It All Started with a Chick: Building Our Chicken Adventure

3-22-2018

It All Started with a Chick: Building Our Chicken Adventure

Two years ago, our family embarked on a journey that began with a single chick and blossomed into a full-fledged passion for poultry. Here's how it all began and evolved into a cozy coop for our feathered friends. 

The Beginning

In the spring, after moving to the country, my family finally convinced me to bring home a couple of chicks. We started with a Rhode Island Red and a Welsummer, chosen from a straight-run bin at the store. The excitement was palpable as we brought home Martin and Peep, our first little companions.

We moved to the country soon after my guys started asking me for chickens. We lived in a neighborhood and it was SOO easy to tell them, no, not now, when we live on some acreage.  Well, soon came the acreage and our 1st spring brought chicks to the stores.  The very 1st time we went the guys fell in love with the babies and begged me, reminding me over and over "but you said!!" So home we went with 1 little RIR and 1 little Welsumer (we found these out later, they were in a straight run assortment bin).

Martin & Peep

Well now where are we going to put these little dudes? We made shift for a day or so and ended up using a plastic container, wood chips, chick water, chick feeder and a heat lamp. There, we were set, all this right in the kitchen dining room. Great, we can keep and eye on them, see them, talk to them, AND...listen to them chirp ALL...Night...LONG!!

Setting Up a Temporary Home

Initially, we housed the chicks in a plastic container in the dining room, complete with wood chips, a chick feeder, waterer, and a heat lamp. While this setup allowed us to keep an eye on them, the incessant chirping prompted us to relocate them to the garage within a week. As our flock grew with additional chicks, we realized it was time to plan a proper outdoor coop and run.

Ok, so now they are a week old or so, lets move them to the garage. Done deal, out they went. Within the next couple days we added a few more chicks, then some more, oh and then some more!  Now what?? We really need to prepare for their outside coop and run.  So off to Pinterest I went. 

Designing the Dream Coop

After hours of Pinterest browsing, I found a design that combined aesthetics and functionality. Collaborating with a skilled friend, we customized the coop to include ample laying boxes, strategic ventilation, and a sturdy roof. Decisions about placement and paint were daunting, but we ensured it would be comfortable, safe, and easy to maintain.

Key Features of the Coop:

• Interior Paint: Semi-gloss white paint to deter pests.
• Exterior Paint: Weather-resistant gray to protect the wood.
• Ventilation: Strategically placed to ensure airflow without drafts.

I looked through all the beautiful cottage type coops, to industrial, to pallet home made to OMG!! OK so I found the one I loved and I had a friend build it, well, yes a friend, that is my employee and is always so sweet to do anything I ask in between scheduled appointments at the shop. So the pictures were printed we made some measurements and started talking.

 I started having to decide how many laying boxes, where exactly I wanted the coop door to be, what peak to make the roof...these were hard decisions. What if I made a mistake, what if I hated my choice, would the chickens be warm, or cold or to drafty? Where will they sleep? Will their poop stink in there? How will they know to go back in and sleep at night? Do you mean I have to close their door every night? What if it rains? IT WAS ALL FINE, WORKED OUT WELL, THE GIRLS ARE NOT PICKY!! They are safe, out of the weather and clean!

Transport and Placement

Transporting the coop home was a challenge. Its size required a utility trailer, and while recovering from an ACL surgery, I relied on my partner to secure it near the pool house. Despite advice to avoid placing it near living spaces, the location turned out to be ideal.

So here we are. Coop is done and ready to go home. 

Problem is its SO HEAVY and wont fit in the back of the truck so we have to use a small 77 x 12 Utility Trailer to make it home. I was so not ANY help at this time, I was laid up in bed recovering from an ACL replacement. My sweet Babylove took care of it and and blocked it and made sure it was stable right on the east side of the pool house (outside the fence of course, everything I read said do not put the coop by the bedroom windows or in an area you would NOT want to smell animals. So here we are, right by the bedroom window, right by the backyard, downwind. It was a perfect spot. 

So now we have a nice raw coop. Raw? What do I mean? Well...I love to read up on everything before I do it. Apparently, you need a really great coating of paint on wood due to small bugs burrowing into the wood, in the coop, eating on your birds, making them sick, yadda yadda yadda.  OK, lets pick a paint. Grey on the outside, white semi gloss on the inside. IT TOOK FOREVER!! But I had a little help from one of my little racer and his little friend.

 

The Run and Chicken Math

We constructed the run using a 6x6 chain-link kennel, reinforced with chicken wire and a netted top for predator protection. Meanwhile, our flock grew exponentially, introducing new personalities like Maran, Curry, and Angel. The term “chicken math” became a humorous reality as we added more birds to our growing family.

Now we have to figure out the run.  So a 6 x 6 chain link kennel will work perfect, with additional chicken wire around it and a netted top of course. Ya see, we are already growing, the chicks are not ready to go outside yet but for some reason they keep multiplying, chicken math is a bitch! 

All of a sudden we have Maran, Curry, Steph, Checkered, Blackie, Angel, and the list goes on and on and on ...

Lessons Learned

Building a coop from scratch taught us valuable lessons about planning, design, and adaptability. Most importantly, it underscored the joy of creating a safe, welcoming space for our chickens to thrive.

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Starting with a single chick, we’ve grown into a flock that brings endless joy and life to our homestead. Whether you’re a seasoned chicken keeper or just beginning, remember: the journey is as rewarding as the destination!