I thought I'd give an update on the growth of my eight little hens they are getting huge...and then I'll show some W.I.P. pictures of their coop that the husband has been so lovingly building for them.
They are eating like crazy and everyday I notice that they get bigger - longer necks, bigger bellies. They are also very, very messy! They get their wood shavings and their food in their water moments after I give them clean water. But, they are cute and I'm definatley looking forward to their fresh eggs. I have heard it takes about 6 months until they begin to lay.
Okay, so here is their coop - courtesy of their loving papa. He has worked hard already on it - there are still a few things left to do, but this is my W.I.P. sneak preview. The metal trays are actually industrial sized cookie sheets - they are about 18''x24'' each, we found them at a restaurant supply store. They will have drawer pulls attached so they can be pulled out from the side of the coop. There will be a floor of small box wire over the trays. The sectioned areas are the nesting boxes. 
The wall behind the nesting boxes is actually two doors that slide open. These doors will allow me to be able to reach in to gather eggs easily.
The front wall still needs to be attached - it will have a chicken entrance in the center. There will be a ramp coming up to the entrance for them to come up to their house from ground level. The ground level will be wired in to make a run which will be under the house as well as out several feet in front of the house. Inside there is going to be a roosting pole - made from a dowl that will go from the back wall to the front wall.
The chickens are funny about being held...they try to use their wings to "get away"...
Okay, so here is their coop - courtesy of their loving papa. He has worked hard already on it - there are still a few things left to do, but this is my W.I.P. sneak preview. The metal trays are actually industrial sized cookie sheets - they are about 18''x24'' each, we found them at a restaurant supply store. They will have drawer pulls attached so they can be pulled out from the side of the coop. There will be a floor of small box wire over the trays. The sectioned areas are the nesting boxes. The wall behind the nesting boxes is actually two doors that slide open. These doors will allow me to be able to reach in to gather eggs easily.The front wall still needs to be attached - it will have a chicken entrance in the center. There will be a ramp coming up to the entrance for them to come up to their house from ground level. The ground level will be wired in to make a run which will be under the house as well as out several feet in front of the house. Inside there is going to be a roosting pole - made from a dowl that will go from the back wall to the front wall.I think it is turning out pretty good. The husband has been able to use mostly remnant materials from some of his finished projects...this is good because it's cut the costs down. There are still a few things that we've had to purchase new, but we'll get a great coop for much less than if we bought it commercially. This also means that we can put some more money towards putting a fence around the vegetable garden - the coop will ultimately end up in there. This will be nice for keeping predators and little pests away from the chicks and the vegetables. The chicks are pretty lucky if you ask me - they are going to have a nice crib...or uh coop!
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