Tom has been obsessed with the idea of keeping chickens for quite a while now. It wasn't something we were going to do in Florida, but as soon as we decided it was time to come home to California and stay with my parents they went from obsession to a possibility.
We often had chickens for eggs when I was a child here on the ranch, but I can't say I was ever too fond of them. They seemed to spend far too much time out of the coop, jumping out from behind bushes and scaring Carrie and I silly.
This past weekend, it went from possibility to almost ready with our first ever chicken coop raising.
Tom's spent the past few weeks researching coops and drawing up plans. Friday afternoon, he and Roger picked up the supplies and on Saturday, the building began. Dale and Sarah came from Fresno early in the morning and Tim came later on during the day.
And, yes, this picture cracks me up. That's some serious thinking going on for a chicken coop!
It seems a little high off the ground, but that's part of the design. The floor pulls out pretty easily for cleaning, there's less bending to get the eggs and we've got a huge gopher problem around here (not to mention coyotes). It still has to be painted and fenced, but we're almost ready.
Caleb has spent hours over the past few days online looking at different chicken breeds and has decided he wants a silkie (that he plans to name Fluffy), but I think we'll be going with Ameraucanas and Rhode Island Reds. Hanna's not as picky about breed - she just wants to name hers Geraldine.
And me? I don't care what they're named as long as they stay in their coop! I'm more interested in moving on to our next project, raised garden beds.
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