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We started last February with tiny baby chicks and now we have full sized chickens laying eggs! It’s very exciting for the kids to go out every day and check for eggs in the nesting boxes.

Since my last post about moving the chickens to the coop, there has been a lot of growing and many adventures!

We were away over Memorial Weekend for a family function. When we came back, our neighbors told us that a couple of loose dogs attempted to get into the coop one night. Luckily, it’s well made and was reinforced for predators. They were safe inside, although one hen strained a wing in her panic. She was fine after a couple of days.

Chicken Yard

Because of that and the growing chickens, I built a yard. It’s not too bad, for my first time building a chicken yard.

The coop fits in just perfectly. Now they have room to stretch their wings and have double the protection.  About two days after the new yard was in place, those dogs showed up again. They looked very confused just before I chased them out off our property.

An added bonus to living in a small town is that it only took one facebook post to get the dogs identified. We haven’t seen them since.

Along with the coop, I put in a larger waterer in preparation for the summer heat. It doesn’t usually get very hot here on the coast, but it’s been getting hotter every year. I also set up some nesting boxes, because the hens would be ready to start laying any time!

 

Rooster

When we bought the chicks, the salesperson said: “there’s no real guarantee that they’re all girls”.  And she was right, there isn’t. Which is why we ended up with a rooster. Remember this face?

He grew up to look like this:

Beautiful isn’t he? It took about a month’s worth of practicing before he got his crowing down pat.  Then he let it fly at least once an hour from sunrise to sunset. Unfortunately, he also started getting very aggressive with the kids and the chickens. Three hens just aren’t enough to keep him busy.  We had to find him a new home.

I found a Facebook post from a local family who offered to take all the unwanted roosters in the area. They butcher them and stock up for the winter. I thought it was a pretty genius idea for saving money, myself. Lots of people want to raise hens for the eggs but aren’t really into the whole butchering process. Not that I blame them – it’s not my favorite thing to do either.

Chickens Laying Eggs! Yipee!

The chickens adjusted pretty well to their new yard and were eating, drinking, and growing wonderfully. At the beginning of July, we took another trip. After the second day, our chicken-sitter reported that their food consumption suddenly increased dramatically. I knew the hens were close to being old enough to start laying, so this wasn’t totally unexpected. The next time we talked, she had found an egg.

 

We’re averaging two a day, with is just perfect for us! Not only, do the kids like finding the eggs, but they also love the variety of sizes and shapes. We’ve had at least one double yolk egg (there may be another in the carton). It’s much more fun than just buying a carton of eggs at the store!

Next Step

My next step is going to be building a new coop capable of hosting the chickens during the winter. Last year, we had back to back to back storms.  Our storms come right off the Pacific and bring gale-force winds and a lot of rain. They’ll want to spend more time indoors but need more space than their current coop to be really comfortable.  And a real roof will be key to making sure they have a dryish area to go out in on the two days it won’t rain during November. Really.

Want to read more? Check out the entire chicken adventure!

The Begining – New Chicks

Chicks at 3 Weeks – A Bigger Brooder

Chicks at 5 Weeks – Growing Up and Out

Chicks at 10 Weeks – Moving To The Coop

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