Fresh Off the Farm (Part Two)

It has long been a dream of mine to have chickens.

I have waited for a year for chicks that I have such fond 

memories of from my childhood.

I am happy to say that the wait is over and in the beginning of

April we purchased six New Hampshire Reds.

They arrived mostly fuzzy with a few little feathers on

their wingtips.  The children took a liking to 

them immediately and they became family rather

quickly as they took their spot in the dining room.

Something to love is what Kylie now has 

as you will see her admiring the new pets below.

She sat for hours (literally) just watching them.

Micah on the other hand loves the chicks too,

but didn't show his affection in a way that they

approved of.  Quite often I would find a pacifier,

Mr. Incredible toy or something of the sort thrown

into their container.  As you can imagine

the chicks nearly had a heart attack and made

quite a fuss over Micah's actions.

Needless to say, they all survived and are now

all the more hearty for it.

I found the most delightful plans for a chicken coop

as that is what was needed next.

So I ordered plans for the desired coop,

and gathered the needed materials.

This is what was created.

Here is the coop.

It would not be shown here, or even attempted without my

dear father's help.

My Dad came 3 separate times to build this coop with me.

I must say that I have many a fond memory

of working with my father,

and it is my favorite way to spend time with Dad.

Here are some more pictures should you have interest in seeing 

just how much the chickens and our family enjoys the 

new coop.

I love the many options of this coop.

There are two levels and a ramp that can be lowered

for the birds to come to ground level.

The top sides lift off to clean out the coop, and

the ends of the top have doors to open

for one to gather eggs from the nesting boxes easily.

The coop has handles to be picked up and moved

from place to place in the backyard.

Caleb wanted to help.

There they are, all cozy in the top of their little coop.

At night the coop glows as the brooder light warms 

the chicks for the first 6 weeks of their lives.

Favorite thing:

not losing sight of a dream

and bringing it to completion