Farm Life

Yep, this is Friday Night life on the farm. But, I would not change it for anything.

 

My Sweet Hubby and I FINALLY finished the chicken coop. I still need to paint the rest of it, but the chickens are enjoying it just as it is. Each day for weeks I would go out and tweek here and there, but, now I am down to making the chicken runs for the garden area.

The chickens have plenty of area to move, scratch, jump, etc. I have 2 hanging suet feeders that they use continually. I keep one full of dried breads. Also, we now have 2 locks on each door. May seem like overkill, but my son observed a very intelligent raccoon working with one of the locks on the door next to the laying nest recently. Also, the coop is painted, just have not taken that picture yet...

I know, I know I still need to finish painting...but, the red door is a lift door to get into the laying nests. The Door that has not been painted is a drop door that is for cleaning out the coop (which is perfect). The roost and laying nests all come out through this door. I have a small rake to reach all corners and have a piece of plexiglass under the roost to make this cleaning process even easier. My bedding is wood shavings. Also, this is big enough that I can climb in through this door if necessary.

The small door shown is where the chicken run will be attached. The run will enable the chickens to get out safely and weed my garden. The fencing will be able to be moved periodically between rows. We are in the country so critters are a problem. I am hoping the fencing will be secure enough to protect them...this we shall see later...

The laying nest area. This is all one piece to remove to enable cleaning. They also like to roost on top.They like the roost too...

I have attached hooks on the sides to put tarps up before the snows hit or bitter cold to give them extra protection. I am so glad that I attached the hooks. This simplifies so much and makes putting them up so fast. I secure the eyelets on the hooks and place bricks on the bottom of the tarps after they have been rolled/folded up tight. My tarps are holding up much better this way. The tarp shown in this picture is secured inside the coop on the hook. The snow has not blown in and the chickens still have sunlight.

Hope this gives you some ideas for your coop too.