Coop Design

So far, as you can see in yesterday's pictures, our coop design is a little lacking. We have: food, water, nesting boxes, a roost and a big, shaded outdoor space for them. The chicken's basic needs are definitely met. As far as "fun" and "aesthetically pleaseing" go however, I'm not satisfied yet. I blame my desire for a fun and functional hipster chicken coop on Pinterest. There are so many amazing chicken coops on there and so many happy chickens!

My inspiration for the drift wood roost I installed in the coop comes from The Art of Doing Stuff which I, of course, found while pinning. We have tons of drift wood at my cottage so I grabbed a nice sized piece and Brad installed it. The only thing I did differently was install my roost lower to the ground as I read online that chickens can actually hurt their legs jumping down from a high roost.

 Picture from The Art of Doing Stuff

 
Another idea I got from The Art of Doing Stuff is a galvinized tub filled with dirt for the chickens to play in. I love it! Its so rustic yet practical for the chickens. I'd like to get my hands on one of these.

Picture From The Art of Doing Stuff

Another awesome coop I found through pinterest was on Back Yard Chickens (a great online source and forum with tons of information on keeping chickens!) and the coop belongs to the user Yellow Kitchen. The outdoor space on this one is my favourite. There is SO much for these chickens to do!

Yellow Kitchen's Chicken Coop on backyardchickens.com

There is so much you can do with the chicken's outdoor space. The last thing on my "want list" for the coop is one of these ladders. The only thing that may prohibit me from getting one is that we don't have chicken wire covering the top of our coop. We don't because our fences are high and we put them in at night. If we have any more escapees we may have to consider it. Here's where I got the idea (Beauty That Moves) again, thank you Pinterest.  I also like how this coop has stumps for the chickens to sit on.

Beauty That Move's Chicken Coop

Beauty That Move's Chicken Coop

Well, that's all for inspiration for now. Hopefully I can make some improvements on my coop thanks to all these cool coops and post some more pictures!

More Chicken Photos!

Took a couple more pictures today. They haven't quite figured out where the nesting boxes are yet and are laying eggs here there and everywhere. We need to do some exterior work on the coop... I want to paint the coop and the door and some serious landscaping needs to be done. Its still cute though! The only construction we've had to do so far is putting up the exterior fencing.

The Exterior of the Coop

Little Egg

Hanging Out Under instead of On the Roost

Chickens!

Our chickens arrived last night! Brad had to wait in line for an hour as there were over 200 chickens that arrived at the same time. We originally planned for six but someone didn't show up for theirs and they offered him fourteen more! That was a little much for us but we took an additional six and now have twelve hens settling in to our coop. Luckily we have lots of room and twelve seems like the perfect amount for the spot we prepared.

Checking Out the Door

Two Eggs Were Laid on the Way!

 The hens were pretty content last night. They didn't want to go inside for the night and Brad had to put them inside one by one (while I watched). This morning I went down, watered them and let them out. When I checked on them an hour later one had escaped! I chased it back in (I'm still too scared to pick them up - the squack!) and ended up closing all the girls inside until Brad raises  the height of the fence tonight.

Interior of the Coop

 

 

 

Harley Observing the Action

House Tour Now Up!

Check out the House Tour page to see our "before" pictures from when we bought the house in October. I will take some updated photos to show what changes we have made!

First Post!

Well - this is my it. My first post. I actually started/created this blog quite a while ago but couldn't seem to get going with it. I read a lot of home reno/decor/DIY blogs and I feel slightly intimidated trying to join their ranks. I hope this blog appeals to everyone, but I really hope it appeals to the younger generation of people who are renovating, DIY-ing and moving into houses as my boyfriend and I are only 23. I am also hoping this blog will serve as an online record of our struggles and triumphs renovating our first house together. In an etsy/pinterest/DIY world I have tons of ideas and just slightly less confidence that I actually turn them into a creatively country house! Our current projects on the go are the downstairs bathroom, the chicken coop, the overgrown garden and several pieces of furniture I am trying to upcycle!

We bought house in October 2012. Its a bungalow with a garage/second storey addition that was put on in the sixties. We have five small bedrooms, two baths and an unfinish basement - all of which is going to change! The house was bought from the original owner,  an older woman, and was decorated just as it was when it was built. I'm sure you can imagine the orange carpets, fish wallpaper, wood panelling and spiders... it wouldn't be everyone's idea of their first house but I loved it from our fist walk-through. There is something about the quiet country lot and cottagey feel that makes it perfect for us! 

In my next post I will post the "before" pictures. 

xx

J