You remember I was supposed to get baby chicks this month right? Well….. that didn’t happen.
The chicks were due to arrive on April 4th. But they were shipped to Michigan.
Which would have been great! If I was in Michigan.
But I’m in Virginia.
So….. needless to say, I didn’t get those chicks. And it is a VERY long story, but after many hours on the phone I was promised chicks on April 11.
Only I got an email on April 10 telling me that 4 of the 5 breeds I had selected weren’t available. And the story is even longer, but suffice it to say, I’m not getting chicks.
I’m getting my money back.
And I learned a very important lesson.
DON’T DEAL WITH THE MIDDLE MAN.
Deal with the hatchery.
They may not get it right the first time, but I would have stood a better chance of them getting it right the second time.
Lesson learned.
Anywho…… since we had the new coop addition and there weren’t any baby chicks to raise in it before integration, we went ahead and rearranged the coop to make more room for the chickens, and to make it easier on me for collecting eggs and cleaning.
Before I continue and post pictures, I want to apologize for the crazy big white blobs in some of them. I was having problems with big black blobs showing up in pictures with my camera, so I got a new one. But…… I wanted to stick my camera in my back pocket so I would remember to get pictures today, and I decided to use that old one so I didn’t mess up the new one. And NOW the old camera not only has big black blobs in some pictures, it now has big white blobs in some pictures.
Sigh.
It really is time to retire that camera.
So…… this is how the coop looked before we added on and rearranged it:
See the nest boxes on the left? Right. Now notice the long roost above and right in front of them.
Do I need to tell you what a pain it was to check eggs in those nest boxes? There was ALWAYS a fresh layer of poop in front of the nest boxes. And, even though that roost has been there for a few years, I bonked my head on that thing at least three times a week while checking eggs.
Before I show you how we rearranged things, let me show you this.
That little thing is Bernie’s idea. We bought it for just over a dollar at Lowe’s. In fact, we bought eight of them.
And when we hung the roosts we just slid the 2 X 4′s right into those little things.
We didn’t nail the roosts into them, we just slid them right in. They won’t move. AND when it’s time for me to clean that part of the coop, I can just lift the roosts out and then shovel out the litter.
Isn’t that great? I’m tickled pink.
Oh, and just a quick note, we sanded the 2 X 4s – if you’ve ever dealt with bumblefoot, you will understand. If you haven’t dealt with bumblefoot, please sand your chickens’ roosts.
So now, the original 8 X 8 coop that had the roosts and nest boxes just has roosts.
And the new 8 X 8 addition just has nest boxes.
We raised the big nest box thingy five inches. So now the brooder box doors are up off the ground – and above the litter line – which makes my life a whole lot easier when I’m using the brooder boxes.
Oh, and did you notice the girls got new curtains? They did – and they really seem to like them. I pleated them and everything.
Nothing is too good for my girls 
So, there you have it. We don’t have new chicks (yet) but the chickens have officially moved into the new addition of their coop.
They seem to like it.
I know I do!
Oh, and if you don’t have chickens and are thinking of getting some, do yourself a BIG favor. Build your coop at least twice as big as you think you need.
Because you’re gonna need that space.
Seriously.
You are.
Trust me.
Chickens are a little addicting.
Or maybe even a lot addicting.
Don’t say I didn’t warn ya
