So let’s step inside the coop.
To one side of the room is the nest boxes, and the waters (sitting on heated bases right now). Also a black feed pan on the floor (in the lower right corner of the photo.)
Once in a while that pan gets flipped over. Imagine how loud I screamed and how high I jumped one time when I went to flip it upright and a rooster went running out from under it.
We were given this nice trough feeder on a stand
but they seem to prefer to eat out of the pan feeder on the floor. I suppose it’s more natural, more like pecking the ground for food.
On the other side of the room is the roosting area
That tarp is supposed to be covering the ceiling, not hanging down in the middle of the roost. We tarped the ceiling last year, when we rounded them all up and shut them in for a few days to remind them where to lay eggs. But some little smarty-pants chickens had been getting on top of the tarp and laying eggs up there.
This fall when I went to clean out the coop Matt pulled that tarp down and can you guess what happened? Rotten eggs rained down on us and holy cow the smell! So now it’s awaiting Matt to put it back up. In the meantime the chickens just roost around and under it.
Some of the chickens prefer to roost in the rafters of the crib.
How many chickens do you count in this picture?
As the weather gets colder some are forced to roost inside the coop, but there are always a few holdouts and I can’t believe I’ve never found a frozen chickenball out there.
And then there are what I’ve taken to calling the separatists, who insist on roosting in the cattle shed with the pigs. (Yeah, we’re multi-purpose around here.)
Tomorrow, Part 3! Which will probably just be some random gratuitous chicken pictures. Because we can never get enough chicken pictures, right?
I would LOVE to have a chicken condo like that…My chicken live on the horses feed buckets except for the rooster and his sister who roost on the kitchen window downspout!! Yes my dear, I’d love that coop!And just so you know we have not had eggs in two months maybe more.
I know I can’t get enough chicken photos. I am getting ready to build a chicken palace, and wanted to see some pictures. It is spooky; your setup is nearly identical to my sketches. I’ll have to send you pictures when mine is finished. By the way, commando farming rocks. A penny saved is a penny I didn’t have anyway. My coop is to be built from used deck boards, old siding, salvaged garage door hinges, and leftover shingles.
P.S.- I am particularly fond of the Batman angle on that picture of the roosting area!
A cozt coop!!! I would have paid money to see the rotten egg incident….well from a distance.:)
cozy not cozt LOL
I love chickens and just can’t get enough. I am so enjoying this site.My chickens live in abandoned wildlife cages rescued from a Wildlife Rehab. Center that relocated. I wrap them in plastic for the winter. They free range (within a fenced area of woods) during the day and return at night to roost. I am in NC and the weather here is warm enough that I get eggs year round. I even have a silkie mix sitting on an egg now. Love your picutres and stories.