Giving it a Second Try

We decided to give chickens a second try.  I had really been missing the delicious fresh eggs, but was keeping it to myself.  Jackson was the first to mention that he wanted to try keeping chickens again.  I immediately jumped on board with a few stipulations... 1) We had to build a run big enough that I wouldn't feel bad keeping them inside it ALL THE TIME.  2)  They were never allowed out.  3)  There would be no chicken poop on my back door step that would get tracked into the house.  

We went back and forth on buying a coop vs. making a coop.  I came one click away from buying one before we finally decided to just go for it and build it ourselves.  We had a big pile of wood from a fence we tore down in the back yard, so we started it off with those materials.  We got some old siding from Bubba and some tar paper roofing from Uncle Judd.  The only things we bought were hinges, a piece of plyboard, and chicken wire.  I need to take a finished picture...I am very happy with the way it looks.  I thought I would want to paint it when it was finished, but I am enjoying the rustic, weathered wood look.

We let each child choose their own chicken and Jackson and I chose one together, so in all we have 6.  Thomas chose a Leghorn and named her Alexandria.  Nicholas chose a Black Sex-Link with a little white spot on her head and named her Pebbles.  Estella chose an Americana and named her Sparrow.  Alexander chose a Yellow Sex-Link and named her Spin-Maria.  Eleanor also got an Americana and we all helped name her ruffles.  Jackson and I got a Rhode Island Red and named her Toff.