Welcome Home

We have been spending. every. single. minute. for the past week getting the chicken coop built. I would never have imagined the sweat and the toil for a "chook shack". But we finished today and moved the girls into their new digs.

Here the kids are performing their forced labor for the day - coop transport. The idea was that this coop would be mobile, but it is SO heavy that mobile will mean moving only a few feet to fresh grass. Americans call it a chicken tractor, but I like the British name of chicken ark.



We ran into a bit of a speed bump coming across the bridge:



The kids added the bedding to the roost area (my daughter even patted in all out as if making a bed):



And tended to the laying boxes (which I tied to explain wouldn't get much traffic 'til later):



The did SO much of the work and thinking about the project. They found sticks for the roosts, helped figure out how to make the doors and latches work, and did a great job with painting. SO their last decision was how to get the chickens into their new home. They wound up with two going below and two up top.

Here are Petunia and Marigold enjoying the grass:



and Dandelion and Chick Pea wondering what the nesting box is all about:



I'm a little worried about releasing my little girls into the big bad world, but I've tried everything I could to create a home that's safe and comfortable for them. Not having any idea about what I am doing is probably not helping. Rain is forecast tomorrow, so that will be the real test of the ark. And did you notice how Tubby is in most of the pictures? He is very interested in these little fluffs that keep changing and growing and getting more and more animated. He's slowly creeping over to the predator list at this point. I'm sure that the hawks and foxes are already into what's been in the works. Let's hope they stay safe long enough to enjoy their new home!