Yesterday after visiting my horse at the barn… SHEDDING BLADE WEATHER, YeeeeeHAAA!!!…. I drove down to the shoreline for a little vintage junk hunting because I have a vision for this chicken coop we’re going to have come spring. I got nothing.
This is the area where the coop and yard will go – just in front of the garden shed. For those of you who are new to my blog, that window in the garden shed is from the original Chester house, which is in the background. It’s the family room, mancave and loft area dog leg of This Old House. So, TOH is actually a restoration of two old homes joined at the….hip? I loved that window but it’s R value is zilch, so Jeff’ (our restoration expert and good friend) made use of it in the shed.
Have you seen FancyFarmGirl’s chicken coop ? It’s my dream coop!! Heck, it’s my dream COTTAGE… But since our coop is already under way, I can’t change it now. HOWEVER…. I can certainly tweek it some… and that I will. I will not have a “front” room, as she does..hence the ability to really go to town with the vintage decor…
So this is the junk I’m hunting..
And now a question for those of you who have kept chickens… What kind of base did you use in your coops – straw in the nesting boxes, and what on the floor? I have seen several recommendations and people rave about each, depending on what they use – Pine shavings or Sand? Or something else?
I used saw dust I got from the big tree farm and mill. It worked.I'd hate to see that chair after a month of chicken droppings UGH!! Tee hee
yvonne
I so wish my mom hadn't given my cousin her milk can, especially since that same cousin no longer speaks to me. You're gonna have some lucky chicks. 🙂
We used sand when the chickens were in a coop outside…when the went into an area that was attached to the mail barn we used straw (or sawdust sometimes). I was too young to really know which was better I guess. Good luck…ps…our chicken coops looked NOTHING like that one! lol Hugs-Diana
I saw that beautiful coop a while back, and it made me cringe. If I want wing chairs and crystal chandeliers, I'll put them in a PEOPLE space and let the chickens hang out with me there. I doubt I would sit and chill with my chickens while confined in THEIR space.
Anyway, since you know I'm coveting your chickens and am planning for the eventual day when I wear down the Husband and get my own, I have been trotting around cyberspace getting ideas. A new follower of mine has chickens, and she totally swears by a bed of builder sand in the coop and the run. It seems so totally logical to manage the inside of a coop like you would a litterbox. (I just noticed that you are also following her. For those who come after me here and read this, her URL is: http://www.hennypennyrosecottage@blogspot.com.)
Are you coming through Mid-Mo anytime soon? I have a chicken crate (I think it was used to haul chickens) I'd give you. I bought it to use as a cabinet and the blacksmith said NO WAY. We can't get the antique chicken poop off of it!
(I really need to write about the Roba Dolce, it's to die for, the chocolate OMG)
I have a funny feeling that I will want to move into your chicken coop when it is done!
I would live there too, with Ollag… b'gawk b'gawk… see, I can talk the talk, just not sure I can walk the walk though.
I have seen this phenomenon coming for some time… the fantasy chicken coop vs. the real thing.
All I can say is from my own experience, unless you are going to keep the chickens in a cage of some kind, they are going to roost and poo on everything. Just a word of warning. I wouldn't put anything you really care about inside a chicken coop. Just sayin'…
There were several large alfalfa rounds here when we moved to the farm eight years ago — and we are still utilizing them for the coop floors. I wouldn't use sand myself — chickens don't poop like cats — and unless you are going to scoop out the poop every day, it will get messy real quick.
I guess it depends on whether you are going to let your chickens free range during the day and then put them in at night. If you have any questions, let me know. 🙂
What a chicken house! I can't imagine. I was just whining today on my blog because hubby needs to move our oh-so-simple chicken tractor, lol.
Well, I can't answer your questions because I don't keep chickens . . . yet! LOL!
But, do you have any names picked out for your girls? Will you follow a theme . . . like "Little Women" . . . just wondering!
Have a great day, I enjoyed my visit!
I've been using pine shavings on the coop floor – fairly pleased. I plan to toss in a few moistened 'stall pellets' with the shavings to see how they soak up the moisture also (can't remember what they're called).
I do have a word of caution. Love, love, love the cute checkerboard linoleum floor in my big coop, however a week and a half ago I slipped on said cute floor & hurt my knee. I have been walking funny ever since :-/ Now I'm thinking it wasn't such a good idea, although it's easy to clean and looks cute..
but a bit dangerous for an ol' klutz like me! 🙂 -Tammy
Ok – why do I know I will want to rent your chicken coop when I run away from my family? And that picture of the chicks? I'm stealing it! XXX
We use straw for the inside floor and nesting boxes. Our hens have a run outside and it's mostly sand. Straw is easier to pitchfork into wheelbarrows when cleaning the chicken coop. A word of caution when cleaning…chicken litter is very dry and "dusty" and you can get some kind of respiratory infection if you breathe this…use a mask or something as it can be very dangerous. Chickens are a wonderful addition to the homestead. We enjoy fresh eggs almost year-round! Can't even compare them to the sickly yellow-yolk eggs in the store! For those that don't know…"fresh" egg yolks are orange colored when the chickens get to run outside in the sunshine and not locked up indoors forever. Enjoy your flock!
shareff5@aol.com
You're gonna love having your own fresh organic – eggs! How cool is that?! (The only eggs I eat – except in the winter) HA! I'll check your chicken coop the next time I can't find Joey!!! Darling pics of those cute little chicks!!!
I can't wait until the project is finished. I have been interested in chicken keeping for a whole year now. Hopefully in spring I'll have my girls.
We need to head out to that store we talked about! No vintage there but practical furnishings for the hen house!
BTW- I would live in that chicken coop! Lol!
Karen- I have post I did on this very question on my blog. I say go for sand and you will never be sorry. I used pine shavings for 3 years and hated it. I do use wheat straw for the nest boxes but sand in both my coop and run.
That vintage coop is dreamy but honestly having chickens myself not practical. Chickens make a mess! lol Although I have wanted to add a few vintage stuff to mine as well on the walls. I love your ideas for the things your looking for. But my new coop is only a year old and already it is dusty (chickens feathers produce a fine powder, along with just dust and dirt that comes in from outside), chicken poop all down the wall where they roost, and cobwebs. I would think it would be very hard to keep the inside of the coop that nice and pretty to be honest. I don't know but for me I have a hard enough time keeping up with the inside of my house! lol
Hi Karen- We use sawdust on the floor of the coop. We also installed 'poop' trays beneath the roosts, which is where most of the droppings are concentrated.(It keeps the floors cleaner for a bit longer, and, I believe, though I've no scientific proof, prevents certain leg mite problems). You're not going to like my idea for the nesting boxes (aesthetically, that is) but necessity is the mother of invention and we were tired of dented and broken eggs that resulted from straw in the boxes. Broken eggs encourage egg-eating and this isn't good.(the chickens scratch excessively to 'nestle' into their nests and then would, forcefully, jettison their eggs onto the wooden surface). Now we buy those nubby grey plastic doormats (Job Lot style) and cut them to fit the nesting boxes. The chickens can't scratch them away, the surface provides a cushion for the eggs and we can remove them to pressure wash them. If you want to you could still apply straw over mats. We've tried this..it all ends up on the floor, and the chickens don't seem to care one way or another whether they have straw or not. I don't know about the sand thing. Our henhouse has a concrete floor, which makes it easy to sanitize during those twice yearly major cleanings.The run, a 12' x 20' covered, hawk-proof area screened with chicken wire and planted on the outside with grape vines, to provide leafy shade in the summer, has a dirt floor, where the chickens can take their dust baths. They are free range chickens, and can hang out wherever they want, but when it rains and snows, they really appreciate this covered outdoor space. (They dislike walking on snow intensely). BTW, the photo of the dream coop is truly the Palais des Poulets! WOW!
Karen, I noticed the vintage egg basket you pictured. It's called a "Daisy Indestructible", they were sold to the commercial shellfish and farming industries. I was a commercial shell fisherman in the 1970's through 1990's and wore out more of them than I care to remember. I still have a couple that I use for planter baskets. I don't know if they are still made or where you can purchase them new if they are, all the wholesalers I dealt with are no longer in business. I have seen a couple for sale on E-Bay, with outlandish age attributions and attendant prices. The size you picture is a 1/2 bushel, the most common size, sold new for around $18 in the 1980's. They also made a 1 bushel and 2 bushel size. I found your blog via Hartwood roses. I was enchanted by your comment regarding Connie's rotten porch. I share your love of old houses and always enjoy looking at pictures of old and historic structures. Thanks for a great blog. Regards, John