Chicken Coop ~ A Reality

This weekend my dream of having a chicken coop and chickens started to become a reality.  Once again plans changed and instead of building the coop in conjunction with the green house and dog kennels we decided to make chicken tractors.  This way we can move them around and help out our lawn and other areas with good fertilization.

Scott has been looking online for ideas and found a fun looking one on craig's list I believe, so that is what we are building.  We are trying to recycle materials we have and that some friends have also.  We are getting some old ceder siding from one of Scott's co-workers and we have a ton of fencing that was around the back yard when we moved in, to make the run.  We also have some shingles that we found in the old "out building" that we got rid of last year. 

Yesterday I ordered my first batch of 7 babies from My Pet Chicken which is where my sister orders her chicks from.  I wanted chickens that were winter hardy and good layers so I chose Red Stars, Buff Orpingtons, Leghorns, and Dominiques.  They should be here the week of June 13.  There are a few other breeds that I want but they were not available until later in the summer.  Those are Australorp, Wyandotte, Easter Eggers and Salmon Faverolles.  I'll get those later on.   

We are building 2 tractors and each will hold 8 chickens.  We plan on having layers and fryers so I also tried to choose breeds that are dual purpose.  The Red Stars are great layers and the roosters make good fryers so I ordered more of them and also did a straight run (which is cheaper) that way if we get some boys we can use them for meat.  I know for some people that is a hard concept, eating your pets, but I'm not getting chickens for just pets.  We are getting chickens to be more self sustaining and also we know how and where the chickens were raised.  Being a hunting/fishing family our kids are used to that process and can see animals for their beauty and for their food possibilities. 

So far in the building process we have the bottom run areas framed in and stained.  Next we are going to put the fencing on them and work up.  We have spent a lot of time on the layout of the tractors, trying to make them efficient and easy to maintain.  Seeing as how we did not have any green treated wood on hand, we used the 2x4's that we had and stained them the same dark brown as our garden fence frame.  That way the wood that will be exposed to the elements and the ground for the run will be protected.  I'll try and get some "Progress" pics posted soon.  Now I need to start looking for chicken feeding/watering supplies and a heat lamp to keep the babies warm.