Before we even moved to the farm I always knew I wanted a chicken coop. I just couldn’t imagine living on a farm without having chickens in our backyard! A cute coop, fresh eggs, and who doesn’t love more pets? Yes, I said pets. My backyard chickens would definitely be spoiled rotten, therefore, they’re pets. Right?
Thankfully, backyard chickens are very trendy right now so when we began planning for our coop we had limitless options to explore. Isaac insisted he could build one for me and it would only take a couple of weekends. Hahahaha! Ya’ll, the coop he built me is so adorable, very functional, and extremely well made…but it took him months! He ended up hating that thing because it became such a burden for him to finish.
It all started when we went to the store to buy our first set of chicks, you can read all about that trip here. We were so excited and couldn’t wait to begin our chicken journey. But guess what? When we bought the chicks Isaac hadn’t even started building the coop yet! You know, he thought it would just take a couple of weekends! Again, hahaha!
We definitely learned our lesson but it all worked out in the end.
I actually found plans for a chicken coop on Etsy for purchase, check it out here. I wanted a simple, cute, charming coop that was functional and practical. This was definitely the one!
I decided to purchase the plans for the coop to simply make it easier on Isaac. It includes the materials needed, a cut list and step by step instructions. I highly recommend doing so to make the process of constructing your coop easier.
The main kicker that took Isaac so long was, well, my daddy. Haha! He convinced us we needed to use metal on the outside of the coop for longevity, and he’s right! Metal will last so much longer than wood that needs to be repainted every year, and let’s be honest, I more than likely wasn’t going to be repainting a chicken coop every summer. My husband knows me all too well.
So we decided to use metal on the outside, but Isaac had never worked with metal before. It was definitely the most time consuming part of the construction, but Isaac never gave up and kept trying and trying until he figured it out. Mind you, this is what he was doing after work almost every day and most of the weekend after working his full-time job. He’s the best.
We did make small modifications to the plans I purchased in order to make the coop work best for us. The end product is even better than I ever could have dreamed up.
Since building the coop it has already been in two locations. We figured out the hard way that our chickens needed a lot of shade for our hot Kentucky summers. We had to move the coop closer to the house in a shady location in order for them to thrive. We found the perfect spot, but that didn’t come without some setbacks. Our original plan allowed for the chickens to exit through a back door but the new location of the coop was right on top of a hill, so exiting through the back wasn’t an option. We actually had to think of a different location for an exit door for the chickens so they could access the run Isaac built for them.
So after a summer of our coop being in the scorching heat, we had to move it, create a new door, AND finally build a predator proof run. Let’s just say Isaac was ready to give it all away in the midst of all the unknowns. But what can you say? We live and learn!
The twins have really enjoyed our backyard chickens. Hadley is the main egg collector and has almost learned how to do it all on her own. For the nesting boxes I actually used the totes from an old storage tower we were going to throw away. They are perfect for nesting boxes and easy to clean!
Involving the twins with all of my chicken chores has been very sweet to see. Besides collecting eggs, they love to get in the run to help me check water and feed. Sometimes they hang out in the run for a bit and pretend they are chickens themselves. Their favorite thing about our chickens is actually when I let them free range. Some of the chickens will let them pet them and hold them and I just can’t think of anything cuter than that.
If you are interested in starting your own backyard chicken flock I highly recommend reading a fabulous book first. The Chicken Chick’s Guide to Backyard Chickens is a great resource if you’re new to chickens. The author has done her research and writes about the most important parts of backyard chicken keeping. Buy it here.
Do you have chickens? Have you ever gone through a winter with yours yet? This past winter was brutal here in Kentucky. Temperatures were below freezing for weeks and my chickens were beginning to show signs of frostbite on their combs. I’ve read horror stories about people burning their coops down and was actually pretty nervous to even think about heating our coop.
The Chicken Chick recommended a great product that actually keeps the temperature right above freezing. Think about it, chickens don’t need to have hot sources of heat…that’s what their feathers are for! But just a bit of heat to help the coop from dropping below freezing is a great way to keep your chickens healthy. Check out the Cozy Coop panel heater we have here.
Planning on building a run for your chickens? We decided to make our run predator proof so we wouldn’t have to open a chicken door every morning and close it every night. It is more time-consuming and expensive to do in the beginning, but I cannot tell you how great it is not to have to let our chickens in and out every day! We actually found the fencing we needed on Amazon and it was great to work with and is amazing quality! It’s completely predator proof and the perfect option for chicken run fencing. Not even our big giant schnauzer can paw his way through or around it. Check it out here.
You’re also going to need a cute basket to store your eggs in! Eggs that haven’t been washed can stay on the counter for weeks, I’ve tested it! Ever see pictures of the open shelving in my kitchen? You can usually spot and beautiful basket full on eggs on my shelf. Check the basket out here.
Having backyard chickens has definitely been a lot of work on Isaac’s part up until this year. Now that we have found the perfect location for the coop and gussied it up to be perfect for the chickens, it’s pretty easy to maintain. It’s been a very small glimpse into what real farming might be like. Very small.
The most important part is we are having fun with it and trying our best! Do you have backyard chickens? If so, what are some of your favorite things about having them?