Mavis Mail – Cool Chicken Coop Photos

Shelly from Washington writes:

I love your blog and as a fellow Washingtonian I wanted to share my coop with you! This is my first year with chickens and I am totally hooked. After about a year of fiddling with the idea of getting chickens I found a coop on craigslist that I loved, for $100! It was such a great deal so with some help I convinced my husband it would be a good idea to get chickens and we picked up the coop that weekend.

We have six hens that are all one year old. Jo and Jack are our Ameraucanas and Meg and Beth are Buff Orpingtons. Jo, Jack, Meg and Beth lived together for a year before we got them and all get along well with each other so when Elinor and Fanny joined the flock they were shown their place at the bottom of the pecking order. It took a few weeks of adjusting, but they are all getting along now. Elinor and Fanny are our Black Stars and lay the most beautiful extra-large brown eggs almost every day.  

We have a pen for the girls so they can come and go from their coop as they please without getting into too much trouble, but the coop is safe when it’s closed up and large enough that they aren’t crammed in there when the coop is locked. Our coop can hold up to 30 hens, and I’m sure the day is quickly coming when we max it out. 

The roosting rods are set over an open floor to minimize cleanup needed, and make easier collection for the compost bin. For the first month or so the chickens huddled in the corner every night and refused to use the roosting rods, even when I would place them on the rods the ladies would jump down.

When Elinor and Fanny joined the flock and immediately started sleeping on the rods, everyone else joined in and started sleeping on the roosting rods as well. The nest boxes on the side of the coop are at perfect collection height for the kids, and my oldest son loves to collect and count the eggs. Thanks for letting me share!

~ Shelby

And yes, I laid sod in my chicken coop, because what fun is it to have chickens if you don’t spoil them once in a while? 😉 See more of Shelby’s cool ideas HERE.

A big THANK YOU to everyone who has sent in their photographs and stories. I hope by sharing other peoples pictures and stories here on One Hundred Dollars a Month we can all glean some ideas from each other.

~Mavis

If you would like to have your garden, chicken coop or something you’ve made featured on One Hundred Dollars a Month, here’s what I’m looking for:

• Your Garden Pictures and Tips – I’d especially like to see your garden set ups, growing areas, and know if you are starting seeds indoors this year. If so,  show me some picture of how you are going about it.
• Your Chicken and Chicken Related Stories – Coops, Chicks, Hen’s, Roosters, Eggs, you name it. If it clucks, send us some pictures to share with the world.
• Cool Arts & Crafts – Made from your very own hands with detailed {and well photographed} pictures and instructions.
• Your pictures and stories about your pets. The more pictures and details the better.
• Garage Sale, Thrift Store and Dumpster Diving pictures and the stories behind the treasures you found including how much you paid for them.

If I feature your pictures and the stories behind them on One Hundred Dollars a Month, I will send you a $20.00 gift card to the greatest store in the world: Amazon.com.

Go  HERE for the official rules.