Coo-Coo-Coop

Remember this little gal? She and 4 friends arrived via mail a few months ago. One of her friends only lasted 3 hours {apparently enough time for two of my children to bond enough to evoke great wailing and gnashing of teeth upon it's untimely death}. My husband thought it would be great for the kids to raise chickens and have an unlimited supply of eggs in our backyard. Even though I was less than enthusiastic about it to begin with, I chose to joyfully submit and be thankful that my children can experience something like this firsthand.

Henrietta and her three friends have been growing by leaps and bounds.
Isn't she pretty? When my husband began the sales pitch of why we should own our own hens, I quickly did some research. Not on chicken growth and care. Nunt-uh. My research was focused on what would be sitting in our backyard. My words were "I want something cute." He did not disappoint:
It took a lot of planning, measuring and man hours, but it was worth it. I'm a detail person, so when it came to the little extras I knew it was a labor of love from my man. Underneath the coop he laid bricks and filled in with playground sand so that it could be easily cleaned. And you know I'm all about clean.

See those cute little doors? Those lead to the nesting boxes. Each hen has her own spot to lay eggs. We can easily reach in and take the eggs.

The back of the coop has an enclosed grassy area for them to peck -n- play. Or whatever it is that chickens like to do. The wood at the bottom is actually sitting on buried block so no predators can dig under the fence and feast on a hot wing dinner.

It's a little hard to see from this photo, but they have a pole to roost on. Our research revealed that a roosting pole is as important to chickens as a comfortable couch is to humans.

Isn't their little ladder cute? They walk up and down it everyday. Since they are ladies, I'm sure they're watching their thighs. :)

We have two Red Stars, which are known for their egg laying abilities as well as their gentle manner with humans. Our other two are Easer Eggers, which produce green, blue or pink tinted eggs. They are also gentle with humans. It will be close to Christmas before we begin to gather eggs from our little flock. I'll keep you posted on how Farmer Brown and Dr. Doolittle are managing.