Painting the coop. It dried a much darker color. Where DD is painting is a large human door, the window in front got shutters, and the bottom chicken door has a slider that closes it. There was also a window with shutters on the opposite side of the window shown. The coop was planned for the space right next to the playhouse in the background. You can see the framing on the ground. What you can't see is the apple tree right next to that. It was a tight spot.
Here the coop is in the new yard (we moved before the chicks ever moved in) and starting the outdoor run.
The chickens have the whole area behind the chain link to themselves and then are let out in the garden and rest of the yard if we are home.
The run is mostly done just need to cover the rest of it with chicken wire.
This is the only inside pic I could find. On the right is the nest boxes (2).
Yesterday we decided to do a major overhaul. Since we have more than double the chickens we originally planned, we removed the nest boxes from inside, doubled them, and moved them to the outside. We also took out all the roosts and added more. I also took the opportunity to do a thorough cleaning and realized the rabbit pee was starting to damage the wood. I ran to Home Depot and picked up self stick tiles for .30 each. Here you can see me installing the tiles. Sky and Amber were not happy that I took the nest boxes out. They were in there with me the whole time squawking and pacing.
Here's the new interior
Here is the hole cut for the new nest boxes. This used to be the same size as the window seen on the other side.
Wolf doing a few finishing touches on the shingles of the new nest box. We didn't have anymore paint of that color so we picked up some free mis-tint paint at Home Depot when we got the hinge. Note the first color was also a mis-tint pick up. We had to buy a sheet of plywood to finish the boxes but I really like the change and think it was worth the $18. Notice the netting hanging above Wolf's head. That's because a hawk tried to carry off one of our chickens then sat in the tree in their area! We had to shoot at it with an airsoft gun to get rid of it! (don't worry we were only scaring it off, not trying to hurt it)
Interior with the new nest boxes. The small box on the ground is for the rabbit. You would think she likes to sleep inside of it but actually she likes to lay on top of it. I think she wants to be closer to the chickens.
That night I went to put the chickens up and this is where I found them. All huddled up together on the floor. Silly birds! I had to put a couple of them on the roosts before they seemed to notice they were there. Which is strange because as I was installing the roosts Sky kept jumping on them and knocking them down. I couldn't get her off them, now I can't get her on them. Tonight the chickens were all roosting in the garden, they weren't even in their coop. Hope they get used to it soon!
Right before our major cold spell I hung plastic sheeting all around their enclosure. It was a good thing I did! They had a dry place to hang out other than their coop and it kept the wind off them. Those 10 days showed me they need more enclosed space so our next plan is to enlarge their enclosure area.
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