Month: March 2016
The Coop Got a Lift
Lift kit: 2 1x4x6 treated boards, 2x8x12 (cut in 3 38.25″ pieces), 12 L brackets, chicken wire 3’x10′. 
We stapled the chicken wire to the bottom of the coop. We cut it (after stapling the wire on the left side and top, then stapled the rest. Then we screwed the 1x4x6 boards to the 38.25″ pieces (which ended up being too long and we had to cut more.) I got the dimensions from the Farm House details online, the base of the coop was not even 3′ deep, nor 73″ long LOL… But everything worked out and it turned out awesome 👍🏻
We do not have to use wood chips on the bottom anymore (of course we do in the nesting area) and the poop will drop through the wire so we can rake it out now. I think eventually we will paint the wood white.
This was super easy and feel free to contact us if you have questions or want more detail. We don’t have the heat lamps on the coop now since it so far from the house. However, we are still covering it with a blanket.
Black Sex Links, Black Giants and Ameraucanas – Oh My!
I think we are addicted LOL. Friday we added 2 black sex links, 2 black Giants and 3 Ameraucanas, giving us a total of 17 at the moment.
We now have 5 breeds and a very happy family. However, they weren’t all happy at first. When we first introduced the new chicks, the RI Reds were not being very nice and pecking at them pretty aggressively. Since I knew we were selling 4 of the 6 RI Reds I decided to go ahead and pull 4 out. I kept them separated for a few hours. When I finally put them back in the coop, everyone had blended well and they just joined the group without any issues. The RI Reds are noticeably larger than the golden sex links so it was easy to tell them apart, and most of them have reddish heads.
Teachers Visit
How many teachers do you know that visit their old students over spring break?! Well, Beau’s two most favorite teachers stopped by Monday and got to meet his chicks. Of course Beau couldn’t just show Ms. Dianna and Ms. Joy his chicks…
We are so blessed to have these two wonderful women in our lives. We are really going to miss them next year 😢
Baby it’s Been Cold & We’re 1 Week Old!
The past few nights the temps have dropped into the 40’s and 50’s so I’ve stayed up late to make sure the chicks were warm enough. And I thought sleepless nights were just a part of the past LOL.
Yesterday – Day 2
We got up yesterday morning and decided that we needed another heat lamp and a couple more chicks. So, we went back to Tractor Supply (for the 5th time.) We decided to get 2 Rhode Island Red chicks. Well, the minimum purchase is 6, so 6 it was. And now we have 10 chicks and two heat lamps! Everyone is very happy.
The 6 new Rhode Island Red chicks.
The chicks were not leaving the heat lamp and sleeping a lot. This is how I knew we needed another lamp. Now they are moving around a lot.
We are going to sell 4 of the Rhode Island Red chicks. The RI’s aren’t exactly the type of chickens I would like to raise but they are great egg layers. So, we have 4 chicks for sale if you are in the Sarasota/Tampa Bay Area.
Meme (Beau’s grandmother/ my mom- always think of “Home” when I say this or hear someone else say it LOL, sorry, had to share) got to meet the chicks. I wasn’t sure how this was going to go (you know how mother’s can be.) It went better than I thought. It was pouring rain so she didn’t get to see much and then we moved on.
While the Chicks Were Waiting for Housing
Check out what was happening in the waiting room… Beau and Zoe were very entertained by the chicks.
Welcome to the Farm House Chicks
Beau putting the chicks in the coop. He was insisting on putting them in the nesting area, instead of on the ground.
The chicks went straight to the heat lamp.
Day 1
It was a very busy day for us! We started at the Tractor Supply Store when they opened to purchase the chicken coop. We decided on a Producer’s Pride coop, the Farm House model (see pictures.) then we went to Parrish General Supply to see what chicks they got in, they didn’t have any the other day. Today they had Golden Sex Links and Delawares, we ended up with 4 Goldens (instead of two! Lol.) A lot of stores get “hatchery’s choice” so they never know what they are going to get until they arrive. These chicks came from New Mexico and are a couple of days old. A few other things we had to get: medium food and water bowls ($13), premium pine shavings (they are smaller $8), heat lamp ($9, already had the casing) and organic grower crumbles ($13.)
We finally got home and put the coop together. It was very easy and didn’t take long. We set it up next to the shed in the yard; however, we had to move it closer to the house since the chicks were not warm enough (and we live in Florida.) So, for the next couple of weeks the coop will be on the back patio with the heat lamp (see pictures.)
The completed “Farm House” chicken coop…
After we relocated the coop next to the house…
BeauCoop • Florida 