New Chicken House

We have moved the chickens to a new area. My husband has been busy making them a new house, adapting a plan from “The Small-Scale Poultry Flock: An All-Natural Approach to Raising Chickens and Other Fowl for Home and Market Growers“, by Harvey Ussery.

The chickens seem to like it.

New chicken house

 

The roof perches are high but all the chickens are using them (even the older ladies). And all eggs are being laid in the nest boxes provided.

High roof perches

Nest boxes, accessible from back

There is plenty to eat in the new area too. It’s an area we’ve grown our potatoes and onions in for last two years. It had become over run with weeds though so we thought the chickens could do a good clearing job.  Meanwhile, we hope to grow this year’s potatoes in the area where the chicken’s have been for the last two years. There wasn’t much growing so it is easier to dig. We hope to get the potatoes that have been chitting in the ground this week.

Moving the hens from the old area to new one was a little challenging and involved the four of us trying to herd them. It was pretty successful with the exception of one of the black chickens who kept breaking ranks. I eventually caught her and carried her to her new quarters, much to her indignation!