Moving In

Although the chicken coop isn't completely finished, Kirk worked really hard this weekend to get it weather-tight so the birds could move in. It still needs hardware cloth around the run as well as a coat of paint, but it's livable. Take a look:

This is the long view. As you can see, only one section of the run is screened in. It needs paint — almost a shame, because that pine is really pretty right now. It won't be forever, though, and we need some weather protection on the wood. 

Kirk made the window himself with some glass he had cut at Kelly's, the local hardware store. The screen is permanent; the glass window on the outside comes out in the summer via the wooden clips on either side.

The pretty tile floor is now covered with wood chip bedding. The feeder and watering tray hang from the ceiling, and to the right you can see the roosting bar. I took the picture from the human access door, and the light is coming from the nesting boxes, which have an outside access door (that is open in the picture).

Here's a closer look at the nesting boxes, this time with the access door closed. These won't be in use for a few months yet.

This is the chicken door. If you look closely, you can see that there is a rope at the top. This is rigged to the outside of the coop so a human can pull the chicken door open without actually entering the coop or the run. 

All four girls on their new roost! From left to right: Abigail, Dolley (who needs some lessons in sitting still), Sally, and Martha. They seem much happier in their spacious new suite, and enjoy the room to jump/fly up to higher roosts. They will be confined to the coop for the next three or four days to train them that this is home. After that, they should know to "come home to roost" when it starts to get dark out.