I said chickens. We are not farmers. We are not ranchers. We have a cat (that my husband tolerates at best) and a fish tank. Now, however, we are trying our hand at having chickens too. Chicken farming is an exciting new adventure for our family that poses more than a few problems or lets call them opportunities to learn.
Learning opportunity #1: Where do chickens live? Chickens begin there lives in a brood box, consider it temporary housing for babies. My handy hubby whipped one together in an afternoon, no problem. He pieced together some spare lumber from around the place and build a brood box that can be easily converted to a shelf for the shop once the chicks out grow it. Easy enough.
Learning opportunity #2: What is needed for chickens to live in the brood box? A lot actually. Chickens need to be very warm so they require a heat lamp. Also, the hubby built our brood box high enough that they are level with the shop window so that they could see out and feel the warm sunlight. Can you say spoiled? The chickens will be in the box 24/7 so there needs to be a place for them to potty. Add some straw or wood chips to the flooring to catch/ soak up the droppings. They also need food and water.
Learning opportunity #3: What do chickens eat? Well, that depends on how old your chickens are. We started our little guys off on Medicated Chick Starter to give them the best nutrition available for their age. We have since switched to Organic Scratch designed for larger birds. Now that the chickens have eaten they are thirsty.
Learning opportunity #4: What do chickens drink? Water you say. That's what I though too. All animals drink water. Well, chickens are rather high maintenance in this department. They do drink water but are much healthier if the water contains a lil' somethin extra. We use this...
Learning opportunity #5: How do you build a chicken coop? Well, if you are my husband you research dozens of different coops on the internet, you read through several blueprints and floor plans (yes chicken coops have multiple floor plans) and then after all of that research you wing it. Haha. Not only do we draw up no plans other than the one floating around in my handy hubby's head but we also change the plan several times throughout construction. I will say that it turned out beautifully even though it took up much more of my time than I would have liked and cost more in materials than I had anticipated. My handy hubby overbuilt and meticulously detailed what we now affectionately call the "Taj MaCoop". Hubby did good and did most of it himself. I helped out every day but had to pause every few hours to nurse and change the baby or get the sassy pants 4 year old a snack, drink, toy, or change the tv channel, etc.
Step 1 of Chicken Construction: Framing.
The handy hubby actually did most of this while the girls and I were snowed in with the flu at my sisters house over spring break- full story in an earlier post. He built the floor first and then mounted it on a skid of 4"x4"s so that we can drag the coop around the farm with the tractor to clean under it or move it if we decide to. He then decked the floor and framed the walls leaving openings for our windows and man door.
Step 2 of Chicken Coop Construction: Sheeting the frame.
We added OSB board and covered it with siding to be painted later to match the shop.
Step 3 of Chicken Coop Construction: Roofing
This is our first attempt at roofing so we were a bit nervous about trying it but we did it: tar paper, shingles and drip edge.
Step 4 of Chicken Coop Construction: Paint
I painted the interior of the coop bright white because chickens are suppose to lay better in a bright environment. I painted the exterior gray to match our shop with brown trim and a red door.
Step 5 of Chicken Coop Construction: Windows
Luckily we had a few dozen old windows laying around from a previous unfinished project so my handy hubby ran them through the table saw to square their old ragged edges and I painted them to make them look spiffy.
Step 6 of Chicken Coop Construction: Finishing Touches
My handy hubby glued down some laminate flooring to help protect the floor and extend it's life. We mounted all the doors and closures and touched up the paint.
Step 7 of Chicken Coop Construction: Moving it outside!
My handy hubby wrapped a chain around the legs of the skid and hooked it up to the ol' John Deere and drug the entire Coop outside and into place. Daughter #1 spread some shavings around inside to make our ladies feel comfy cozy and right at home. We then had to carry the girls 1 by 1 out to their new home. They love it! The Taj MaCoop has 6 hen boxes, 2 roosts, a man door, 5 windows, chicken door with ramp, hen box access door and food/supplies storage the length of the coop with 2 exterior doors. My handy hubby even wired an outlet box into it so we can plug in a heat lamp or light if needed. He also installed a couple of vents to help keep the air flowing inside. These are some spoiled birds!
Learning Opportunity #6: How do you catch chickens in order to get them back into their coop at dusk?
??? If i figure it out I will let you know. :-)
