Painted & Moved In

Last Winter's first dusting of snow.

2010 Coop - Unpainted

New Coop (2010) unpainted

Golden Doodles

I snapped this picture this morning of my buddy's dog. I noticed in the background that the chickens were pearing in the back door. Cooper is a Golden Doodle (part Golden Retriever and Standard Poodle).

Dusting

I snuck up on two of my hens dusting themselves Christmas Day. They layed there for several hours undisturbed.

Silver Laced Wynadotte Hens

The Wyandotte is an American breed. Silver Laced Wyandottes were developed in New York State in the early 1870s. Layers of good-sized brown eggs and are hardy layers year round. This is Henrietta. (black and white in back)

Golden Laced Polish Hens

Polish Joke: Polish Chickens Are Really from Italy

These chickens were thought to have developed near the banks of the Po River - hence their name. Polish are an unusual and beautiful breed. They have a crest (some also possess a beard and muffs), are small, tightly feathered birds, fairly active despite restricted vision due to their large "head gear." They need plenty of space to avoid damaging each other's crests by picking. Ice forming in their crests from drinking water can be a problem in cold weather. And sometimes their crests restrict vision and cause them to be easily frightened. They are good layers but not setters. This is Penelope.

Auraucana

Close up of, Lucy, an Auraucana hen.

Araucana Eggs

Araucana, is a breed of poultry which lays blue and blue/green eggs that can trace it's descent from two rare South American types of chicken - the Collonca, and the Queteros. The Collonca is a naturally clean faced, rumpless, blue egg laying fowl. The Queteros is tailed, has ear tuffs and usually lays a pinkish brown egg. The cross between the Collonca and the Queteros resulted in the Araucana. Above is a picture of some Araucana eggs.

Version 2 of The Coop

After my chickens spent a few weeks in their new home, I decided that they would be much happier if they had more space to move around. I decided to modify my existing coop that would still serve as their roosting and shelter from the outdoors and build a cage around it. I went back to scavenge for reclaimed wood once again, coming across several 2x4's across the street that were salvaged from an old crate. I also found an old sign that was once part of a health food store that recently went out of business. The plastic sign was a dome that would serve as as great roof for the coop from all the rain we receive in Seattle 7 out of the 12 months a year. Within about a week and a half I had the structure built and new chicken wire stapled to the inside of the frame. Nothing was perfect, but I was working with warped boards that had several staples and nails coming out of them. I found the perfect store at ReStore up the street for $20 that would finish out my coop. Even before it was finished, I found my chickens going into the coop to dig around. It was like they new that this was going to be their new home.

Building a Coop

After the Coop Tour I was inspired to jump on the internet to see what it had to offer for coop design. With no real construction skills, I found that building my own might be a challenge I knew I didn't want my coop to break the bank or be some year long project. I wanted to use as many reclaimed materials as possible. Ballard has some great places that offer salvaged doors, cabinets etc from gutted homes www.re-store.org/ was a place to start looking. I found a design online through http://www.backyardchickens.com/ . For the $800 they were offering for this mobile coop, I would attempt building it on my own. I looked no further than the industrial neighborhood in Ballard for scrap wood, pallets and just about any material I thought would be usable. I spent part of the summer designing a chicken tractor which is essentially a mobile coop on wheels. The benefit is that it was small and could be moved around the yard like a wheel barrel. It gave chickens the ability to feed in a confined space and still have shelter at night.

City Chickens

If you have ever thought about raising chickens in the city, it can be both an educating and rewarding experience. I began my journey after taking part in Seattle's City Coop Tour put on by Seattle Tilth www.seattletilth.org every year. People around Seattle open their back yards once a year so other people can see what it's like raising chickens. I had a chance to ask questions about different breeds, coop designs and basic care. I found that most people were open to showing off their pets and talked about the benefits they offer. The coops ranged from the most simple to the designer type. I took notes in my head about the different breeds of chickens each had and I had an idea of what type I'd like to raise. Above you will see the three chickens I own: an Araucana (easter egg chicken), Silver Laced Wyandotte, and a Golden laced polish. Otherwise known as Lucy, Henrietta and Penelope.