la coopérative: raising backyard chickens, Part 2

The first coop I purchased was small. About the size of a rabbit hutch. A wooden box about four feet wide and three feet high. I figured bantys don't need much space and that's all I was planning to keep on our city lot.

I purchased our first chicks (four bantys) and raised them in a plastic brooder made out of a rubbermaid container kept in the bathtub, warmed with a 60 watt light bulb. After about five months, I realized two of those chicks made different noises than the others.

Kind of a bummer 'cause this guy was really hard to part with...



It's impossible to sex banty chicks, so you take a chance. There are advantages to purchasing chicks though. First of all, who doesn't love to hold and care for adorable, fluffy little chicks? Second, hand raised chickens are usually friendlier and easier to handle than those raised without regular human touch. This is essential when you need to clean a pasty butt or use them as models.



Our banty hens are great layers, but when you bake as much as I do, standard size chicken eggs are essential. Larger chickens = larger coop.

I searched Craig's List. I searched chicken sites on the internet. I knew what I wanted, but I also knew I didn't have the ability to build it myself. Here's where local carpenter Jeff Dunn comes in. He builds aesthetically pleasing, functional coops.

Jeff built this offsite, delivered it, and placed it in our backyard. Voilà!





This houses our five hens quite well. The coop is not insulated, but chickens have a natural ability to keep warm as long as they're fully feathered. I use this light only when temperatures drop below about 15 degrees for several days.



During the day, the girls wander freely around the yard, scratching the soil, eating weeds and bugs, generally wreaking havoc on the garden. There are benefits to this. I used to till the raised beds, but now I just let the girls have at it between plantings. This creates healthy soil and happy chickens!

Any predators are pretty much kept at bay while Bailey's in charge.



Bailey and the chicks arrived about the same time, so she was trained to protect them beginning at an early age.

If you're planning to get chickens, and don't have a chicken tender like Bailey, you'll want to build a run with a cover to keep them safe and let them get some exercise.

Happy hens will supply these gifts on a regular basis (for at least two years). The most delicious, expensive eggs ever to pass your lips.





Yum!