Can You Coop? We can!!!

Well as some of you may know we are now the proud owners of 12 beautiful chickens!!  We have done a lot of research over the years and finally decided that this was going to be the year to do it!  One of the biggest decisions we had to make was all about the Coop.  Which kind was right for us?  What one would be able to house our precious girls in the heat of summer while keeping them cool, and still offer them enough space to be warm and happy come winter?  We also had to think about cost or how to get the best bang for our buck while not breaking moms bank!  With all of this in mind we shopped around and decided to go with a Lancaster.  This company makes em tough and the model we went with boasts a coop with nesting boxes 72x54x74in. Red siding, white trim, and black shingles. Quality Amish wood construction direct from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Duratemp plywood siding. Sturdy plywood panels surfaced with tempered hardboard resist damage and weather degradation. 25-year asphalt shingles.  Now don't get me wrong this little beauty was still a bit on  the pricey side at 1352.00 plus tax, but overall it had everything we were looking for to keep our new editions safe and happy! 

(She's is such a good chicken mama)

Well now that the decision making was over and with the not so little anymore chicks living in the house! it was well past time to go and pick up our coop!  My lovely and always truck willing friend Laura drove us down to the local Agway and with a forklift and a little patience it was loaded up.

(Wow it just fit and I mean just!)

I got the pleasure of driving it home and let me tell you that potholes and chicken coops don't mix!  It was a fun slow ride with a a lot of funny looks, but hey that just made it all the better.  Half an hour or so later we made it home safe and sound and it was time to unload.  Now let's take a  pause here in remembrance.  This coop is SOLIDLY built.  What it weighs I may never know, but if it takes a forklift and three guys 45 minutes to get it into the truck, why did I think Laura, myself, and Raine would have no problem getting it back out!  (insert forehead smack here)  I will admit that I sometimes have a bit of a superman complex and am simply baffled when I can't do something by myself.  So when I say that it took us 2 hours, a car jack, several sturdy pieces of wood for leverage, and girl power (both brains and brawn) of the likes you've never seen to get this bad boy on the ground, listen to me when I say, "do not try this at home!"  Get help people!  Don't let that independent stubborn streak of yours put you through something like this!  I will always remember this because now it's funny, but at the time I almost threw in the towel!!!  I am sore just thinking about it :)

After we got it on the ground, I fed Laura cupcakes (so much for the promised fancy dinner) and bid her farewell with a huge I owe you one.  Raine and I then retired for the night to "recoop" until tomorrow! 

As the next morning rolled around we got straight to work laying out landscaping cloth and beauty bark from a local nursery, and with the gracious help of our neighbors were able to get it situated on it's plot (Thanks Joe & Val!!).  And finally a fairy rose, an artemesia plant, and a few stones were put in place to give it a whimsical homey look! 

Raine and I through in the pine bedding, feeder, and watering jug for the girls and welcomed them home.  They were seemed to be thrilled with their new digs if all the happy chirping they were making was any indication. 

We spent most of the day out there with them, just enjoying their company and all the excited exploration of our curious chicks.  We also put up a temporary chicken run while we save enough to build a proper one later in the summer.

All in all it has been a wonderful experience and we are both madly in love with our first foray into being farmers.