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 …
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!
We did it!
This morning the chicken coop was approved for occupancy. The visit from Marc Howell, Ferndale's building inspector, was short and sweet. He immediately said it was a sturdy structure, and well weather-proofed. He asked about underground barriers, and I explained that we had buried cement pavers. If rodents or any other vermin make their way …
“Pretty much, almost, exactly.”
After two days of work in the wind, snow and sub-zero temperatures, we are about 95 percent complete with the coop. Our friend Eric showed up Saturday afternoon with pre-cut window frame pieces and a Tupperware container filled with lemon cupcakes (a gift from his wife Char). After settling in, and eating some shepard's pie …
Prepping for chicks
While we still things to finish on the coop, today Matt and I refocused on our incoming chicks. With the chicken coop inspection a week away, and chicks expected at the end of February, we figure things are about to start moving fast. We realized we had no choice: It's time to start multi-tasking our …
The doorway to victory
Still in my pajamas, I joined Matt to trudge out in the snow and ice to install the hen house door. And with the last screw put in a hinge, we have an almost-finished chicken coop! We still have an assortment of small details that we need to tend to before the girls arrive, but …
Victory and defeat
The day started out with great optimism. We were going to finally build the hen house door. When we walked out to the coop to take final measurements, we were met with a flood in the run. As the weather warmed, bringing rain storms to melt the foot of snow out back, it transformed our …
Chicken Scratch Fever 