As Snowmageddon descends upon Detroit, Matt and I decided to carve out a run for our dog Charlie in the back yard. While I was doing some maintenance shoveling, I stopped to admire the chicken coop. As I stepped closer, I noticed a bunch of paw prints inside the coop. Instantly I was alarmed. I …
Installing the door
So we installed the door. I'm impossibly excited about it.It looks awesome. I mean, we had an idea it would look good, but now that it's in place, it just looks so official. We really have a chicken coop in our yard!!The install only took about 10 minutes. We already had screwed one side of …
The nesting box
Never underestimate the power of a dozen doughnuts. That small box from Dutch Girl Donuts on Woodward in Detroit singlehandedly fueled a productive five-hour day on the chicken coop. Today Matt and I worked like a well oiled machine. Each task seamlessly led to the next; the only loss for the day was a busted …
Installing mesh
Wow, what a day. I'm really loving how I started out with the delusional thought that we'll come close to finishing the coop. And then reality kicks in, and we accomplished about half of what we set out to do. Such is life. Today, we *almost* finished installing the wire mesh on the chicken coop. …
Raising the roof!
The chicken coop is coming together ... with a little help from my friends. Today my grade school buddy Tom came by to help install the metal roof. I hired him a little over a year ago to put on the roof for my house, so I know his work is impeccable. When he offered …
Chicks, man.
In all the hubbub surrounding the chicken coop construction, inevitably the questions turn to the obvious. Chicks, man. What kind are you gonna get? inquiring minds ask. This has taken much more research than determining our coop design. We had to take many things into consideration, including temperament, size, beauty, and egg size, color and …
Coop construction
After a weekend of hard labor, I am relieved and happy to report that the chicken coop is well under construction. Our hope is to have it completed after one more weekend of work. We started the weekend with high hopes (and a dozen Dutch Girl Donuts) but were quickly sidelined by a trip to …
Material girl
T-minus six days ... and then we start building the chicken coop! We've spent a bulk of the weekend buying materials. Even though I have a detailed list provided by the Wichita Cabin Coop designer, the task at hand is daunting. So far we have purchased screws, wood stain (color: Natural Sequoia), a paint brush, …
Coop design
We're just unpacking from a weekend trip to Kalamazoo to see our friends Eric and Char. We had a wonderful time, eating, and hiking ... and talking all things chicken. The great news is that Eric agreed to help us build our coop. After looking at a photo of one that Matt and I like, …
Chickens on the brain (full planning mode)
I've got the lyrics to "Chickenman" by the Indigo Girls rolling through my mind. "Chickenman, hold my hand." But really the song has nothing to do with chickens at all. Goes to show I've definitely got chickens on the brain. Since we've decided to raise hens, we've been trapped in a whirlwind of ideas. Our …
Continue reading "Chickens on the brain (full planning mode)"
Chicken Scratch Fever 