As you can see in the picture, the chicken house features a door with a latch which swings inside so the chickens can’t escape when you go in to feed them. There’s a nifty ramp that leads up to five nesting boxes which is definitely overkill. The good thing about the nesting boxes is that you don’t even need to go into the coop to get the eggs since there’s access from outside with two spiffy latched doors. This nesting box was thoughtfully placed by Matt at the perfect height for our boys to collect the eggs themselves.
Another important inclusion was a nice sized branch that serves as a perch for sleepy birds. Apparently they don’t use a perch until about four months old. Lastly, we needed to make sure the chicken wire covered all sides as well as the base so foxes can’t tunnel under for a tasty dinner. I think of Mr Fox, of Fantastic Mr Fox, when thinking of foxes tunneling.
The chickens are now thirteen weeks old and enjoying their living quarters. In about another month, we should start to get some eggs which will be rather exciting and quite novel, our own free range eggs! In my next post I’ll update you on our four crossbred Australorps and their beginnings.
