Chicken Coops and Kids

Oct 6
08:07

2009

Matt D Murren

Matt D Murren

  • Share this article on Facebook
  • Share this article on Twitter
  • Share this article on Linkedin

Raising seven sons on an old potato farm was interesting and funny. especially during the times we had the chickens the boys wanted! What a range of poultry we had - Brahmas, Cornish, but exotics as well - with the lovely tufts of feathers on their feet, decked out with exotic colors. Of course, no chicken experience would be complete without the sweet little Banties we let roam rather than "coop" up.

mediaimage
Raising seven sons on an old potato farm was interesting and funny. especially during the times we had the chickens the boys wanted!  What a range of poultry we had -  Brahmas,Chicken Coops and Kids Articles Cornish, but exotics as well - with the lovely tufts of feathers on their feet, decked out with exotic colors.  Of course, no chicken experience would be complete without the sweet little Banties we let roam rather than "coop" up.  They were more adept at avoiding predators than their cousins. 

We started with an old coop built in the early 1900's, about 10' by 20'.  It was challenging to made this dog, fox and skunk proof!  The first step was plugging all the holes.  We'd know how successful we'd been when we took attendance each morning.  If the count didn't match the previous day's, we'd start looking for more holes.  Our sons quickly put in a "roost",  just a board about 6" wide, about 4' up from the floor.  They got wooden crates from the grocery store, lined them with straw and stacked them for the hens to lay in.  We soon discovered the chicks would benefit from vitamin D in the form of sunshine.  So the kids built a cubed frame, about 10'x10' and lined all 6 sides with chicken wire.  Having the top lined protected the birds from other birds, like owls and hawks.  The bottom lining discouraged the diggers.

In the cold Colorado winter we had to have a heated water container we purchased from the local co-op.  We kept a light, covered with an aluminum shade, turned on in the winter as well.  It provided enough heat for about 2 dozen chickens we maintained.

I suppose the biggest problem we had was making sure the boys fed and watered our feathered fiends!