A Time of Change at le coop

Well, a little warm weather has tricked the flora into blooming around Portland, so I took the opportunity to get a picture of the coop with the cherry blossoms, um, blossoming.
I had to bribe the girls with cheerios to pose in front of the run.

It's been a good winter for them, they're all healthy and laying.
There's still a lot of interest on their part to lay eggs where they want--outside of the next box. So I gave in and made a little pile from all the leaves that had collected at the bottom of the stairs to the basement, right outside my office.
This seems very pleasing to them--especially Noodle Soup--and now it's been 'nested'. I can just open the door, bend down and collect an egg or two.

The big, and not very good news, is that my landlord has put the house on the market, so the girls and I will be needing to move on in the next few months.
Whether my new, and yet to be determined, rental residence is chicken friendly--only time will tell.
I'm hoping to be able to move with them, but I may need to find a new home for them.
If any of you in the Portland area were thinking about getting chickens this year and have a nice free-rangeable yard, let me know.
Wow, that makes me sad to write.

The timer light out in the coop just went out, so it's time to wrap this up.

A Little Video of the Girls

Check this out over on Youtube, to see it in all it's widescreen glory!

The First Egg!

Just shy of five months and Noodle Soup has laid her first egg!
OK, this is actually a picture of the second egg--the first one was smaller and soft and broken, with a big piece of poop on it, not laid in the nest box. That was yesterday . . .



Today she laid this one, which is a little oblong and smallish--both normal things for a first egg--but nice and firm, right in the nest box.
The only problem is that it isn't blue-green, it's tan.
But she's the first layer, so we'll over look that.


A few days ago she started acting different. She'd go into her getting-mounted-squat when we'd reach down to pet her. And she started hanging out in the coop. Before this week, none of the girls would spend any time at all in the coop while the sun was up.
The roof for the nest box had been one thing I'd put off finishing, so after yesterday's almost-egg, I put on a temporary roof, to make the box a little more cozy and inviting.
And today I stained the permanent roof so it can go on tomorrow.


What else has been going on?
Well, the girls are much bigger than the last photos on here . . . I'll have to get some new photos of them that aren't on my phone.

There have been a couple escapes over the fence, the last one ending with Pot Pie crossing the street and not liking it.
We need to add a couple feet of netting around the top of the fence to keep them in.

And they're all very good girls.

The Complex is done! (well, 99% done)

Living is good at the Wagner Home for Delicious Chickens . . .




Everything is in place now, The run is attached to the coop and base (I will henceforth refer to the whole unit as The Complex) and the hardware cloth is attached all around. Tomorrow I'll fill in the corners and stake it down .



The girls inside . . . perhaps the last time we'll see grass here.



Eating from their new feeder . . . so big . . .



You can see the waterer next the to the feeder . . . I now realize once they're full grown the waterer will have to move, but for now I'm just very proud it's all worked out.



Another view with the little ladies out in the run.



So many stories with the girls since the first post here . . . we had an Open Coop BBQ here two weekends ago, and the next morning I slept in (after letting the girls out to free range--this was pre-enclosed run) to be woken up to my room mate saying "Josh, I can't find Noodle Soup" [note of dread in her voice].
I groggily walk outside and immediately hear the somebody's-missing-peep going on. I peer over the fence to my left, and Noodie is walking around on the neighbor's deck. While usually not the most adventurous, she certainly is the best flyer--that was a 6 foot fence. I called her, and she hopped back up on the fence (it's not as high from the other side), so I grabbed her and put her back with the others, who immediately stopped their yapping. That has been the only trip over the fence . . . so far.



Now I know some of you experienced coop'ers are saying my run is too short--how am I gonna clean it out.



By opening the lid! Full standing height, with only half the fencing cost.



The egg door with dual latches--no raccoon can open both at the same time.


Someday this is where the goodness will be . . .



www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Welcome to the OC . . . .

Welcome to the less frequent continuation of Three Chicks A day.
Without the whiteness.
We'll show the coop and run take their final form, the chickens doing chicken stuff in their 'natural' setting, and maybe some foodie stuff when the eggs start popping out.
Just some nice laid back chicken blogging, without the ridiculous commitment of daily photo sessions and entries.


So this is the Coop. The run isn't complete, so I'll just focus on the coop itself.



Cedar exterior, with a translucent fiberglass roof.



Egg door.



Here you can see the vent window.



Plywood interior--door mounted nest box (still to be roofed) and perch.



Screened and fenced vents with plexiglass windows for the winter.



The windows stay closed with magnets.




Look at the floor . . .



whoa, it opens up . . .


this will be the standard open chicken hatch position. Oh man, I should have stamped 4815162342 on hatch door . . .



Ramp view of the chicken hatch, with the under coop hooks for the feeder and waterer.


And of course, a picture of the girls--Noodle Soup, Salad Sandwich & Pot Pie running towards their new home.



www.JoshuaJayElliott.com