New Chicken House
Well, the little day-old chicks we got back in May aren’t so little these days. They out-grew their homemade brooder in short order and then out-grew the larger pen I made, still with a light bulb for heat on cool nights. Once they didn’t need the extra heat, I moved them to an 8 ft x 10 ft shed, but only gave them a small portion of the space.
Soon, they out-grew the space I had allotted… and I moved the gate panel. And then I moved it again. And again. And again, until I had to move a gate in order to get inside to feed them.
Dad came home after spending the summer in Kentucky, took one look at the chickens and announced that we had to do something to make them happier.
Well, I could hardly argue with that. It started raining around here early in July and we got so much within such a short time that everything flooded. That’s pretty much normal for SW Florida but then we got that kind of rain every day so that things stayed flooded.
Before the flooding had started, I had made a yard for the chickens so I could turn them out during the day for sunshine, fresh air and grass. Once the rain started, their yard was under 2 or 3 inches of water all the time.
So, yes, we needed to do something to make them happier. Not that they looked particularly unhappy as they splashed around, chasing mosquito larvae. Still, chickens aren’t supposed to swim and mine were trying.
Dad found the canopy on sale at Tractor Supply and figured it would give the birds a bit of shade during the heat of the day. After a bit of discussion, we decided to make a bit of a foundation with concrete blocks so we could fill the area and provide a space that wasn’t under water during the rainy season.
We’ve got the canopy up and the foundation built but we need more dirt. An area that’s 10 ft by 20 ft takes a lot of fill. However, once it’s done, the chickens will have a nice exercise yard, shaded and mostly dry.
Checking out the nests
The plan is to put wire mesh around the canopy sides and end, from the ground all the way up to the top. That way, I can leave the door open and the chickens can come and go as they please without fear of the local Predator Cat making a meal of my birds.
We still have work to do inside, as well, but for now, I think the chickens are a lot happier.