The order is in, and we will become the parents of three baby chicks the week of March 17. In a stunning turn of events, we ended up switching hatcheries at the last minute. I was having trouble confirming that we could pick up such a small order with the original place, and stumbled upon …
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 …
Inspection date set!
It's official! We will have the chicken coop inspected Jan. 29. Yesterday I received a call from Ferndale City Hall asking when I planned to submit my permit application. I was confused since I had just filled out paperwork in October. She politely explained that I had submitted for 2013, and it is now 2014. …
Mystery snow prints
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 …
Building a door, Part 2
Second time's a charm. After about two hours of work, Matt and I built a door for the chicken coop. It's gorgeous. And sturdy. And ready for install. We started out by replacing all the 2-inch screws with 3-inch. Since everything was basically pre-drilled, this went by quickly. Before we went any further, Matt ran …
Building a door, Part 1
So our work on the chicken coop today lasted about 45 minutes. I swear we started out strong. Of the two doors we still need to build on the coop, I decided the one leading into the run area would be easiest to build. Or so it seemed. We did everything right. We measured the …
Inspector’s sneak peek
So this morning, as I was snuggled in with my cup of coffee, I noticed two men clomping through the snow in my neighbor's yard. They stopped near the back, and pointed at my chicken coop. My heart jumped to my throat. I wondered if there had been a complaint. I ran to the front …
Chicken Scratch Fever 