backyard chickens.

So with a little bit of cajoling from K - I caved and agreed to getting some chicks to raise in the backyard. It seemed like they'd pretty much take care of themselves, they're 'green' (i.e. they create great - umm, waste - for compost that people actually buy at big box home improvement stores and they eat food scraps and bugs and take care of the yard), and - maybe best of all - they'll lay delicious eggs.

It seems the idea of raising a backyard flock is pretty popular these days so by no means is this anything revolutionary, but it's sort of a big step for me. No worries though - as soon as we got our cardboard box of chirping chicks home from the local feed store I was hooked.

Our little chicks act more like puppies playing with each other than chickens... they chase each other around, never peck at one another, and sleep in a big ball of feathers with their heads all on one another. They're adorable.

But clearly getting chicks necessitated building them a suitable home. Not wanting to invest hundreds and hundreds of dollars whilst trying to keep things simple I opted for an A-frame design. But I couldn't just throw together some 2x4 + plywood monstrosity... I wanted it to - well - sort of match the house. Or at least look like it belonged in the same yard. Details details...

So I went to The Depot and picked out a bunch of outdoor treated (not pressure-treated) stock and got to work...

First things first... construct the A-frame and attach the chicken wire -

One end would have a door for them to come in and out cos we planned on letting them free range in the backyard (which would mean having to throw up a chicken fence - but fortunately I found a huge spool of 2x2" fence wire behind the garage perfectly suited for that) and the other would be solid. I had lots of leftover cedar shake from doing the front porch gable (and finishing it) and garage so I thought that'd be a nice touch.

So then for the nest box something like this -

To build each of the panels I just used a sheet of thin plywood I had leftover - then tacked on some leftover roofing felt and 1x3s for trim to get things started -

Then stapled on the shingles -

and boom!

Same thing for the back -

Added some acrylic sheet roofing to the non-nest side for wind/rain protection whilst still letting in light, painted the trim to match the garage and back doors (Benjamin Moore HC-10 stuart gold) and stained the cedar to match the gables and... A-frame chicken coop!

Granted... it'll require some improvements - like another matching panel to go below the nest box on the west side of the coop to protect the little girls from wind/rain and keep them dry (stupid rain). And we'll see what else - but at least for now they have a nice little home for when they're not out and about pecking in their run.

I do love these little chickens...

(Whisper - New Hampshire Red - in front with her sister Willow - same breed - behind... and little Thump - Americauna - on the right... )

(Thump and - umm - either Whisper or Willow... )

(Thump... the crazy one... )

(And little Dori... )