The Chickens Have Landed

In their new coop!

Rod and Kyle put the finishing touches on the beautiful new coop over the weekend.  (I hear even Jim helped with the staining...)  Last night Kyle hooked up the Rino and pulled it out into the back pasture under the big oak tree. 

And this morning I moved the girls out there.

It took about an hour - carried most of them one-by-one since they have gotten too big for their original cardboard box (and have figured out how to punch through the top and fly out...) 

Once they were all out there, I filled their food and water (a job in itself...)  They were already scratching in the grass for bugs and tasties.  Stretching their wings and loving the extra space!

The dogs were endlessly fascinated - now they can finally SEE what is making that noise and interesting smell...  The guys made the coop extra secure, so the dogs and local racoons can look, but not touch. 



Just "look" Bison...



In a week or so, after the tar under the shingles has had a chance to set, we'll get some of that white rubberized roof paint and paint the roof white.  That should help keep some of the heat down.  Although the dark shingles look AWESOME, it gets pretty warm here in the summer. 



The "Assistant Architect" and Head Builder
(Rod did all the actual designing - Kyle did the execution)



It took several weeks from the beginning trip to the neighbor's to check out their coop, Rod's original sketches and then multiple trips to the local home improvement store....  Rod finalized his plans, built the basic frame, and then let Kyle have at it.  They are a GREAT team!  (Coop anyone?)

This morning when the neighbor arrived at his property to feed HIS chickens and horses, I'm pretty sure I saw him steal a few envious glances over the fence at OUR amazing coop!  LOL

I promise, the blog won't be "all chickens, all the time", in fact, here's a quick (terrible) picture of my new shirt I bought to go with the beautiful jacket Mom and Nancy picked out for me (and Rozann gave her nod of approval...)  I've been having a hard time figuring out what to wear with it, and I think this is finally what I was looking for.  I would have preferred something in the orange family - salmon? peach?  But I like this.

One day I'll learn how to take a picture and LOOK UP!
(Not too bad for the dark hallway in my hotel room though...)