I've had a new pen and coop built for my chooks. The old one was pretty unsatisfactory....no protection from the rain or heat, or the wild birds that waited impatiently every morning for their free feed. Dozens of them every day guzzling my good organic feed! Not to mention the ibis that flew in and hoovered up porridge and scraps whenever they'd had enough of the rotten fare at the tip. The coop was too low for me to get in and clean properly, and hot in the summer for the girls. Time for a new abode.
I told the builder what I wanted, and he put the plan into action.
 |
| Enjoying the early morning sun |
 |
| Water tank is plumbed in |
 |
| Girls exploring their new space |
 |
| Shuttered window |
 |
| Opens for a little breeze on a hot summer night |
 |
| The ramp - new skills to be learned to get in and out |
 |
| Edie - an Isa Brown, the querulous chicken, complains all day long |
 |
| Freya - a bantam and boss of the coop for all her diminutive size |
 |
| Goodie, she's a quiet little bantam |
 |
| and Big Juno - she's barely a year old, a buff Plymouth Rock, a gentle and sweet chicken |
It's taken a few days of gentle coaxing and reassurance...and cake... to get the little girls to use the ramp, but they seem to have the hang of it now, and they use it at bedtime and in the morning, but haven't quite figured out they go back up there to lay....eggs left in all sorts of places so far.
And it's relieved a lot of stress for me, I don't have to let them out and put them to bed each day, or struggle to keep their space clean, and no worrying about the wild bird hoards descending. They're let out of an afternoon to free range, usually while I'm working in the garden in the cool, as they sure do love my lettuce.
We couldn't be happier.
