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Chicken Coop Update: We Have Walls!

Ed has been working so hard on this chicken coop! Check out my first post here about this amazing news! We are still gathering and soaking in as much information as possible. Over the last few Saturdays, Ed dug trenches (with a little help from those hard-working guys outside of Home Depot), installed framing, cement blocks, part of the wood siding, the base of the coop interior, frame and installed 2 of our vintage windows, and installed 1 vintage screen door.

Here are some chicken related questions with been wondering about, as well as some things we are learning (PLEASE SHARE YOUR CHICKEN KNOWLEDGE BELOW!):

Do we want to throw a Thanksgiving turkey in the coop and will he get along with the chickens? Not sure if we would be taking on too much with that one.

Where to buy our chickens? I’ve found some local hatcheries here in San Diego. It’s really important to me that they eat good food from the minute they’re born. Why else would we be raising them, right?

What should we feed them? After looking at loads and loads of websites and local store options for feed, I’ve concluded that I will be making my chicken feed and scratch, among other things. Sheesh. I don’t know why I’m surprised. Chicken feed, even organic, is FULL of corn and fillers. What’s the point? Everything I’ve read says feed chickens corn as a treat and yet it’s the first ingredient on every bag I look at. This is not ok therefore I am searching for balanced recipes. This one looks perfect and well researched. Recipes?

How to keep pests away? I am searching for the right kind of containers to store food in to keep rats and moths away. HELP!

How do I take care of these little ladies? Right now, we are reading, having the kids read, and are reading to the kids, “A Chicken In Every Yard”, “The Backyard Homestead Guide to Raising Farm Animals”, and “Farm Anotomy” to gather information! Favorite books?

What is the best way to reap the benefits of chicken poop? I currently have to buy chicken fertilizer for my garden so I’m searching for the right kinds of cleanup methods that are best for getting the most out of chicken droppings. Hey. Nothing wasted, right?

Names!! I think it’s safe to say that every one of us is excited about naming these ladies! I’m expecting names that reflect Star Wars, book characters, hilarity, and maybe something slightly inappropriate coming from my husband. We are splitting them up to name them so everyone will have their chance to pick!

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PLEASE share anything you’ve learned below!

Here’s the coop progress by the man who is constantly surprising me with making my dreams coming true…even chicken dreams…

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F a c e b o o k // T w i t t e r // P i n t e r e s t // I n s t a g r a m // E m a i l

A Golden Afternoon Farm

We are so excited to be expanding our little backyard “farm”!! For a solid 3 years, I’ve read, thought, prayed, researched, and dreamt of owning chickens. The time has not been right in our lives until recently. I see now why previous years would not have been good. To take a venture like this, the entire family has to be all in and ready to take on the work involved. I can honestly say that we are ALL ready!

A Golden Afternoon Farm is ready.

My husband has bravely taken on the task of building us a rather large chicken coop. Right now, we are planning on having 15 chickens. Sound like a lot? Well, we use 5 dozen eggs a week for all of our breakfast, baking, and other food needs. That’s what happens when you cook from scratch, I guess. Plus, we’d like to be able to share some with our friends and family (get ready Erik and El!). He’s never build a chicken coop, but he has all of the spirit he needs to carry him through! He is proving that if you want to do something enough, you can learn your way through the hard parts. I’m really proud of him. We have been married almost 10 years and he’s still making my dreams come true. Who knew a chicken coop could be such an amazing and unexpected display of affection?

I’ll keep you posted on our progress and share how he built it after it’s finished! We don’t have chicks lined up yet but I really felt strongly about finishing the coop before getting the chicks to make everything smooth and stress-free.

NOW, any seasoned chicken farmers please leave as much advice as you can in the comments! I want to know what you did right and also what you would have done differently. For the organic farmers…what you feed your chickens (every organic feed I see is loaded with corn!).

Favorite this and that…

tricks of the trade…

Please share!

Stick around and find us on:

F a c e b o o k // T w i t t e r // P i n t e r e s t // I n s t a g r a m // E m a i l