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