A Man And His Coop

Hey Peeps! (Get it? Chicken blog? Peeps?) Nerd alert! Ok well moving on....here is the post I told you I was coming concerning the building of the coop. It is actually a "chicken tractor" which is basically a smaller coop with a small run and wheels on one end so you can move it around your yard, ensuring the chickens always have a fresh area to scratch and peck at while they are safely enclosed. Chickens have a lot of natural predators such as hawks, owls, raccoon, possum, weasels, and minks. I'm mostly concerned about the hawks. They're the ones that would dare to attack during broad daylight. Those feathered bullies! 

Here is a picture of my wonderfully indulgent husband spending his Saturday working on the chicken tractor I HAVE to have for my beauteous hens. He dragged my father in law into it as well. What can I say? They both love me....or they're afraid of my wrath. Either way, it's happening! I'm very excited. The garage has been temporarily turned into Coop Central. It's a three car garage. We have two cars. No cars can be parked in the garage currently. Hmmmm....I think we have too much stuff.  Moving on...

Look at all these tools! There's a drill thingy, and a bar of some kind, and other miscellaneous, unrecognizable thingies! And look at this!...

Wood! Tools and Wood. Fascinating. 

Here she blows!! Erm...I mean here's the A-frame tractor in its early stages. What you see here is the coop part. It has a hinged door on the side for easy access to clean (chickens poop an awful lot I've discovered) and a smaller door on the back to retrieve eggs from the two nesting boxes. Gah! Egg collecting! Fun! There will also be a window so they can see the stars at night. Do chickens enjoy star gazing? I'm going with yes. The bar secured diagonally across the coop is the roosting pole. Chickens gotta roost, man. 

Here are Phil and Bob working together to attach the small door that will lead from the cozy coop into the enclosed run. Doesn't Phil look dreamy with safety glasses on? No? Moving on...

Vivian was working hard trying not to trip over all the tools and cords everywhere and

 needed a flavor ice break. She seems to need a flavor ice break when she does just about anything, come to think of it. Toddlers are sneaky like that. And I'm a sucker for those big brown eyes. 

Here's Bob doing what he does best during planned gatherings that involve physical labor: Supervising. Looking good B-O-B! 

Here is the nesting boxes. The view is such that one would have upon lifting the little hinged door that will be in place upon completion of the tractor. You really only need one nesting box per five hens, and we have five hens, but I opted for two boxes because I want my hens to live in luxury. When the tractor is done I'll fill up the boxes with cozy warm straw and then they can lay away! Well, they will when they are about five months old, so around August. Wee!

And later Vivian carried poor docile Sunshine around the backyard some more. Look how big that chicken's feet are! She's only five weeks old. I think she's going to be our biggest hen. She's kinda my favorite. Don't tell the other girls! Playing chicken favorites. For shame. 

Here she is giving Caterpillar some love. Nothing like a full on chicken face snuggle. Boy, posting this picture comes at a very good time for me. I've got a Harry Potter movie on and it's the part when (spoiler alert!) Dunbledore gets it. *tear* I think I need to go face snuggle a chicken. Until next time here's your chicken fun fact of the day:
Chickens experience REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. (I wonder what they dream about?)