Ihave always wanted to own a minor eyepatch of land , produce veggies , and have Gallus gallus and a miniature cow — a small but eclectic happy place . I buy my home in Hendersonville , North Carolina , in 2014 and immediately started planning to make a safe and secure place for the chickens - to - be .
First and firstly , I readChickens for Dummiesand , of path , Chickensmagazine and joined a couple of Facebook group , asking questions and reading post . But , me being me , I knew I could n’t have a normal chicken henhouse . I started look for far-out henhouse ideas and lastly regain one that talk to me .
However , I lacked the tools and know - how that were required to make such a funky little “ coopsicle . ”
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A Trade Economy
When I was an art teacher , I bank upon donation of paper , paints and other odds and ends to make my curriculum shine . I knew that reaching out to the residential district was one way to get thing done and also let in kids to become involved in community of interests projects .
With that in idea , I approached a local gamy school day shop class teacher and told him of my melodic theme .
Getting Things Ready
Meanwhile , I prepped the chiliad , bushwhacked the underbrush and looked for cost - effective fencing . During the class , the shop teacher would send periodic photographic evidence of the progress of the hencoop , and I would get more frantic . As the year progressed , I got the more - mundane - but - necessary prospect of the crybaby curtilage together .
At my job at the veterans ’ governance , we have a small group in our department that we call the “ Woodchuck Club ” where we call out to our members when we need supporter with sure house / yard projects . Everyone shows up , pitch in and tackles the business . commonly pizza and beer are involve , but mostly we come together to help oneself out and have fun .
This is how I got my fence - Emily Post holes dug and beams put in . The fencing came along later when one of my friends betray me their old chicken wire and fencing .
After another Woodchuck Club callout , we spentthe good part of a morning tearing down onemember ’s chicken yard and rolling up the fencingand deer net that protect the overhead . Itwas enough to gird my small chicken pace .
Delivery Day
Spring come round , and the coop was finally save . The instructor and some of his bigger pupil unloaded it in the backyard . Then they carefully leaven it , placed it on the 4 - by-4 - inch post and secured it in place .
The arduous study terminated , it now fell to me to start to put on the finish touches . Painting was a breeze , but the interior touches I jazz would take a while , as I was go away a little crazy on Pinterest gathering thought . I was having to look to get the fencing material put up as that would take another gathering later on in the summer . So I had time to start making the inside of the coop easily to clean and interesting at the same time .
I laid down the sticky back flooring that looked like Sir Henry Wood because I want to be capable to easily pick it . But I then learned that the chicken might see that too operose to take the air on , so down go a bed of George Sand and then wood chips .
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I buy some sure-enough torn - up picture frames and printed pictures of alternative chicken - theme movie mash - ups . Then , I put in a children ’s xylophone for the hens to plunk and plink about on when they got bored .
I brought over two old flower boxes that were rotting away to describe the pathway to the door to the volaille yard . I ended up recruit them up on cinder blocks , paint them and fill up them with Gallus gallus - well-disposed plants . Another clinker - block project went in next to the grounds , a workbench with cushion so I could model and admire my volaille from a location that stayed fishy all day .
The planks that went up to the chicken coop were spray painted in rainbow color just because it look nerveless and bright and glad . On the door into the cage yard are the name of my girls , a list of kickshaw ( paint in special K ) that chickens can have and a short list of affair ( in red ) that they ca n’t have .
Chicken Time!
All in all , it took 4 twelvemonth , from dropping off the hencoop plans to the shop form to the day I at long last bring home the chicks , until the time I lastly released the fully feathered pullets out to the yard .
Ispend a lot of time out in the backyard in the summer , tending to my girls or seat on the workbench and just listen to them clucking and fuss about the yard . It ’s very reposeful and peaceable . The terminal soupcon was tot up cameras so I can tune up in and look into on them from wherever I am to ensure they ’re felicitous .
Tammy L. Haurilick lives with her family and flock in Hendersonville , North Carolina . This article originally appeared in the March / April 2022 issue ofChickensmagazine .
