The chicken coop is looking good, although still a work in progress. The coop itself is pretty much done, except for the  automatic door openers on the right side, which I haven’t purchased yet. The lower right side houses the “babies”, the lower left side houses the “juveniles”, and the upper left houses my “pairs” and “trios”. Every six months, the birds will be switched over to the “other” side of the coop, allowing us to lime the pens and put down some grass for them, in an effort to keep their surroundings fresh and clean, and disease-free! They also get garlic and Organic Apple Cider Vinegar in their water every day, which aids in their digestion and assimilation of nutrients. They are currently eating Nutrablend Green, which is a pelletized pigeon food, 18% protein. It took them a little while to get used to it, but they now prefer it over anything else, and there seems to be much less waste…no more “flinging” food out of their dishes!

Greg is constructing the final runs on the outside of the coop…Since the coop is only 10′ x 12′, and to maximize the available outdoor run space, the runs are sort of pie-shaped, fanning out from the house. It’s hard to explain, but here’s an aerial view to give you a better sense of how things are laid out…the runs even take advantage of the rear of the house…

If you look closely, you’ll see some chickens, roosters actually, outside the runs…These are the juveniles, who are free-ranging at the moment; their run door has been opened so they can free-range in a fenced-off section of the yard. They don’t really need the space, but they do need women-of-their-own, and since I don’t have that commodity right now, I’m hoping the extra space will allow them to burn off some of that sexual energy without hurting each other! I’m working very hard to rehome them, but trying to find homes for single roosters is not an easy task, regardless of how friendly and personable they are!