True stories of a small flock of remarkable individuals -- and other critters.



Saturday, November 20, 2010

N E W C O O P !

I think this is the design my chickens were hoping for:



But this is the design I chose :

  --and they love it.

It's a lot like the old coop, but twice as big, and I gave it all sorts of nifty updates... two nest boxes instead of one, lots of ventilation for hot nights, little doors all over the place for filling the feeder, for changing the water,  for the girls coming and going..


I would be tearing down the old coop completely, but not until the new one was finished.


The mini-coop was staying put.  
It was a handy first-home for little Fern and Daisy, and I'm sure I'll be using it again.   
Also,
the mini-coop was a nice place to grow Heavenly-blue Morning Glories, my favorite.


Wow -- when I look at these photos, I think the construction looks kind of impressive.  
Honestly, I pretty much eyeballed the whole thing. There are no right angles.
But with a couple of power tools and a million drywall screws, anything's possible.  
These here building inspectors gave me the go-ahead, so 


here it is!  the new coop.  And the old dog house, and the little coop.
That little piece of string supports bird-netting that covers their whole yard and keeps out hawks, who sit in the trees all day, watching the hens and licking their lips.


The ladies are thrilled with their big new coop. 
Why is Marky dressed like a pumpkin, you ask?  
I made him a blaze-orange vest so he won't get shot while bounding through the woods.  
See, now he doesn't look so much like a bunny.


The little dog house in the chicken-yard used to be Marky's,


but he fancies himself a rugged outdoorsman, and refused to go inside it,


so Pigeon and Lucy took it over.
.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  


Autumn is molting season.  
This year it was Lil'White and Pigeon who decided to molt.


They each have their own molting styles.
  
Lil'White drops all her golden feathers in about a day.
The coop looks like a chicken exploded,
but Lil'White still looks as voluptuous as ever.


Pigeon's feathers fall out one by one.   She started two months ago, and there's no end in sight.   


Wherever Pigeon goes, she leaves a little stripey trail.




Little Fern's feathers are all over the yard, too, but not because of a molt.


Next post :
PLUCKED !

19 comments:

  1. What a wonderful coop! Drat! I was going to build mine along with you as you built yours. Now, I'll never get one built.

    And it's all. your. fault.


    ;-)

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  2. You did an excellent job on the new coop. Maybe this will give my husband some good ideas. I would love to have it ready for spring.

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  3. Thank you Lauren, you have no idea just how much I've missed your updates on all things fowl. I love the new coop, I only hope my girls and boys don't see it. I might just have a chicky uprising on my hands. I LOVE that Pigeon and Lucy are using the dog house. It's just the perfect size to take an afternoon nap in out of sight from all those lip lick'n hawks. I can't believe you're keeping me on the edge of my seat about Fern's next post. Plucked? I can only imagine.....
    talk to you later,
    Caroline

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  4. Hi Lauren - Love your new coop and I love that the hens took over the doghouse - so funny! I see you grew morning glories on the coop - I pulled all mine because someone told me they were poisonous to chickens...I'd love to prove them wrong! I missed my sweet morning glories this year. xo Heidi

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  5. Very nice, Lauren! I'll be making a broody house this spring. I'll need a construction consultation. Can I pay you in coffee and scones?
    Heidi- all sorts of plants are toxic if ingested as the sole food and in quantity. Some are toxic only at certain times of the year. Since chickens are omnivores and eat a little of this and a little of that, they rarely get poisoned. With chickens, the danger is often early the spring, when there are few green plants and they greedily fill up on one. I don't think that would happen with morning glories. But, that's just my take. Lauren, do chickens even like morning glories? Mine have never bothered them (and heaven knows they eat just about everything.)

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  6. I love the new coop! Our outdoor girl just received her new doghouse, she's not rugged enough to pass it by. In fact, I'm not so sure she would share it with anyone. Marky is quite generous to share his. : )

    A great post, your blog is such a delight!

    ~Andrea~

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  7. Thanks for a great story, picures and sketches. What a 'grand house' - your chickens are so lucky! Marky - you be careful out here!

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  8. Was so happy to see an update! Love the new coop! My girls are starting to molt as well. 6 girls giving me roughly 5 eggs a day and one rooster who is gonna be sorry if he doesn't stop chasing and pecking me. :) It's getting cold here in RI and I'm thinking of knitting sweaters for the girls to keep them warm once their feather are all gone. HA! Actually, I wasn't gonna knit sweaters but, now that I've said it out loud, you just never know........ See you on the next update! Be blessed, Leslie

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  9. Your new chicken coop is amazing, and Marky's bullet dodging vest is a must have for every doggy this Christmas. Another outstanding and entertaining post. Thank you

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  10. That's lovely! Now you need to get goats and design a Goatominium! We also have net over our chicken are because of hawks!

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  11. lauren
    lovely to see another post... too few!!! please do more
    john

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  12. Wonderful, as always. I laughed out loud in anticipation of "plucked"! :)

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  13. Hi Lauren,
    What a beautiful coop and I LOVE the colors....you did a wonderful job! My older chickens started molting about a month ago but they still have lots of feathers. Too bad they didn't get this over with last month as now our temps are freezing at night. Oh well. Enjoy your Sunday...
    Maura :)

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  14. This is the cutest blog I think I've ever seen. Kudos to you! I just love it.

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  15. Sweet chicken, etc. blog.
    Hawk lips??

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  16. That is lovely! Nice coop! I could not tell, is the coop in the sun or shade?

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  17. Thank you, everyone --
    Meemsnyc: In the winter the coop gets a good amount of sun.
    In the summer, it gets morning sun, afternoon shade. I included lots of hinged walls and doorways and openings in the design to maximize airflow on hot summer days and nights.
    Lauren

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  18. We're new chicken enthusiasts, stopping by from Tilly's Next "share your coop" link up. We love looking at everyone's coops! Your's is wonderful! How tall is it? We wish we had researched coop designs before building ours (from a pre-fab kit)! We're thinking of doing some updating in the spring! Oh, and your graphics are whimsical and very fun! Do you make them yourself on your computer? Hopefully after winter we can share our coop with everyone! Right now it's got a tarp lying over the top and greenhouse plastic over the run for weather protection. (We're in Maine! LOL)

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  19. i have nine coops 4 twelve chickens, and i'm not stopping!

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