Day two and chicken coop is structurally sound. Now it’s time to put the artisan filigree and final touches, and boom baby!
It feels so good to set goals with deadlines and then crush those deadlines! Check back soon for the finished product.
Welcome to The Artful Homemaker’s first big project of 2022!
If you read the first post on the site then you know we recently got some baby chicks. Four lovely ladies found their way into our house and our hearts, and we are just so clucking excited (pun 100% intended, please expect more chicken humor down the road). While these babies grow their feathers, the mister has been gracious enough to let them live inside the house. However, this can only go on so long, so between his patience wearing thin and the chicks outgrowing their current accommodations, that gives me about 6 weeks to secure them a more permanent residence.
My bio covers the fact that I’m a complete newbie to this way of life. I was raised in the city, in Vegas, where most people have rock lawns and palm trees and no chickens. I’d never been around much livestock, outside the Blue Diamond petting zoo. So Google has been my ever faithful mentor in times of questioning, of which there have been many.
Question #1 to myself:
“How big of a coop do I need for four betties, and where can I put it?”
Question #2 to myself:
“Where will I put it on my meager parcel of land?”
I went straight to the internet and immediately figured out how much square footage they will need easy enough, but where to put it wasn’t something Google couldn’t answer for me. I went to my next most reliable source in this matter, the man of the house, my hubby. And I tell you, his first answer was THEE answer! He secured his place as my number two most reliable source for questions regarding artfully making my home. Here’s how the convo went…
Me: “So, I’m thinking of getting this chicken coop and putting it maybe on the north side of the yard. What do you think?“
Him: “Why don’t you just build a coop under the deck?”
Me: “You’re a genius!”
It was perfect! I realize this doesn’t quite illustrate for you what a genius idea this was, but I have pictures that will do that for you below. Just understand that the benefits of this are two fold. Not only would it provide a fantastic place for the girls to stay safe and happy, it would also force me to clean out all the crap that had been just sitting and rotting under the raised deck for the last seven years! So yesterday, My buddy and I got to work.
8 hours of planning, clearing and building later, and we are just about finished! More pictures to come when we are totally done, but I am just so thrilled to be this far into finishing the coop in week one of a six week deadline! It feels amazing, and God is so good. Huge shout out to my good friend Matt for helping me make this happen so quickly, you are much appreciated 🙂
See you all again for the next update on The Artful Homemaker. Goodnight friends!
Welcome to my small plot of digital space on the internet! In this small space I choose to share with you my journey of growing and sculpting my very own urban homestead. I have a grandiose vision and no specific plans, just ideas and goals. One project at a time, I hope to carve out a little slice of Heaven where I can commune with the Lord and grow a healthy, happy family. The main goal is to be as self sufficient as possible, while living in a downtown community, using an area of about 3350 sqft.
All of this is an exercise in creative engineering, coupled with pioneer skills & methods, meets a bit of personal flair. My hope is to build a supply of abundant, high quality resources starting with a food forest. In a food forest, fruit bearing plants regrow themselves year after year with minimal intervention, and also help to improve the quality and output of the annual crops, as well. Permaculture!
My fragrant rose bushes, cherry tree, and yucca plants are solid starters in the food forest, and there’s also an abundance of wild mint, dandelions and edible wild flowers all over. We’ve also just added four baby chicks to the mix for fresh eggs. They are about four days old and living indoors for now, but soon will be inside the their new chicken coop under the deck. Details on that will be in the next post. Other existing elements we have to work with are a small compost pile, loads of ever bearing strawberries that winter over well, and sugar pie pumpkins that regrow each year.
I love caring for things and harvesting the fruits of that TLC. It’s also rewarding to watch my kids learn new skills and discover the world of bugs and worms and get their hands in the dirt. To me, it’s very healing and reaffirming that we can truly rely on the gifts of God. We can regain and continue the connectedness to the creations God gave us for nourishment and refreshment, and find his perfect touch in all of it.
I hope you’ll join me for some more homestead chatter as I try my skills at being The Artful Homemaker.
Artful Homemaker