The names are a story all on their own, but since it is not my story you will have to wonder!
This is the new hen-house! Waist high with a small door for them to enjoy the great outdoors in their outer coop, a large door on the right for easy clean out (wheel barrow fits under so I can rake out the grass, hay and droppings) and a lift-up door in the front for egg collecting and rain shelter. My daughter and her boyfriend built and painted the house out of mostly scrap and leftovers. We combined our leftover paint bits and used every drop to make it blend in with the main house and protect the wood. The chickens like it because it helps them to see bugs faster, LOL!
I will soon be able to supplement their feed with scraps from the kitchen. I stick to raw vegetable scraps for their health and to keep the area clean. (carrot peels, onion ends, potato peels, crushed egg shells for their calcium needs, etc.) Scraps with fat of any kind can go rancid and carry disease. Chicken droppings are considered “hot” and I’m using grass clippings for the bedding material. That will in turn be raked up as mixed material and sent to the compost pile. This combination will accelerate the compost breakdown and be added to the garden next year. I’m a lazy gardener so this method really appeals to me.
If you are going to have any chickens in an urban setting, please be kind to your neighbors and keep the area super clean and maintained as well as getting rid of any roosters before they begin to crow. The hens will learn to be noisy from him if you keep him around too long! You can buy the chicks by gender to avoid this problem. You can also buy fertilized eggs if you want the baby chick experience. You will have no problems with neighbors if you give up the roosters and rake up the manure regularly.
Mmmmm, fresh eggs in a few months.
Tessa Bertoldi 