We Have Chickens!!

July 9, 2014 by Missy Rakes 7 Comments

After waiting for over a year to get the coop built, we finally got chickens! Woot woot! I’m so pumped! We ended up getting 5 birds although I think our coop could house more. We have:

1 Americauna (she’s nutty)
1 Barred Rock
1 Welsummer
2 Rhode Island Red

The Americauna is a little older and should start laying soon. The other birds will start laying in a month or so.

Here’s the coop that my handy husband built. I think we spend less than $50 for everything. He used wood from a shipping crate for the coop and we got a free large dog cage for the run.

We are enjoying our birds, but still have a lot to learn. I named the Americauna Delilah and Mike name the 2 RIRs Thelma and Louise. The other two are still nameless. Anyone have any tips for first time chicken owners? From the Farm Blog Hop

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Megan @ Restoring the Roost says

July 9, 2014 at 5:49 pm

Yay!!!! Oh you will love it- they are so entertaining. What a nice coop- your hubby did an awesome job! I would recommend signing up on backyardchickens.com. The forums on there are SO helpful with answers to just about any question. Hope the gals are settling in well!

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Angela says

July 9, 2014 at 8:16 pm

We've owned chickens off and on for the last 5 years....We have had a horrible time keeping them from predators. As my husband says....everything loves chicken, ha! My kiddos loved "hunting" eggs every morning. Chickens are so fun to watch! We kept them in a coop with a run....but apparently we live on the edge of a raccoon resort .... :(

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Carla says

July 10, 2014 at 2:28 pm

Enjoy them. I miss mine so much : ) it was always so relaxing to just watch them scratch around. My hubby enjoyed lemon meringue pie......

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Texas JennyWren says

July 16, 2014 at 3:42 pm

Congrats. My only advice is to put protection hardware wire that predators cannot reach through. See how your doggies is putting his nose thru? Raccoons and others can reach through and grab your hens. This happened to us with smaller wire than your chain link fence. So sad when you loose one of your "babies". Good luck with your girls.

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Vickie @ makingoursustainablelife.com says

September 5, 2014 at 4:50 pm

Your girls are beautiful - happy and healthy. I am looking forward to getting my chickens next spring. I can't wait! The coop looks great - especially since it was so cheap! Congratulations.

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Shirley Corwin says

September 19, 2014 at 4:06 pm

I have 5 hens also. Mine are a little over 2 years old. I have 2 buff orpingtons, 2 Easter eggers and 1 silver laced Wyandotte. They are so much fun to watch and definitely developed their own personalities. If I would've know they were this much fun I would've gotten them a long time ago. I may add a couple more chicks in the spring. Especially if my one buff goes broody agin then. A great site to learn from is. Tillysnest.com

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- Missy Rakes says
  
  September 19, 2014 at 5:27 pm
  
  They are fun! We would get more, but we are at max capacity in our coop and run. Thanks for stopping by and for the site recommendation!
  
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