Friday, August 12, 2011

I should be packing right now...

...but instead I'm looking at chickens.

We're waiting for the results of our 'final' inspection (they're never really final... seems like it's never THE final inspection... there's always one more, then another one, and then another... and three weeks later we're still in limbo...) and I'm starting to lose it, so this blog post will be about chickens. Because chickens are cute, and they're distracting, and they've got almost nothing in common with inspectors and contractors and plumbing.

Here, have some pictures of other birds that I wouldn't mind sharing my backyard with:

Wheaten Ameraucana-

Image from Ameraucana.org

Not only are the hens very pretty, but look at the eggs! It's like having your very own Easter Bunny all year round!

Photo found here on BackyardChickens.com

Lavender Orpingtons-

Photo found here.

I grew up in Sequim, Washington, the self-proclaimed lavender capital of the US. And as a result, I have a soft spot for lavender. Lavender chickens.... why not? Oh right, they're nearly impossible to get.

First things first though, and that's the coop. Last night I caught my husband reading "Building a Chicken Coop for Dummies." AND he's instructed me to put together my materials list. Score!

I bet you're curious as to what I've got in mind. Here's a sketch-

Total size: 12'x4'. Coop will be 3'x4'. The run will be covered, roofed, shingled, and guttered. I'd like to emulate this beautiful cat run with the lattice- it would be 2' around the perimeter. It'd provide a touch more shade and a little bit of extra security along with the hardware cloth I'll be using.

Side view. May have external next box, but for simplicity's sake, perhaps not. We'll see!

3 comments:

  1. My mom has a ton of chickens... I'm sure she'd be happy to show them to you if you stopped by sometime. She has maybe 100 different ones.

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  2. Wow, never heard of lavender orpingtons. You're right. Not common, but adorable. I'm not a fan of the americanas due to their smaller eggs. Throws off recipes.

    As for your coop. I read both coops for idiots and dummies. If you only read one. Dummies is more detailed. I sill like the BYC rule of thumb of 4 SF per bird for a coop and 10 SF per bird for the run. Your design looks great for three birds! You could do more but run the risk of fighting. Not common, but adorable. I'm not a fan of the americanas due to their smaller eggs. Throws off recipes.

    As for your coop. I read both coops for idiots and dummies. If you only read one. Dummies is more detailed. I sill like the BYC rule of thumb of 4 SF per bird for a coop and 10 SF per bird for the run. Your design looks great for three birds! You could do more but run the risk of fighting.

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  3. M, that is a LOT of chickens, that must be fun for her! I'll keep that in mind!

    Sinfonian, I had no idea there was an 'idiot' version of that book! I've been really impressed with the Dummies one, it's been such a great reference guide. Three is indeed our magic number.

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