New Chicken Coop & Chick Days at Tractor Supply

It is chick time of year so if you are thinking of having your own chickens, now is a great time to purchase chicks.  They only become available to buy early spring and most feed stores that carry they sell out quickly.  Frank and I went to Tractor Supply yesterday and just as you go into the front door, they have the cutest display.  They have horse/cattle stock tanks lined up with warming lights and they are filled with the cutest, fluffy little chicks.  Separated in different stock tanks by breeds of chickens and then a cute fence all around the stock tanks, straw on the floor.  There were several little kids of the customers looking into the tanks just wanting to get their hands around one of those adorable couple day old chicks and so did I!!!  The prices were very good for the chicks too.

     Our new chicken coop is finished!!!  And I think it turned out so darn fabulous, Frank did a really great job.  I had found a photo in a magazine a few years ago (pre pinterest!!!) and had saved it for a garden shed.  But when we were planning out a new hen house, I showed it to Frank and away he went.  What was especially rewarding is that we found the materials at a reduced price by buying lumber from a local person, Chris Swanson, he sells lumber in Biggs.  Frank was able to get reduced prices on 2x4s; the siding; Frank made the windows; the roof sheeting were found at Chris Swanson's lumber place and were odd sizing sheets that he was able to pick up very reasonably and pass on the savings to customers.  I had found the tin cupola at an antique show in Los Altos several years ago and it was on top of my sorting shed.  In November, we had a bad rain storm with lots of wind and the next day, I found it on the ground, blown off of the shed.  So we decided it would look better on top of the chicken coop anyways, so it was put up there just a few days ago.

In side the coop, Frank has a winter light if I want to use it on cold nights for the chickens; there are 8 nesting boxes that have doors on the outside so I can collect the eggs from the outside instead of going inside the shed; there are 2 slotted doors-one that slides up and down to let chickens in and out to keep the house secure of predators at night; there is another sliding panel door that lifts up so when I want to clean the inside area, I can sweep and hose down and it will go to the outside chicken yard.  (More photos in future blogs) The chicken yard will have a new "man" gate and a larger gate that will open wide enough for the tractor to get into the yard area to keep it clean.  There is an automatic waterer; an outside light in the back and a sensor light just in case I forgot to close the chickens up and have to go out to the chicken coop at night, there will be light.  Frank thought of everything.  Oh I forgot the most important thing, he put power plugs inside, and my new baby chickens will have their heat lamp and will be safe and warm inside the house until they grow their feathers on and are big enough to go out with the rest of the hens.  Some friends have seen it recently and think it is much too nice for chickens, they think it should be made into a "man cave" or guest bedroom it is so nice!!!

So if you are thinking of getting some chicks, check them out at Tractor Supply, it is officially their Chick Days.  They have some great chicken coops too, on line that you might want to check out if you don't have a sweety handy type guy like I do.

Hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day-