This weekend marked a big milestone for our homestead. I made enough progress on the coop build on Saturday that I was able to move the chickens from their 4’ x 4’ brooder (inside a spare room of our house) to the cabin part of the coop before the sun set. I was able to keep an eye on them all of Sunday and make a few adjustments as needed. Check out the album.

I added a couple simple supports to mount the roost to. There are two roosts (and the smaller one from their old brooder) made from a branch of the tree I had to cut down while building the roof of the coop. I think it is better to use a natural roost instead of the other option of making them out of 2’ x 4’ lumber.

I also set up a new hanging feeder since they outgrew their chick feeder weeks ago. This one hangs from the ceiling to just a few inches off the floor of the cabin and helps prevent the feeder from being filled up with bedding and waste.

I finished enclosing the entire run with hardware cloth (better than chicken wire), but I didn’t tackle making the main door so I just temporarily stapled hardware cloth right over the opening. Unfortunately this means I can’t get in to the run until I’m ready to install the door.

There is definitely still a lot to do. Primarily the front door, but also the nest box needs to be finished and the area around the coop will need some landscaping. I’m contemplating which kinds of shrubs and mulch to use. The area gets mostly shade during the day. I also plan to build a removable sandbox for the girls to take their dust baths in.

Stay tuned for more updates!