The chicks are getting bigger and it’s time to put them with the big hens. We’ve put them in the run during the day and the hens have gotten along well. I’m not sure if it’s because the “flocks” are pretty even in numbers (28 hens, 28 chicks) or if it’s because there’s quite a bit of roaming room. I’ve been pleasantly surprised how easy it was.
But the chicks haven’t stayed the night in the coop because there isn’t enough room. So Carl and Gabriel (the only boy available this weekend) expanded the coop.
The painted part is the original coop. Fortunately, it was all put together with screws so they took one wall off, built a floor and framed up three sides. Do you see the lumber under the small piece of plywood. Its 2X4’s from a shipping crate from a local transmission shop.
We used these shipping crates to build the entire floor and frame up the walls and roof. The crates were free. So if you need some good wood, don’t overlook your local transmission shop.
Angi Schneider is the author of The Ultimate Guide to Preserving Vegetables and Pressure Canning for Beginners and Beyond, both published by Page Street Publishing. She has taught canning classes for 177 Milk Street, been featured in Serious Eats, and written for Countryside Magazine. Angi has been sharing gardening, preserving, and simple living skills since 2010.
My husband has been working on the second coop for our meat birds. It is looking pretty good. He is copying the one we have – somewhat. I’ll be posting pictures when he’s done. I hope our transition with the new chicks goes well. When they are all out of the brooder, we will be putting them in the second run for meat birds. Then we will separate the new layers and put them in the old pasture.
I love the tip about repurposing the shipping crates from a transmission shop! Thank you for sharing with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop this week!
Cheers,
Kathy Shea Mormino
The Chicken Chick
http://www.The-Chicken-Chick.com