I have convinced John that chickens are a good idea!
It pretty much came down to this: we have been thinking of getting a pet for DD1 – she desperately wants a dog, but we both work full time. Plus, she and her twin DD2 are super busy kids four nights a week, so a puppy would be sadly neglected. I’m also allergic to cats, so after giving it some thought and remembering that I have past experience raising baby pet birds, it seemed that chickens that will satisfy my gardening/sustainability instinct, her pet instinct, and big bonus – chickens live outside year round. Plus we get those beautiful eggs.
That works for me!
John’s thrifty Scots heritage did kick in and he quickly nixed the Eglu ($800 avec chickens), so I had to do some internet searching on chicken coop plans. One thing I quickly learned is that there are two schools of thought on coop design: people who scavange materials from virtually anything (a total no-go in my toney neighborhood) and people who aspire to the gentleman-farmer-high-end-solution (lovely but there are no prices quoted on that web site – what does that tell ‘ya?)
Here is the coop of my dreams:
Pretty yes? This design has all the feaures required for healthy birds, the plans are not expensive, we can build it ourselves, and it’s wicked adorable to boot. I actually love the goofy window box, and if you watch the ebay video (scroll down) you’ll see a hen sitting inside the window! I’m such a sucker…
Next challenge: where to buy day old chicks. The big mail order hatcheries sell every breed but they have minimum orders – 25 chicks(!) - and the Boston metropolitan area is not exactly teeming with Agway stores….stay tuned.
I used to have Gold Laced Wyandottes – lovely hens, big fat confident birds, too fat to fly – and they’d happily stare down our Rottweiler cross and three cats.
Great pets, and good layers.
Love the hen house!
Do you have raccoons in your neighborhood? That’s the chicken problem in my Seattle neighborhood. How to build a coop that can withstand them. I’ll figure it out someday!
Cherly, we sure do – I see racoons in our yard all the time. Last night I downloaded the playhouse coop plans, and there is a wire floor as well. So – no burrowing critters will be able to get inside.
Oh, I’m so excited that you’re getting your chickens! That chicken coop is too adorable for words – I love the window box.
Great look! Can you post where you found these plans? Good luck with the chickens.