Here's our fisr baby to hatch!

It's a Buff Orpington...

1 down, 8 more to go....it's going to be a looonnng night!

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After a ton of research on coop styles, I decided to go with an A-frame coop. My most patient and wonderful hubby has been kind enough to sit back and let me build it....using his power tools! (And so far, all I've ruined is his skil saw...I kinda cut through the cord... Ooops! )

Now we aren't technically supposed to have chickens here (zoning law that is supposed to be changing) so I decided to build a greenhouse to put the chickens in. Hide them in plain site, and if I end up having to find other homes for them, I can still use the greenhouse.

With that in mind....let the pictures begin!

The first step was to clear the area for the A-frame and the chickens yard...

Next was to start building the basic frame,...

Then the rafters....

My helper...

Done with the rafters...

Then I used the corners we had cut from the 2x4 rafters and made little corner braces...

Next was the "firring strips".....

Then the palruf panels...one side clear...

This will be the chickens view..

The other side white...In this picture you can also see the cap that went over the peak. (Hubby had to help, I was too short to do it by myself!)

Then I loaded all along the base with rocks so sneaky coons/skunks can't get in... (I'm also putting chicken wire over the whole dirt floor to keep critters out)

Next was framing time....

Back wall framed...(Adam's testing it out for me...he had a blast getting filthy!)

Front wall framed...

Next was the plywood...Back, inside view...

Back, outside view...

Front inside view...

Front, outside view....

I still have a big to-do list to finish....

-Staple down the chicken wire over the floor

-I already framed out the pop door, but I need to cut it out and figure out how I want it to close/lock.

-Build a door and hang it.

-Build nest boxes

-Put up roosts (I have a maple we cut down while clearing the chickens yard and I'm hoping to use that.)

-Trim work

-Painting

-Build and fence in the chickens yard.

And I'm sure there's more I'm not thinking of right now!

Sorry..just had to add these...

Little man trying to be a duck...

And my supervisors!

I'll try to add more pictures as it all comes together!

PS

We've chosen to buy an incubator and have eggs cookin' in it right now! The are due around Oct. 31. We'll be adding some more at the end of this week and are setting up a second incubator to be used as a "hatcher". This has been an incredible lesson in "school" for us. Very educational...more on that later!

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That is the question! So in true home-schooling style, we decided to cancel our order of baby chicks and try to hatch them ourselves. (Talk about an educational opportunity!) Now, the question arises...do we build one or buy one? For the sake of homeschooling, I'd love to build one with our children....but I'm also a bit afraid to have a homemade electrical appliance running 24/7 for 3 weeks! Also, I have to admit that I'm being lured in by the self-turning options out there....

Any suggestions or feedback would be greatly appreciated!

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We have been given the final approval for our mortgage and will be closing on our new house on Thursday the 28th!! Hallelujah, Praise the Lord!!!!

This is the first time in my entire life that I will have my own home. All growing up, we lived in rental apartments or houses. I can't describe how incredibly thrilled I am...what a magnificent answer to prayer!

Once we are settled into our new home, I'll be able to spend more time on my blog. I have so many topics I'd like to cover and many more "how-to's" to write. I'm really looking foward to it!

Blessings to all!

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