Building a New Chicken Coop

My rooster.

Today, we are going to build a new coop for our chickens. We currently have them located near our home and my flowers! We used to have our whole front yard fenced in for my dog, who died at 13 years old, about 6 months ago. RIP Duke. We also had chickens who free-ranged out there, but I went back to work for awhile, and we gave them chickens to a friend. After that, we decided to fence a smaller portion of land and free up the front yard.

Due to that experience, I know first hand that chickens will eat up and kill a flower bed, so I'm moving them before spring! Chickens love to eat roses. So do rabbits. Plus, we got them as chicks, and they are getting too big for the small coop we built as a temp shelter. Before we had Rhode Island Reds (RIR) and Welsummer chickens & a rooster. We also had a Barred Rock rooster and hen. This time we purchased ISA chicks from Tractor Supply. They are very spunky chicks. They're not scared in the least of humans and love to wonder. The RIRs were great egg layers, but the Welsummers were the sweetest and most broody, except for the rooster. He was a mean son-of-a-gun! Now, we have the most docile rooster I've ever seen. This rooster rarely crows. He is awesome! He is a mixed breed from Tractor Supply as well, but I forgot the name.

Here is a picture of him, but he's not fully grown yet.

My neighbors have three Black Australorps and they are the noisiest roosters I've ever seen. They crow from daylight to dark. They are free to roam, so they come to my bedroom window every morning to crow....LoL They used to all roam together, but now, it looks like they are starting to single-out one of the roosters. And this singled-out rooster comes to my chicken fence daily. He's never jumped over the fence. I'm not sure what my rooster would do with another man trying to get in on his women...LoL Don't need no cock fights around here!

I'm planning on adding Buff Orpingtons to my flock soon. I just really love the breed. They are my favorite, but I'm going to wait until spring.

Here is the start of our new chicken coop. 

My husband purchased a carport several years ago and the gentleman we are buying this house from gave us some tin that he had laying around his farm. So we hung the tin up on the carport, and decided to extend it for our new coop. We plan on putting in laying boxes with doors on the inside of the carport, so we can reach in and grab the eggs without entering the coop or the chickens' running around area. We had left over chain-linked fence, so we're going to use that for their running around space. Plus, we have a wood burning stove in the carport that will help keep the chickens warm during the winter.

Well, that is how we plan on spending our New Year's Eve.....building a new coop. Take care and have an awesome New Years!

P.S. I know in my last post I said that I'd talk about different chicken breeds, but I decided to post a link instead. Check out The Backyard Chicken Farmer for the best beginner chicken breeds!

Buy an already made chicken coop on Amazon:
Pets Imperial Monmouth Large Chicken Coop 6ft 7" in Length With Roof That Opens Suitable For Up To 4 Birds

To Chicken or Not to Chicken

 Original chicken artwork by Whimsical Inklings" (www.whimsicalinklings.com). Purchased from Teachers Resources on Etsy.

Every backyard farm needs chickens! Chickens can be a meat source, plus you'll get eggs. Chickens are one of the easiest animals to care for. Before you get chickens, you'll need to make sure they have a coop to live and roost in. If you have the money, you could purchase one already made from my favorite store Tractor Supply😁. The average price for a coop is around $150-400 depending on the size. The bigger the coop, the more the cost. Wal-Mart sells chicken coop kits on their website and you can also find used ones on Craigslist. If you want to make your own or you're on a budget, then YouTube provides a ton of videos on how to make coops. Below is a video I thought was cute and quick on a budget. You could also use pvc pipe and wrap chicken wire around it. The ideas are endless, but this video will help get your brain juices flowing.

Buy a chicken coop on Amazon:
SummerHawk Ranch Victorian Teak Barn Chicken Coop

Next I'll be writing about chicken breeds....

Getting Land....

So, you've been thinking about becoming more self-efficient or perhaps you just want to live a more simpler life, but you're not sure where to start. I'm here to offer advice and tips on how you can live this life and you don't need acres of land to do it. When I first decided to start this blog, I was thinking about calling it Urban Farming, but I don't live in the city limits. Then I thought about calling it Micro-Farming, which what I'm doing can fit into this description; however, you can own up to 5 acres of land and still be considered to have a micro-farm. I don't have that much land...in fact, I have much less...only a 0.48 lot. Considering all that, I decided to go with the name Backyard Farming on Less Than an Acre.

The first thing you'll need to do is find some land. If you're like me and don't have the money to run out and buy a piece of land, don't fret, you have options. My husband and I found the house we are living in about 15 years ago. We were living about an hour from where my husband worked, and we wanted to move closer to his job. Rent prices in the area were ridiculously high, so my husband started looking at fixer uppers. Basically, an ugly house that needed a lot of work and nobody wanted! You have probably seen these empty houses before. They are all over. Some don't have signs up listing them for sale, so how can you find the owner? Do a Google search for property assessments in your city/state and it will pull up the owner's name. Give the owner a call and see if he is interested in renting the home out in exchange for you doing repairs or doing a rent to own/owner finance. If the house is just sitting there rotting away, chances are, the owner will take you up on your offer. When you rent to own or have the owner finance, the owner is no longer responsible for the repairs (that's true in my state...maybe not yours), which takes a burden off him/her.

By the grace of God, the owner of our house agreed to an owner finance. We did not have the money for a big down payment, so we agreed to pay the down payment over a period of two years, after that, the rest would go towards payment of the house at 7% interest. Now, we pay $300 per month and the house will be paid for next year. We plan to sell or rent out and buy a bigger piece of land. We've had to do a lot of work to this house, but I consider it an  investment. It was well worth it. And, I thank God for it.

If you're not interested in buying just yet, you can rent a home, but if you're wanting to have animals, you'll have to clear that with the landlord. You can also find owner financed land on Craigslist or sites like Country Places, Inc. You can get land for a low down payment. Generally around $400 down, then $200-400 closing costs. Sometimes, you can pay these amounts separately, like pay the down payment one week, and then, when paperwork is ready, pay the closing costs. Then the monthly payments are around $150-300 per month. If you change your mind about buying, then just leave. They will re-sell the land and raise the price if you made any improvements. You can buy a cheap camper to put on the land until you can build.

As you can see, you have several different options to getting land when you don't have much money and no credit. You just got to start looking. See what is available in your area. Do some driving around. Look on the outskirts of cities. You'll find something.