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.