OK, here’s a piece of advice for new chicken owners: inspect your coop on a regular basis. Check the structure for holes, rot, rust — any way a predator could get in.

One awful summer I faced flock carnage.  I couldn’t figure out how my chickens were being slaughtered in the evenings, locked up in their coop. This went on for three nights and I was starting to panic as the body count mounted up. I was about 8 months pregnant – I hauled my gigantic body on top of the coop to discover hundreds of little muddy raccoon hand prints, and a corner of chicken wire that had been peeled away as an entrance. Grrrr.

When your chicken wire starts to get rusty, weak, or bent out of shape, it’s a good idea to peel it off and slap on a fresh batch. My sweet husband spent the weekend doing this for me, check out how nice it looks! The original wire lasted almost 3 years, but I was about a year overdue on this update.

Backyard Chickens Workshop
Saturday, April 2, 12 noon
Where: East Nashville Cooperative Ministry (807 Main St. 37206)
Cost: Free (but we’ll “pass the hat” for our presenter)

sign up:  http://growingourfuture.blogspot.com/search/label/workshops

This is our second year with the Delvin Farms CSA. CSA is an acronym for Community Supported Agriculture. Basically, we “buy in” to the Delvin’s farm in exchange for an incredible box of veggies each week. This week’s farm newsletter featured their chicken tractor. You see 110 chicks inside, fertilizing the orchard. If you’re considering a using a tractor with chicks, be sure it is very warm outside, consistently. Chicks cannot keep themselves warm until their feathers grow in. If they get chilled, especially in conjunction with a cold rain or dew, they will die. Chicks need a mom chicken to sit under, or a heat lamp that gives them access to a 95 degree spot plus an area to cool down. It’s warm enough now that the Delvin birds should be just fine outside in their tractor.

My friend Rob is turning into an amazing source for chicken coop design ideas. Check out this beautiful design. From a practical standpoint, it would be a nightmare to clean but it could certainly be used for inspiration.

If you’re looking for a quick start-up for a coop, you might consider the chicken ark. We made one from scratch, but if you’re not comfortable with saws and hammers you can just buy one. Here’s a pretty option, available at http://handcraftedcoops.com/.

Be warned, my personal experience was that the ark was difficult to clean (poop and chips get stuck in the corners.) I actually had a family of mice move in one year!  Also, they are HEAVY so it will take 2 strong people to move it. But, they are cute and trendy and the chickens will be safe from most predators. Here’s my peanut in the foreground, homemade ark in the background:

Thanks to my buddy Rob for passing this one along!