Flying the Coop

…oh, how I wish I were… to the British West Indies or  St. John or The Maldives… you know.. someplace where they don’t grow snow.

  But what I’m really blogging about today is chickens and flying the idea around to see what I come up with.  It looks as if the Mr. is in approval of the idea. Now I have had horses and dogs and cats and rabbits and birds and fish and a goat, hamsters, gerbils, mice and even a rat – ever so briefly.  But I have never owned poultry so I’m treading in unfamiliar waters here. 

I’ve been looking at coops…there are a zillion of them online –  and here’s what I like so far in the way of design.

  I’ve researched the hearty egg-laying chicken breeds, and these appeal to me –

Black Australorp (sp?) 

Buff Orpington (SP???)

Rhode Island Red

Brahma
  Skyline Hen  (lays blue eggs!  How cool is that! )

 I researched hearty breeds because of the cold temps here in the winter.  Have I whined enough about the three feet of snow with six foot drifts we have outside?  And did I mention the nor’easter that is threatening to arrive next Tuesday?   Am I crazy to want to shovel out to a chicken coop  on top of the dog bathroom run we already shovel in this kind of weather to chip out frozen water feeders?

34 thoughts on “Flying the Coop”

  1. Oh-have fun~ I grew up with Rhode Island reds…all I can tell you is that the "setters" can peck a hole in your arm quicker than a hot knife goes through butter- LOVE your choices of coops! Hugs- Diana

  2. My sis has the Buff Orpintons and really enjoys them. I'll send her over to your blog, which I believe she may already be reading. Maybe she can offer you some thoughts..

    DI

  5. My friend Robert says that Brahmas are his friendliest chickens … which would be my Number One requirement, if my Mr. would relent and let me GET chickens. I found the coolest coop by accident the other day. Okay, it wasn't too much of an accident. I was looking at a chicken blog … I want to be ready in CASE the Mr. relents.
    http://www.thegardenroofcoop.com/

  6. Chickens can be a lot of fun and very rewarding, but then I've never kept them where we had to shovel snow. They manufacture movable coops, OR maybe you could have separate winter quarters for them that you don't have to shovel out after each snowstorm?

  7. Two ladies who live in cold climates with chickens are Bee Haven Acres and HenBlog. As Di said (she's my sissy), I love my Buffs but don't know how cold hardy they are since I live in California. My friend LOVES her cochins with the fluffy feet. Have fun!!!! I never get tired of finding the eggs. A few of our young hens, half Americauna, lay little green eggs:-)

  8. Our neighbour has Brahmas. They are huge and look lovely. Our own chickens are much smaller. I love your chickencoop choices. The white one is just gorgeous. But I imagine that a lick of paint can make many a coop a chicken villa.

    We let our chickens roam free during the day. When it's not snowing or very cold. Their 'outside space' attached to their coop has a roof, so I only have to make the roof snowfree if necessary.

    Chickens are lovely animals to have and nothing beats (excuse the pun) a home laid egg. Depending on what you feed them, not too much cabbage, their eggs taste so much better than the ones from the shop.

  10. How exciting – I buy farm fresh eggs and they come in pink, brown, blue, green, spotted… I love them and I find I save the prettiest ones to use last. Silly, but I do.

    🙂
    ButterYum

  11. I think the satisfaction from trying would far outweigh the work involved! We don't see many around this area, but in Idaho we had neighbors with chickens and we grew used to the rooster rousing us from sleep in the mornings.

    About the whine- no, one can never whine too much about snow 🙂 Its good to know I am not alone in my misery!

  12. Oh boy… you sure opened up a carton of eggs with this post! LOL…

    By the way, a delivery arrived at my front door today. Thank you and I will do a post on it.

    Di (again)

  13. No, you are not crazy. NOT. I have always wanted chickens but have never owned my own property to warrant such a decision.
    Check with Suzanne McMinn (Chickens in the Road blog) – she does it. And I love blue eggs.
    But not green eggs, with ham.

  14. Are you thinking about chickens for the eggs, or the meat, or both? I keep thinking about it (we just have guineas right now) but haven't made the leap yet.
    The coops seem small to me…I'll have to stop feeling guilty about our guinea coop.
    Speaking from experience, I would suggest a coop that's big enough to walk into (makes cleaning it out ever so much easier).

  15. Jealousy is a bad thing…but I'm jealous. Want some chickens and can't have chickens :-{
    My parents had a mixed flock of Domineckers and Rhode Island Reds, they provided all the eggs they could ever use and even some to give to neighbors. Fresh eggs are the best, and the happiness that a chicken parlays to humans….hard to explain. Just makes you happy! We are chicken people, Hubby works for Tyson but I long to have them in a coop nearby.

  16. Many of our friends keep chickens and nothing beats the fresh eggs. A few friends use the chicken tractors in addition to their coops. Another says they trash her flower beds by pecking them to pieces, hence the chicken tractor. And a few have lost some to wild animals, so build a sturdy coop. And one friend had killer roosters, but I don't know what breed they were. Everyone was afraid of them. No one I know has gotten rid of their chickens once they had them.

  17. We had Buff Orpintons (sp!?) for years and they are very friendly, easy to handle, hardy in the cold–though roosters up here always get frostbiten combs–and great layers and good mothers as well. They are also big enough to eat though we only had them for eggs and grew meat birds to eat. If I designed a coop I would make it so I could move it around the yard to give them fresh grass and bugs and a place to scratch. We did that with meat birds over the years. With our laying hens we just let them out during the day and lock them in the barn at night. But if we get chickens again I do not want them in the barn because they are messy eaters and attract rodents. We have also had Black Australorps (not quite as friendly) and Araconas (for blue and green eggs)…they all have different personalities. On the whole I loved having chickens and next time will try a mix of Rhode Island Reds (great layers) and Buffs. Good Luck, Karen!!

  19. Hmmm. As I chopped up the huge ice blocks on the outdoor water troughs with an ax, I wondered. How many more years will be I doing this! Ha!
    *Forever* Beacuse I love them all so gosh darn much!
    And you will shovel snow for your chicks. Because you will adore them!
    xo, misha

  20. Hello from Texas…We lived on a farm when I was a kid…we also raised Rhode Island Reds…The roosters are nothing short of mean. They Will chase you and try to spur you…I was 10 and will Never forget!Hahaa…
    Love the log cabin coop!
    Happy picking!

  25. Yes you are crazy, but that is why we love you!

    Have you read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver? Go to the library and get it… then you will also be raising turkey, etc!

  26. That's interesting, Karen…..I have the chicken catalog right here on the coffee table, because I have been contemplating getting some chickens too……maybe we are BOTH nuts.

  27. Visiting you from Di's blog — I just thought it was so nice of you to send her the care package.

    I love your blog — we seem to have much in common (regarding farmy things.)

    I've been raising chickens for over 10 years now and I've had quite a few different breeds. You can't go wrong with Rhode Island Reds. They are great egg producers and hardy in the cold. But that doesn't mean you can't have some pretty girls (and boys) mixed in.

    Have fun!

  28. Don't discount the chicken house "tractor's"; you can move the chickens around to fresh patches of earth. Gathering eggs was my chore as a child and I still remember how much those ole hens frightened me. When I'd slip my hand/arm underneath them, into the nest to grab their eggs, they would peck and scream at me. Don't get me started on those ole roosters…those mean things would chase me around the yard and, I swear, would enjoy my terror! Those were the Reds and had mean tempers.

  29. I think chickens are a great idea! Fresh eggs and manure for the garden. Neil wants some chickens for the river house as well. Love the white chicken coop and can see how it could fit in nicely with your surroundings. Hang in there Karen, spring will be here soon! 🙂

  32. Came over to visit through Sally. Love your header. These coops are pretty amazing. Interesting the different breeds as well. I like that Buff Orpington, cute and chubby.

  33. I have always wanted chickens too but I have hesitated because I wasn't sure how I would be able to go away for a week or two if I wanted…still I keep thinking maybe I will…Love all these coops!

  34. Hi Karen- you've selected some real winners..the Barred Rocks and Buff Orpingtons are very friendly. I'm warning you though, you'll want more once you start keeping chickens we went from 3 to 33 without even blinking. (We have some roosters too and so we usually have a broody hen or two in the spring and a bunch of baby chicks running around 21 days later). I'm assuming you are going to have a means of getting electricity to the henhouse? The plug-in heated waterers make a big difference in the winter, especially if we have more like this. Good luck with the chicks. I hope I'll get an invitation to come over and see them. By the way, Murray McMurray Hatchery sells a product called Quick-Chicks. Its a vitamin powder that is added to their water when they're newly hatched. We always use it. The last order of chicks came with some of the gro-gel but they didn't seem to understand that it was food and wouldn't go near it. Good that you had them vaccinated..we do that too, don't know if it matters for them, but it certainly helps with MY peace of mind. (haha).

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