Something to crow about

I knew when we bought our house last year, that there was a reason we picked a subdivision without any covenants or a Homeowners' Association. We had that primitive, basic instinct that told us the economy was about to go crazy, and we were going to have to take some measures in self-sufficiency to make things comfortable. Well, our instincts were heeded, and here we are, entering the realm of self-sufficiency!

Step One: Raising Chickens

Okay, that is not really the first step we've taken in becoming more fiscally responsible, or tight-wads as some might call it. Sure, we've been clipping coupons, doing sales comparisons, eating lighter (with some added benefits), and reducing our dining-out excursions. However, what's the fun in it for the children? Where is the lesson for them to "live and learn"? What is going to last in their memories when they look back at this historic piece of time? Well, my children will look back fondly, thinking back on their first pets, our chickens, who've added so much more to our household than we could have imagined.

Why chickens? Here are some convincing benefits to raising chickens that may, or may not, seem obvious:

• you get 2-3 fresh eggs everyday, provided you keep 2-3 laying hens;



• you can have fresh meat, and know what it's been fed and how it was raised;



• chickens eat bugs, and help to greatly reduce unwanted pests (ie. ticks, mosquitoes, ants, etc.);



• you have living tillers to work your garden soil and keep the weeds out;



• your children have a blast running around, trying to catch those fast little buggers, which in turn, provides adults plenty of entertainment and conversation.

Okay, was any of the above convincing? It certainly convinced us! So, how does one start to acquire and assess their needs? I can't give enough praise for the first book I checked out of the library, and subsequently bought, entitled, Your Chickens: A Kid's Guide to Raising and Showing by Gail Damerow. I have found that when you want to learn about something completely new, try to get a children's guide, the wording is so much easier to follow! In this book, I was able to learn about what to expect out of having chickens, how many I should consider for my family, what those crazy little birds need as far as housing, feed, and protection, and the many other money-making opportunities that involve poultry.

After reading up on raising chickens, I was then confident enough to share my interest with my family. My husband, who also shares that "back to the land" calling, heartily agreed to the idea, and next thing you know, we've got baby chicks in a cardboard box in the kitchen. Whew! Of course, they lasted there for only few days before I sent them to the garage for making such a mess of the cardboard with their waterer.

Go ahead, you experienced chicken raisers, laugh all you want. We all have to learn, somehow.

So, according to my wonderful chicken book, those little guys (more hoping for girls) are ready to go out in a coop by 4-6 weeks. Time to build a hen house! Now, you may have to meet my husband in order to understand his passion for carpentry. He loves it. He loves to work with his hands. When he was self-employed doing residential remodeling, he would spend hours talking to the homeowners about what he was doing, adding in little extras to make things look really neat. He even came home one day, beaming, because some old man called him a "real artisan". So, I already knew that the chicken coop project was going to be an interesting one.

We searched all over the internet for chicken tractors, chicken coop designs, hen houses, you name it. The best site we found was a site of 140+ various pictures of chicken tractors. That was all my husband needed to see to become inspired to create his own. What I expected to be a $200 project, ended up being a $400+ project. Hmm, I should've known!

I am posting pictures taken at various steps of the project, in hopes to inspire other chicken coop builders. The coop, by no means, has to be so luxurious, but leave it to my husband, he had to put the nice metal roofing and cedar siding on for a nice, decorative effect. I'm proud of him, and can say that I had the honor in toting his lumber for him, digging the trench to bury the chicken wiring, and holding the ends of the boards he was cutting, getting all covered in saw dust. You want to talk about a marriage revival retreat? Build a chicken coop! Just don't look at the receipts.