The new coop. . . complete with fake plants. The chickens ate the real flowers!
Chickens are pretty hardy characters and are pretty easy to care for. They need a coop or some shelter with roosts to keep them safe from predators at night. They need laying boxes or they will lay eggs wherever THEY choose. They need food, water, and room to scratch.
This is the coop and the run. We keep food in one can and treats/supplies in the other.
A little ornamentation makes all the difference. The wrought iron rooster on the coop was purchased at Hobby Lobby and then I used satin white Valspar paint to give it a happier look. I love how it spruces up the coop and everyone exclaims about how cute it is. The chicken sign on the run started with a piece of sheet metal that had holes in all four corners and the sides rolled over. I bought it at Wooden Connections in American Fork. I used paper to make the circle stencil and used Glossy Red Valspar spray paint to make the circle. I used a chicken image that I found online, enlarged it, printed it in sections, taped it together, and cut it out to make the chicken stencil. That was painted with Glossy Black spray paint by Valspar. I used stainless steel zip ties that I found at WalMart to attach it to the fence becaust the sharp edges of the holes would have cut right through the plastic zip ties.
All in al I highly recommend keeping chickens. They are hilarious and worthwhile. And my 14 Y.O. has a great sense of accomplishment from taking care of HIS chickens and selling the extra eggs to neighbors.
The eggs. Rinsed and labeled with the day they were laid.
