Flock 3.0

We raised our first two flocks of hens from chicks. Batch 3 was given to us, by the Pendletons when they moved to Utah, and integrated into flock 2.0. 

3 weeks ago, the children wore me down and I caved. 4 baby chicks set up camp in a brooder in the dining room. 

Each of the big kids got a chick (they all belong to the little 3 who truly rule the roost around here)

Here’s a breakdown of who’s who: 

Born March 24th 

Reese: Americauna named Waffles 

Quincy: “blond” Americauna (shown awake in above pic) named Carol (see below for a pic of our beloved neighbor being introduced. We call it “Carol meets Carol”. 

Corbin: Barred Rock named “More Cowbell” 

Soren: Cuckoo Marans named Steve, because even though they’re all hens (females), we always have a “Steve” to blame the naughty behavior on. “It was Steve!” Is the common scapegoat. This Steve, however, is modeling Soren’s mellow and passive demeanor, and Waffles tends to be queen of the pecking order that they’re establishing. 

Steve ☝🏻 Will lay reddish hues chocolate colored eggs

Cowbell will be a brown layer, and Waffles and Carol are Easter Eggers with blue/green eggs. 

And now we are (and by “we” I mean Me. I am) stuck with the task of building a coop. How did I forget about this part?  The children have helped and are learning a lot...like why we needed to raise up those two low bricks in the back so the foundation is level.  


I probably should have made it a foot shorter so it doesn’t peek above the fence, but I’ve learned a lot in past Chicken keeping years, and two things are of greatest importance for success: 

1) security-

Protection from predators and rain. A wet run is stinky. And unsecured coop is dinner for a raccoon, opossum, fox, or hawk. 

I built a cement block foundation for this coop to keep predators out. They will have more run space, the entire run will be roofed and I’ve placed it perpendicular to the direction of the rain to keep it dry. 

2) convenience-

The first flock was so easy to maintain. The coop was tidy, and eggs were gathered daily and cheerfully by Willy children. Why? Convenience! It was so close to the house. We walked right out from the kitchen slider into our little backyard and gathered eggs, fed, and watered the ladies. So easy. They never got into the garden. Aside from

“Broody Betty” Penny’s hormonal season, it was a good, easy time.  When we moved to Primrose Lane, we put the coop waaaaay out back and down below the retaining wall. On mud. This meant we could not see the hens from the house to enjoy their antics (and out of sight, out of mind), and collecting eggs meant climbing two flights of stairs to a part of the yard that didn’t have a good outdoor light, and walking on a slanted, muddy area. The hoses barely reached this location as well, so you had to drag it over from the garden area, and trek back around to the side of the house to turn it on and off. This was not as bad once we installed the back deck, but still a pain. And since it was a pain, it was often a mess. 

The new location is farther from Knaup’s pool area, which I’m sure they’ll appreciate. It’s at the bottom of our side deck so we will be forced to keep it ship shape  or we’ll see and smell it.  

Progress will require another trip to a hardware store...and Lowe’s was a super crowded disaster last time...like a Walmart on Black Friday crowded!  I can’t and won’t do that again we will just wait until after the social distancing ends, or we will shop at a smaller hardware store with an outdoor lumber yard to avoid people.

But here’s the start of the coop/run skeleton. I can’t decide what type of roof to use. Metal would be most affordable, but I’m worried it will be loud when rain hits it and I really love my neighbors on the other side of the fence.  I noticed another neighbor is reroofing her home this week, so we may take a walk today and see if we can salvage enough old asphalt shingles to cover the coop. Worth checking out and yay recycling! 

Update: I found an old stash of 2x4s that I had stored under the lower deck and used them up to make some progress on the coop during naptime, today. 
Reese caught this pic of me straddling a cross support with one foot precariously perched on the fence.