To Do: Chickens?
Posted: August 17th, 2011 | Filed under: Avian Obsession, DIY, Food, Just for fun, To Do List | Tags: modern chicken coop, urban chickens | 10 Comments »
I know….some of you can excuse yourselves to go throw up while I discuss my metamorphosis into a Trendy Mindy. Don’t forget to brush your teeth.
Still here? OK, well last year’s CSA gave us fresh eggs on a weekly basis, and we desperately miss them. We opted against the CSA this year after our 9th week in a row of zucchini exclusive boxes brought the entire family to tears. The Things were begging for it to STOP. “Can’t we just compost them? I can’t eat them anymore!!! I’m even sick of the fritters!!” I digress….
Eggs. We can go to the farmers market and get them, but some weeks I just can’t get there. We’ve got a few friends who have been keeping them and we are fascinated. Replacing our beloved pooch doesn’t seem likely, and a pet with such a tasty habit might be nice?
My Pinterest followers will recognize some of these images from my growing collection of coop inspiration.
So many beautifully designed coops out there! If money were no object and we weren’t planning to build it ourselves…then these might dot our landscape.
This is one of my faves…and we could probably make something similar, but I think we might like a walk-in coop? Dunno..details, details.
So, if we are to build said structure, would it look more like these?
And we have all loved and admired this couple’s super coop….
So why am I talking about chickens anyway?! Don’t I have the interior of a treehouse to paint now that the temps are cooling? Why, yes. But finishing up pesky details isn’t nearly as much fun as planning something new, that may, or may not, ever happen.
August 24 UPDATE: Oh my GAWD..I just saw Karen’s coop over at The Art of Doing Stuff…and that is the mac damn daddy of all coops…..go check it here!
Damn those chicken coops are nice. What about all the chicken poo. Growing up my grandmother had ckickens and those things left poo everywhere! I guess if they are in their coop its more under control. The chickens my grandma had were assholes. I got chased by a few.
What happens to the chickens during the winter?
We had friends who had chickens when I was a kid – this was 25 years ago….If we had the land (and I wasn’t incubating my own little egg), I might consider them as well!
They just get extra bedding really. It doesn’t get below 20° very often here so not a problem for them.
Love them, especially the wood egg-shaped one, but wondering how difficult it would be to clean out.
We’re in the process of planning a modern little goat shelter for our place. We found out we can keep pygmy goats in the city and register them as pets.
I think in the city of Saint Louis proper you are aloud to have up to 6 chickens in your backyard. I find that hilarious! I wonder if there’s a separate rule about roosters? I work second shift and roosters would drive me nuts.
Most cities allow hens only….
Trish – pygmy goats?! OMG.. crazy excited for you!
here are some tips from a 10-year chicken husband;
we let ours out an hour before sundown so they can eat grass, bugs and take dust baths.
the poop, while gross, is lovely once composted so if you have a pile, locate the coop close by so you can pitch the poo right in.
roosters in the country are excellent predator deterrents. we haven’t lost a hen since max The Terror has been in residence!
chicks brooded by a hen are a thousand times easier and i believe healthier too in my experience than day-old chicks.
boy, i should start blogging more chicken experiences rather than hogging up your comment section
ps. forgot to say that good layers should produce an egg a day. so if you figure how many eggs you’d eat in a week, that can determine your flock (many people don’t know you don’t need a rooster for eggs btw
oh! and you’ll need a light in the coop if you want eggs in winter. i think they lay according to the amount of daylight so they need some trickery.
More, More! Thank you for sharing some chicken wisdom! I’m drinking it all in!
Plus, if you let them roam, they’ll take care of your tick and mosquito problems.