Raising Happy Hens.

The first egg you get will be your most expensive egg but it will be worth every cent.

Many think chickens are only good for eggs. THEY ARE WRONG. The eggs are a huge benefit when raising chicks but the rest of it is so much more. It was so much fun to pick out the breeds, raise them myself and build them a loving home to thrive in.

Ever since we bought our home, I have talked about starting a backyard flock. Matthew never really agreed to it as we had so many other projects ahead of us, we didn’t need to add another. However, that didn’t stop me from taunting the idea in front of Matthew ALL the time. The more I mentioned it, the arguing and eye rolls started to diminish. I think he was finally getting the point that we were going to get chickens. I have always had a fascination with owning farm animals. When I was young, we use to live with my Pop, who owned cattle, and ever since I’ve had this dream to one day own my own. My dream is to have a big house with LOTS of land, many animals and a beautiful front porch overlooking it all but for now… we start with chickens! They are the easiest kept backyard farm animal for our 1.5-acre yard!

After a while of playing with the idea of getting chickens, I decided to go on a whim and just do it! I ordered a small mix of chicks to be delivered at the end of April of 2021. The 8 chicks I ordered included 1 speckled sussex, 2 red stars, 2 easter eggers, 1 white leghorn and 2 rhode island reds. The rhode island reds will be raised with mine and then re-homed to my mom and stepdad! I didn’t tell Matthew about my purchase until the order processed.

I WAS SO EXCITED! but not prepared… at all.

Boy did I have my work cut out for me! I mapped out the yard where I wanted to put a chicken coop, even though I didn’t have one yet. After a lot of consideration, I decided to BUILD my coop FROM SCRATCH. I wanted a larger coop with potential to get more than the 6 hens I was starting with. I especially needed them to be safe from fox and coyotes in the area. I looked up many plans / designs of coops and decided on one that would have a storage area in the front for feed and any other necessities for the girls. The coop plan I went with was from Twelve On Main and cost me about $30. This plan gave me everything I needed with a step-by-step guide to follow for the build. I highly recommend it if you are looking to build you own, check this one out. Luckily, for me, my dad is a contractor and was able to help me order the materials and give tips while building the coop.

While waiting for the coop materials I got prepared for the chicks. I built a 4ft x 4ft brooder box and got all the chick supplies I needed. Mini feeder, waterer, heat lamps, shavings, chick feed/grit.

The warmer weather was approaching, and the girls were set to be delivered to my local post office at the end of April. This gave me only a few weeks to get everything together. I regraded and leveled the spot in the yard where I wanted the coop. Once the materials were delivered the project began!

I SET A GOAL. I wanted to have the entire coop and run completely done by the time the babies needed to be out of the brooder box at ~8 weeks old.

April 27th snuck up on me faster than I could blink before I received the call. THE GIRLS WERE AT THE POST OFFICE! Unfortunately, I was at work at the time the post office called me, but THANKFULLY my sister-in-law came to the rescue! She was able to round up her kiddos, pick up my new additions and get them safely home and settled into their brooder box. I was disappointed I didn’t get the experience of picking them up myself but will forever be grateful that she was able to have done that for me! They would have never made it without her! Luckily, she has chickens herself and has been through this before and knew exactly what to do for them!

This was the beginning of a new adventure for all of us.

It took some time to come up with names, but I decided on an herb theme for my girls. Their names would be Chive, Cicely, Fennel, Nutmeg, Saffron, and Myrtle. The 2 hens going to my parents, got orphan names, Tessie and Duffy, from the movie Annie.

THOSE BABIES GREW FAST. Each day was a milestone. Every day they changed! Over the next few weeks, the chicks thrived. Once they got big enough, I put them outside in the yard within a puppy play pen with a mesh top to keep them from flying out. While the girls were out learning what grass and bugs were, we were busy building their forever home.

By the middle of June, we had the coop part completely built and ready for the girls. On June 19th the girls spent their first night out in their new home! THEY DID FANSTSTIC, as I knew they would. To move the project along faster we had some family/friends come to help. By the 27th the entire run was completed, roofed and painted. I WAS IN LOVE. Not only with my new girls but with my beautiful new coop!

The girls were loving every part of it! I have never felt more accomplished. Some minor cosmetic details still needed to be worked out, like staining, but the coop and run were 100% operational and the girls were safe. Those smaller things can be done while the girls adjust to their new living space.

During the process of starting our own flock, my sister-in-law was trying to downsize hers. With that I decided to “adopt” 4 girls from her. I took home 3 older, already laying hens (barnyard mixes) and one pullet (buff orpington). These 4 also got herb names to keep with my theme. Their names are Ginger, Parsley, Sage and Basil. The 3 older girls gave me eggs right away and eventually they will teach my babies what they needed to do and where to lay their eggs when the time comes. All of the girls adjusted to each other and settled into their new home together.

Tessie and Duffy went on to live with their new flock at my parents’ house and are continuing to thrive under their care. I always like to check up on them every time I visit of course!

After a few months of learning the ways of chicken ownership, I GOT PAID. On August 29th 2021 I got my first egg from one of the babies! I couldn’t have been prouder! That moment made all of that hard work worth it. From then on each of the babies followed. By the end of September each of the girls were laying! My favorite part is that each of the girls I chose, lay a different color egg. I have a range from white to brown and blue and green! It’s so much fun to go out and know exactly who gave you an egg each day!

Raising the chicks and watching them grow has been so much fun and I got to learn how to build a functional building in the process. I am amazed at all of it. The hens have been such a pleasure to have and easy to keep. Every morning I look forward to going out to check on them and give them treats! This flock is the first of many to come and the start to owning farm animals.

Matthew is really in for it the day we get enough land… I’m thinking goats… cows… horses? Who knows what the future will bring!

FUN FACT: 2021 was the year of the 17-year cicadas. The noise was fierce as we worked outside almost all summer to build the coop. The chickens were thrilled about them, and it became their favorite snack! We would sit out in the yard and feed them the bugs and watch them run for them in the grass!

THE COOP PLAN: This is the plan I followed for the most part. I found it while browsing on Pinterest for ideas! I tweaked some of the things to better fit my style or because I was making it work with what I had. Twelve on Main has some other great blogs you can follow as well.

Thanks again for reading another one of my blogs! Be sure to follow me for more exciting life events! Coming soon is how I built the coop! You can sign up now for post notifications vis email below!

If you are interested in learning more about homesteading and gardening. Go follow my sister-in-law with The Shoemaker Homestead on Instagram and Facebook!