Mavis Mail – Tanya From Boulder, CO Sends in Pics of Her Chickens & Coop

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 have a rock star garden this summer. Keep them coming!

~Mavis

Dear Mavis,

Hi there! I’ve been following your blog for a few months now (ever since you did an awesome post about the company I work for: Only Natural Pet).

I have my own little blog that covers life as a working parent, growing a garden, and navigating life in Boulder, Colorado.

5 years ago, I got married and bought a house in “unincorporated” Boulder, Colorado, where we discovered that on our half-acre, we could have up to 2 animal units. It turns out that 8 chickens qualify as 1 animal unit and this meant that one of my bridesmaids gave us the gift of 3 generic red pullets. We had to build the coop, but I bribed my now husband and our roommate to build the Fort Knox of chicken coops and it was erected in 1 weekend.

The thing about living on the edge of the city is that coyotes and racoons are constant threats. By inserting paving stones 1 foot into the ground and double latching all of the gates, we’ve done our best to ensure that we’ll never have a break-in (knock on wood).

For 3 years, we enjoyed 3 organic and “farm”-raised eggs a day.

Anyone who claims that their chickens are “vegetarian raised” must not let them roam free very often. Our little ladies inhale bugs of all kinds on the afternoons they spend roaming the yard.

Sadly, the last 2 winters have killed off one chicken per year. This spring, with a single lone hen remaining, we decided that it was time for her to acquire some companions.

A box of 5 2-day old chicks arrived at the Boulder post-office near the end of April this year. I was required to bring the chicks into the office to show them off to my animal-loving coworkers. Unfortunately, one got sick after just a couple of days and died, but the other 4 have thrived. It was a cool spring in Boulder, so we ended up keeping them in the garage under a light until mid-June. It was a lot of work to clean out the box-bed daily and change their water several times a day, but it paid off when we transitioned the 4 “teenagers” to the coop.

The single hen seemed a bit resistant to the arrival of 4 little chicks, but it turns out she was all cluck and no peck. They now eat and roost together merrily and we’re eagerly anticipating when our chicks start laying in a few weeks!

Take care,

Tanya

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.