Backyard Chicken Coops

No Two Coops Made The Same

So now that we have welcomed Cleo, Blazagon, Pineapple, Crosby, Big Chungus and Jeanette to our family, we have learned a few things. First off is the obvious, where will they live? The options really are endless. If you are crafty and good with tools design your own chicken coup, purchase a pre-made coup (usually requires some assembly), use that old doghouse out back (RIP Fluffy). Build a chicken mansion or a shack, make it what you want. However, we decided to go with a prefabricated one. It was fairly easy to put together. My daughter and I assembled it in about an hour and a half (the instructions said it should take 45 minutes) Ha! At the end of the day, we got it done and it came out just as we expected.

Chicken Droppings

Secondly, we learned that chickens poop A LOT. We do let them roam freely around the yard at times, but we cannot let them all the time. They will nest in your gardens and perch on anything and everything, leaving “presents” in their wake. So, we give them a few hours of free time throughout the day. So far that has minimized their mess and havoc. If you don’t mind a little mulch thrown around here and there it’s really not a big deal. Now let’s talk “poop”. Our grass has never looked better. It’s the best, free fertilizer money can’t buy. There are no complaints about that from me.

Endless Supply of Eggs

Now to the good part. THEY LAY EGGS guys. I don’t know about your household, but we can go through some eggs. Between breakfast, baking, hard boil egg snack, breakfast for dinner, the list goes on. We love eggs. In recent months there was a national egg shortage which put eggs roughly at $11 a dozen in some stores. There are even myths of them nearing $20 a dozen. I’ll admit that was an extreme situation and we are now over that hump for the most part, but couldn’t it happen again? Well, not in our house. We won’t pay $11 a dozen because, you guessed it, we have chickens. Chickens lay eggs! So, no we won’t save a ton of money not having to buy eggs, but it’s a plus and gives our kids responsibilities and whatnot. Oh, and once you are done with those delicious eggs you can start a compost while you are at it and toss ’em in there. That Blog is for another day.

P.S. Don’t forget to check out the Complete Guide to Raising Chickens for more information.