Keeping Our Hens Happy

 With the addition of 75 more hens last spring, we needed to make more room in the inn.  Rather than adding on to the existing henhouse, we decided to build an second one.    My criteria, as usual, was that it had to be cute.  Cute with a budget of $0.00.  Thank goodness my man is creative!  Most of the materials were left over from building our our house and barn.  The screen door was in someone's trash.  It has a rip, but that adds to the charm, right?

The ladies are low maintenance.  They only require two things in their house: nesting boxes and roosting poles.

Yes, those are left over closet poles from our house.  They are the perfect size and freeee!

Even though this picture is taken at an angle like I'm standing on the side of a mountain, it shows the back of the hen house.  Notice how much we've grown since our original coop!

 I know all the magazines and blogs make chicken farming look very charming, which it is.  But the reality is that it is also messy and poopy.  The picture below is what real life is like, taken on coop poop clean-up day.

My handsome farmer takes care of the dirty work.  He knows my limits.

The ladies are having a little snack

It takes the whole family to run the farm.  We all collect, wash, and package the eggs.

This is our little work station.

When we planned our house, this sink was supposed to be in the garage, but due to some very thick foundational walls, the plumbing was impossible.  With a little huff I agreed to move the sink into the mud room.  Best mistake ever!!!

Now we can rinse the eggs and package them in the house rather than in the garage.

 November is a tough month for chicken farmers.  The girls molt and walk around half-nekked.  I'm embarrassed for them, really.  Their egg productions drops considerably.  So, if you are a regular customer of ours, hang tight.  They'll put their clothes back on, get their dignity back, and return to work soon.