House of Chicken

As promised, here a look at our new and improved chicken area.

The netting came from the Fisherman's Terminal in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle. Friends of our recommended going there to find it. To our plesant suprise it didn't cost us anything but time and the gas we used to drive there. It is used netting, so it had a bit of an odor - sort of a light fishy, salty, mildew kind of smell. Considering it is being used outside, the smell really hasn't been any issue, it was just a mistake to take our Jeep to pick up the netting rather than the pickup truck.

The hens have been enjoying themselves, flying around in their new area and perching on their coop. It took a day or so for them to adjust, but they seem to be pretty happy.

We ended up using some pvc drain pipe that the husband had left over from an old project to hold up the netting, otherwise I would have to crouch down when retrieving eggs.

I think the way the pipe and fence posts raise the nets gives them a bit of a circus tent appearance. Between the wire and the fence posts, this project cost us about $200...So you can understand why I was happy to get the netting for free.

I was more than just a bit upset at the hawk that killed my hens and forced this little renovation upon us. Though I am relieved that my birds are going to be safer now, I have not worried about them since we moved them. It is also nice to not have to let them out of their tractor in the morning and close them in at night. The new area allows for a more low maintenance flock, this will be nice for us when we travel, our chicken sitter will only really have to collect eggs and monitor food and water levels.