Meet our new girls: Nuggets, Fingers, and... Mabel
So MashupDad recently got it into his head to build a chicken coop in the back corner of our old detached garage. Yesterday he brought home our three new additions, which the boys have named Nuggets, Fingers, and... Mabel. Mabel is the big one and the boss -- and Mabel had darn well better not turn out to be a boy! Apparently this young they have a 90% accuracy rate, so cross your fingers that Mabel is not a Mark. 😉
The original plan here was to get pullets, but the boys are enamored with the chicks we ended up with. (Again, keep your fingers crossed about Mabel there.) She's an Ameraucana, while Nuggets and Fingers are Golden Sex-Links.
MashupDad picked the chicks up at The Feed Store in Summit. They are little enough that they won't start laying for months, so no eggs for us any time soon! I'll keep you posted on how that goes.
So here's the coop that MashupDad built -- I'm pretty darn impressed! I'm trying to get him to write a bit more about how he did it, so please encourage him with me. He also cut a door through to the outside with a plywood cover that goes up and down on a pulley system (hopefully well covered, since we do have coyotes, foxes, and hawks around here), and will be adding a run for when the chicks get older.
So we'll see how it goes! Any of you guys keep chickens? What tips do you have for us?
Almost forgot - its worth a trip to stock up on feed when it's on sale at Farm & Fleet - they have the best prices. And if you have chickens because you think you're going to get "cheep" eggs, think again - food and bedding costs add up and it's quite the wait til you get eggs but the eggs are 1000% better than anything you get in the store - even organic.
What an adventure! My only chicken experience is this -- we rented a vacation house with a chicken coop and enjoyed the fresh eggs every day. The homeowner had an Ameraucana, and she laid the most beautiful BLUE eggs! Photo: http://www.jillcataldo.com/blogimages/kauai-11.jpg
When we came home, I really, really thought about building a coop. I will be avidly following your progress 🙂
You guys are lucky in towns that allow chickens. My town doesn't.
I have friends who have them, so I love to get eggs from them sometimes.
I saw a great tip somewhere (Martha Stewart ?, P. Allan Smith ?) to build a coop on wheels with mesh on the bottom so that poop can fall through, so you keep moving the coop to different parts of your garden so that everything gets fertilized and there isn't too much in one spot.
Really you should let the poultry manure age before you use it in your garden. Fresh manure can burn the plants. Just add it to your compost pile if you have one started.
What a Fantastic coop! I wish our city allowed chickens. Your kids will have so much fun taking care of them.
I love it. We have had chickens for 2 years in Chicago, and they are the best pets that give you breakfast!
We've had chickens for 14 years. We have a heat lamp for the winter, comes on when the temp gets a certain degree.
Have fun, there is no substitute for eggs! Delish!
My sister has chickens. Her husband built a coop on an old trailer bed. it is on wheels so he just wheels it around the yard. They feed all of their scraps to the chickens. They eat EVERYTHING!!! I had a ball collecting eggs everyday, I also learned they have some type of coating on them. You dont have to refrigerate them until you wash off this coating. Very educational for the kids.I will try and send you a pic of his trailer. Looks like a miniature aframe. So cute
Rachel, we need an update on your chicks! They grow so fast!
I was just thinking that -- they are HUGE already! lol I'll take some pix soon.