Monday, December 2, 2013

Chicken coop - FINALLY!!!



It has finally been delivered. Well, okay. It was actually delivered last Saturday but I'm just now getting around to posting it.  I spent about 5-6 months paying for this little darlin' and I love it!

Thank you so much for building it for me, Bryan!
http://www.westphaliatradingco.com/


I told him I was only getting 3 bantam (very small) hens and have some back issues. I wanted a small coop that I could easily move by hand since I don't have an ATV or good mower to move a portable coop around with and I wanted a portable coop.  He built me a "miniature" of a design he builds a lot and even put little wheels on it.  It's a little hard for me to move on the run end but I can pull it fine by the coop end.

I'm not getting my hens until spring because I have never had any chickens before and don't want my first introduction to raising them be trying to get them through winter.  I'd like to have a bit of experience with them first.

A friend from work has been raising and showing chickens her whole life (all 18 years) and has offered me three of her hens.  I also don't want to start out with chicks - that's just a hassle I can do without.  I'd like to have three young ladies just getting ready to lay.  They will be for eggs only, not for meat and not for chicks.  I'll also use their droppings as fertilizer along with the rabbit's poo.

I was so excited to get the coop that I just had to give Bryan a hug.  :-)

The bunny has apparently entered puberty and has become a Randy Rabbit.  He keeps trying to molest my cats.  The cats do not like this and I don't like the screaming and hissing they make.  So Randy Rabbit (aka Bastard Bunny; Dumb Bunny; Hippity Hop) is getting neutered Tuesday morning.  This will cost me at least $57.  For a $10 bunny.  Sigh.  But if it settles him down and stops him from humping the cats, so be it.  Eventually I'd like to get him a friend but I don't want any baby bunnies.  There is a rabbit rescue up in the city but their adoption fees start at $75 and they require a home visit. Well, yeah.  I'm like 90 minutes or more away.  I don't see them doing a home visit that far away and I don't see paying $75 for a bunny.  Maybe the farmer I got him from will have a new litter sometime next year and I can get one then.  Hopefully the kitties will start to visit and play with him again once he's fixed.  I can't let him run through the house all the time because he eats my books and magazines and, while he'll use his litter box in his room, he won't use the cat's litter boxes. But the cats will use his litter box if given the chance and that ruins it in terms of me using the rabbit poo in the garden.  You CAN NOT use cat or dog poo in gardens - in food gardens.  Hell, I wouldn't use cat poo in any garden because of the various diseases it carries and dog poo smells too bad (and isn't safe in food gardens).

Speaking of the bunny, he is already about the size of the average cat and he's only 6-7 months old.  He's gonna be a big boy and he loves his fresh veggies.  So, this winter when I finally plan out my garden, I'm going to do another garden that will be just for him.  He likes things I don't like and I like things he can't have.

Here are a few more pictures of my chicken coop.  Enjoy!!!

cute little red wheels; tin roof should last forever

back side with large door and vent

back door open; nesting box up top; feed holder on the right

lid to run open; lower door for the chickens to get inside; upper door lets me get the eggs out with the run lid closed; vent up at the top to let air flow


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