Our Five Girl's Arrival

We finally got the call from USPS that our girls had arrived so we took the day off to get them situated in their new digs. Welcome to the city!

Ready to introduce the girls to their new owners

Poor things were ready to leave that box!

Each one was brought out of the box, held, and reassured we weren't going to harm them. I wanted to make sure they knew who their new mommy was! (Funny how the "mother" instinct comes out around baby animals).  One of our girls had left a gift in the bottom of the box...

What luck! Our first egg was a double-yoker!

We showed them the nest boxes and they had their first meal.

We left them in the coop for three days so they would get the idea that this was home. During those days we would go out and talk with them and hold them. Now when we go out they start clucking and telling us about their day. We now let them out each day to feed on worms, slugs, and dandelion greens.  I enjoy having them. My husband gets up early so he goes out to lift the roost gate, I check for eggs around 10am, and he closes them in at dusk once they have returned to the roost We are in the process of building a larger run but until then I let them out while working in the yard and they are free to roam. Ollie keeps them in check. On Easter we got 5 eggs, a sign that all is well with our girls. Kitters was unhappy about the whole situation and keeps her distance but Ollie was one happy pup! He now helps me "bring in the chickens" when grazing time is over. Good Boy!

   We are almost done hauling the five tons of stone for the flagstone path, setting up the raised vegetable beds, and landscaping around the coop. You can see the finished product next post.

First Things First

FIRST, the land had to be cleared of ivy, the ditch had to be dug, and the blocks had to be laid - straight and plumb. We built the foundation, Berg at Saltbox Designs in Seattle built the coop, to be delivered. I found the design while surfing the web searching for that chicken coop with a little extra flair (we wanted to to be courteous to our neighbors). I showed it to Berg and he accepted the challenge. 

(http://heatherbullard.typepad.com/heather_bullard_collectio/2010/03/our-chicken-coop.html)

FIRST, the coop had to be delivered. It was to be completed at the site.

Berg Danielson of Saltbox Designs (www.seattlechickencoops.com or www.facebook.com/pages/Saltbox-Designs/167477803284858) installs the roof, screening, doors and hardware at the site. 

FIRST, we had to fill the bottom with litter, put straw in the nest boxes, and install waterer and feeder. 

What comes after the FIRST things? Our girls arrive in two days and their new home is waiting. On the to-do list - install the flagstone path from the patio to the coop, install retaining walls and finally the raised beds for the vegetable garden. Visit me again soon to see the final product with accoutrements.

Grit and Oyster Shell for calcium

Waterer and Feeder 

Preparing for the April Delivery

Months ago we put in our order. Five Red Star girls are to arrive via USPS, seventeen weeks old and ready to produce within two weeks after arrival. Farm fresh eggs coming to our neighborhood soon! My neighbors are anxious for our sharing...

I never imagined I’d be building a coop in my suburban backyard but in search of a better egg (that doesn’t cost $4 a dozen), here I am. It’s a new chapter in our lives, this urban homestead thing, and in every way I am ready to leap out of my sedentary office chair and into a lifestyle of bodily movement, no jogging required. 

For two weeks we cleared and leveled an ivy covered back corner of our third-of-an-acre lot. The next weekend was spent digging and leveling the trench in preparation for two courses of blocks and cement. The following weekend we hauled roughly 1,500 lbs of block, mortar, and cement from the street to the back corner, mixed and poured, then filled in around the edges with the extra soil.

I know what you’re thinking...”why such a massive foundation for a chicken coop for goodness sake?” Your question will be answered in a couple weeks when I will catalogue the building, construction, and delivery of our girl’s home.