Catching up: Moving with chickens
Moving with chickens is an exercise in logistics. It seemed enough to pack up every single thing in my house and come up with a plan to move it about an hour from my house. But what about the chickens? I couldn't see transporting them the day of the big move. So I decided to leave …
Snow birds
We had our first snowstorm of the year, bringing with it about 4 inches of snow, and temperatures that dipped into single digits overnight. One morning I walked out to find my prized heated water fountain had frozen over. In the 13-degree weather, I quickly scooped out the ice from the water trough, and worried …
Hooked up for power
After a couple grueling weeks digging a trench, and having friends come over to do the handiwork, the electrical line running to the chicken coop has passed inspection!The Ferndale city inspector came out bright and early at the beginning of the week. We started out in the yard, where the electric line came out of the …
In the trenches
With the last bit of summer running past us, I decided to embark on a large pre-winter project: running an electrical line out to the chicken coop.Why do chickens need electricity, you ask? Mostly so I can plug in a heated water jug. I just don't have it in me to run fresh water out …
Week 17: Prepping for eggs!
Tonight, Loretta squatted for me! In chicken-speak, this means she'll be laying eggs in the next week or so. For some reason, she wouldn't come out of the coop today. Normally she's the first one barging through the door. But it took coaxing, and finally me just picking her up and putting her outside. That's …
Officially official!
We're legal, baby! For two months now, we've had our baby chickens, but we only had a partial approval for the coop. The final OK couldn't come until the inspector returned to check out our chicks. In Ferndale, the town where we live, the local ordinance allows only three hens and no roosters. So today's …
Week six: Freedom!
I was at once excited and dreadful about putting the chicks out in the coop overnight for the first time. The temperature was to drop down to 34 degrees. I worried about whether or not I should leave food and water. Despite my worries, I'm happy to report Loretta, Nellie and Gigi made it through …
Loose ends
With the weather finally warming, and the birds growing super fast, our minds went to finishing some of the loose ends so we can move them to the coop. On the list: build roosting bars for inside the hen house and install brackets for the feeder and waterer. Roosting bars Since the highest roosting bar …
Slideshow: The chicken coop build
It took us almost four months — through snow, rain and sub-freezing temperatures — to complete building the chicken coop. But you can watch the whole process here in just a few minutes!
Chicken Scratch Fever 