The chicks are now pullets. The weather is warming up in SE Michigan. And the time to have the coop ready for the hens to start living outdoors is at hand. Join me and the girls as we play with our free range pullets and assemble a pre-fabricated chicken coop and pen.

Ideally I would have wanted to design and build a coop from scratch to get it just the way I think I’d like. In speaking with my friends who have done this, they spent nearly what I did. Sure, they got a coop more suited to what they wanted and how they wanted to use it, but I decided that we have many other projects that we would like to get to this spring, and this was much easier than designing the coop, creating the materials list, shopping for the components, hauling them home (and who really gets a project done with a single trip to the store?) and building it from scratch. And in my humble opinion, a project done is much more desirable than a better project planned but unimplemented.

In theory, I like the artificial wood-type product used in the construction of the coop. It is lighter in weight. It is supposed to be odor resistant. And once you open up access to the coop through the roof slats, we are supposedly able to hose out the coop for better cleaning and we don’t have to worry about the rotting issue that comes with natural wood and moisture. We shall see.

Also, I haven’t played around enough with the pen to see if I can get the door on the other side. Ideally I would like it switched. The panels for the coop are all pre-drilled, so switching the door to the other side did not seem possible, at least initially. The floor to the pen is open. Now we need to determine how to protect our hens from critters digging under. Maybe I will use some hardware cloth and secure it to the bottom of the sides. Maybe I will use some footers and stones to place around the pen, digging into the ground for additional security.

The girls were going to help out more in the assembly of this chicken coop build, but it was such a nice day and we had the pullets out running around in the backyard. It was just too much fun for the girls to play with the hens. No worries. This project was easy enough for one motivated, but skill challenged father.

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The pre-fab chicken coop is now constructed along with its companion detachable pen.  The kit was fairly easy for one adult to assemble, though a helping hand every now and again would be nice.  The girls helped, but we also had the chicks out running free in the yard and therefore the girls were easily distracted and wanted to play more than work.  I can’t blame them.

This coop is constructed from the artificial wood planks used these days for decks.  The advantage to this material is that it does not absorb odors and is easy to wash out.  I wish this coop design had a slide out tray system at the bottom to help in the coop clean out process.  As it is, the roof slats can be removed with minor effort and the coop can be accessed from the top.

The materials were all individually numbered which made the assembly much easier.  1 connects to 2 connects to 3 and so on until you run out of numbers.  The instructions encourage you to sort the parts out by number, and I concur.  That helps speed things along.  The directions to the pen assembly, however, did not have the part numbers listed in the assembly instructional drawings, which I thought was odd.  The biggest tool I needed to use in this project was the snippers I used to cut the plastic straps off the boxes.  The coop and pen are actually assembled using hand tightened jumbo plastic screws.

Another modification I might wish to make is for the door.  As it is now, I think I’d have to open the pen door, reach in, then rotate the clip that holds the coop door shut.  I wouldn’t mind rigging up some sort of system where I can raise and lower an additional door via a twine line.  We shall see if that develops or not.  Also, I will need to line the boarder of the pen with some paving stones, or perhaps lay down some hardware cloth on the ground and secure it to the sides so other critters cannot gain access to the chickens from below.

The chicks are growing daily now, and watching them mature is amazing.  They should be ready for their outdoor home soon.

Total cost for the coop and pen, including sales tax, was ever so slightly under $500.  In talking to other people who have custom built coops, this is about what they paid in materials, so I decided to remove all the hassle of designing the coop I’d want and having to develop a materials list and take, I’m sure, several trips to the store to obtain such materials.  So far I’m pleased with that decision.

Thanks for coming by to Humbleville, USA … and GOD BLESS !!!

Welcome back to Humbleville, USA! This past Good Friday, the girls and I went to our local farm supply store and brought home three Buff Orpingtons, one Silver Wyandotte and one Rhode Island Red baby chicks! We are so looking forward to having our own farm fresh eggs in the convenience of our back yard. Yes, we’ve had dogs and cats and fish and even earthworms … but this is our first foray into raising chickens in our backyard.

The girls are really excited. Mrs Humbleville is less so, but she does love fresh eggs and her daughters. So chickens it is!! We aren’t expecting them to be laying eggs until late summer or early Fall. We’re setting our expectations to September.

Keeping the chicks dry, clean, watered, fed, warm and safe are the primary considerations. In this video we have set up a small, temporary home. A friend of ours will lend us her larger cage unit so the chicks will be able to spread out and grow.

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Luke 13:34

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it!

And five new chicks have moved into Humbleville, USA and Spooky the cat is rather curious.  We were able to borrow this cage from a friend which will make this chick rearing a bit nicer.  They have plenty of room and even a place to perch.  If they get cold, they can huddle under the heat lamp, and if they are cold they can move to the other side of the pen.  We ended up selecting three Buff Orpingtons, one Rhode Island Red and one Silver Wyandotte.

So far the Wyandotte seems to be the most active and energetic, and when we hold her she seems to poop on the holder every time.  The Rhode Island Red has started getting the reputation for not pooping on the holder, and just pooping where she is supposed to.  The Buffs are hit and miss in the category.

Statistically we have 1/2 of a rooster in this lot of five chicks.  I’m hoping this gets round down and not up.  We are not seeking to own a rooster, and I think our neighbors would agree.  But we shall see.