Sunday, March 27, 2011

The Cottage Hens



 ( Lacy Lou and Hazel )

It's time to check in on the Cottage Hens! The girls have been waiting patiently for their annual spring cleaning and even though it wasn't the warmest day (28 ) the sun was out so I bundled up and made it happen... I even gussied up the inside of the Hen House but you'll have read to the end to see it!

Lets see if I can make a post about cleaning the Poulet' Chalet'  informative, inspiring and beautiful!


I thought we'd take a look around the Hen House ( cobwebs and all ) so those of you who are thinking about a small flock of your own can see how ours looks and functions. I've mentioned in a previous post that our Hen House is built from salvaged materials including the large window on the front. It's not operable but it allows a steady dose of sun to stream in during the long winter months keeping them nice and snug inside.




Picture Lady Banks yellow roses growing on a trellis here.





My other half built the nesting boxes on the back for easy access to collecting eggs




 and food storage which is separated from the nesting area by a small dividing wall.


 The access door to the run and the door to the coop is just beyond the nesting boxes.


The door is also a " foundling" that my hubby revived with a lot of  sanding and some new wire for the openings between the framed areas.

( before cleaning )

The door to the coop is on the inside of the run. This makes it easy to feed, clean and visit with the girls because they are safe inside. Oh, I would love to let them roam free we but we have too many loose dogs and wild turkeys in the neighborhood that could be a danger. I didn't take a photo of the floor of the coop after I cleaned it out, but it has sheet of linoleum stapled to it. This has worked well both for just a quick sweep out or a hose down which I do once a year usually during summer when I can leave the door open all day and into the early evening to dry out. 






We placed vents on either side of the top and back of the coop. The decorative  iron door strap is from Antique Restoration Hardware. The paint is Behr Barn Red opaque stain. Our coop is just right for 8-10 birds ( we currently have 3 ) with the attached run measuring out at 10 x 15 feet. We've got our spring chicks on order... With ten new babies coming soon we are planning an extension for the run and possibly a smaller " cottage " near by. 



I love the smell of fresh shavings! To me it's sort of the same kind of wonderful as fresh cut grass or a horse barn. I sweep the old shavings into the run and rake them over the damp ground so they can compost for a while.  I'll go back in later in the season to shovel off the top layer of the run adding it to my garden for a boost! 



While I cleaned the girls told me they wanted to do a little decorating too! They thought it would be nice to hang a family photo or two and some pictures of the garden. I went rummaging in my stash to see what I could come up with...



Low and behold, I had saved an old calendar just for a day like this! I tore out the pages the girls liked and tacked them up on the inside with upholstery tacks. We were having so much fun that I decided to use up some wall paper samples for back grounds behind some other favored pictures too.



Family Portraits


Garden Photos 


Outside looking in


Chestnut says she likes it! 
What ever you're spring cleaning I hope you're inspired to add your special touches along the way! 

You'll just feel better, I promise! 



Cluck... Cluck.. Cluck...
I'm sharing this post with Our Little Coop's~ Coop Hop
and the Chicken Chick's Clever Chic Hop! 





41 comments:

Bonnie K said...

Oh my gosh! You almost make me want to have some chickens. I love the coop. Great floorplan. I love the big front window. Does it get cold in there? How many hens? Wonderful photos. Hope the girls enjoy the freshened up digs. Thanks for the story.

Brenda said...

We lost enough snow last week that I was able to clean out the hen house also. It preceded to snow the next day. If you would like to visit my hen house and the feather ladies you can go to this post. http://brtowsleyblogs.blogspot.com/2011/03/cindy-bee-where-is-spring.html

I posted a lot of pictures of the outside of the hen house after hubs designed and built it but I expect I should give it a show again this spring when the weather clears and I can do a little decorating again. Thanks for the look see, love visiting other chicken keepers hen houses.

ann said...

You really know what you are doing. We have a dozen little chicks here in the house growing. The older ones at 3 weeks are getting their feathers. They are so cute. I love you hen house; you must have happy hens.

Tilly's Nest said...

Beautiful post and beautiful coop!! Thanks for sharing :)

Boho Farm and Home said...

Oh my goodness Deb! To cute...I also love the easy accessible eggs. Lots of great ideas!!
xo
Caroline

Zuzana said...

Oh, you have hens, how lovely.;) Getting fresh eggs on regular bases must be heavenly.;) I love your hen house and it looks so clean to me on the before picture that I see no reason for any cleaning.;))
Love all the images, particularly the last collage.;)
Such a cute and pleasant post indeed, made my morning.;)
xoxo

marcia said...

I have always loved your coop. The pictures inside are great.

It would be too small for us but this is the year I am taking things into my own hands and *tweaking* our large coop..and that includes finishing the siding...finally!

happy day!

Pamela said...

I am waiting for the snow to melt to clean my ladies hen house out. I also would like to white wash the inside with the lime mix, to make it lighter. I do love your chicken house. The Lady Banks rose will be stunning, you can also add some morning glories to take over when she is done blooming. I have a pink climber (Cecile Brunner) planted next to mine. It will dress it up for sure.

Unknown said...

Thanks for showing pictures of your coop. My husband and I have been trying to figure out if we can handle getting some chickens and the coop is our biggest hang up right now. Yours looks totally do-able!

Unknown said...

What a lovely post about such a delightful coop! I love your calendar idea too. We're in chicken excitement mode here as we prepare to build our own coop and welcome our first peeps this spring. : )

I found you through Amy @ Homestead Revival and the Barn Hop!

Be well ~Andrea~

Unknown said...

So fun to be creative with things that are supposed to be 'just' functional! I think this is key to artistic, beautiful living; make the plain, functional artistic too! Thanks again for the inspiration! Just loving it!

Unknown said...

Darling!! Wonderful use of reclaimed materials - the window is awesome!! And you know I love your red :-)
Thanks for linking up to the Barn Hop!

Sharon Lovejoy said...

I love, love, love everything you two did for your girls. They'll repay you many times over!

Boz is like Jeff in the way he seems to acomplish so much so effortlessly.

Your children amaze me

Sharon Lovejoy said...

What happened Deb? I was in the middle of writing to you about your children and the phone rang...off I went and when I returned I just posted the message without finishing.

Love to hear Nicolette's newest work. Fabulous. Love all the news about you and your busy flock (all the flock).

Sending love across the warming miles,

Sharon Lovejoy Writes from Sunflower House and a Little Green Island

happy momma said...

Lovely, the calendar photos are really cute. I wouldn't mind having some of those framed in my kitchen. God Bless

Lori Skoog said...

What a set up! Your chickens are living at the Ritz! Excellent photographs!

Lynn said...

Hello! Stopping by from Verde Farm! The girls are so pretty and your coop is cute! Lovin' that great window-enjoy:@)

Country Gal said...

I found your blog when I was reading Verde Farm.
I had a good read and love your blog, I am following for sure. Have a great day!

Unknown said...

I just found your blog from Verde Farm. I love your coop and hens. I too have chickens and right now have new chicks in the house that I ordered to add to my flock. They are great to have around. It's like watching an aquarium. Very relaxing. The eggs are a bonus, too. I have quite a few people who want eggs, so thats the reason I ordered more chicks. I am waiting for 2 more chicks to come in. They are more of the ornimental type.
I am now a follower and love your blog. 8>)

John'aLee said...

Oh I am SOOO in love with your coop! What an amazing and imaginative job you did on it. Makes me long to have chickens again and to get out to the country!

thecrazysheeplady said...

Best chicken coop ever!

4kids, 2 guinea pigs, 1 happy family said...

Your chickens are looking very pretty. I love chickens we have nine at the moment.
Our chicken coop was also made from salvaged materials, but doesn't look as pretty as yours. But you have given me loads of inspiration and ideas.
Thank you

Sharon Creech said...

Love these photos and the information! Thank you.

Gayle said...

Your coop is great. My husband built me a large one this past Fall, but it still needs finishing touches this summer. I'd like to decorate as well. Mine is a 20 foot connex with a furnace as it can get down to -40* here in the winter with about a 20X30'run (maybe more). I currently have 24 chickens and plan on ordering a few more bantams to take to the fair. Chickens really are relaxing to watch, aren't they?

Old Time Cindy said...

Really adorable! And thank goodness Chestnut approves. :)

Cindy

Teresa said...

What a wonderfully decorated chicken coop! Very fancy.

Verde Farm said...

Oh my gosh--I am so excited now to do mine. I love your coop. That big window is so amazing. I bet they just love their coop and all the sunshine they get. What a great idea to use the wallpaper samples and calendar--I may have to borrow that idea for the Heartbeak Hotel!! :)

Sandy said...

What an awesome coop. I love the giant 'recycled' window. I got a couple of these too (so nice when we can find them) but I wish I would have thought to add a feed storage area like you did. P.S. Your chickens are beautiful :)

Fishtail Cottage said...

Fabulous Chicken coop - so inspiring...im in the midst of expanding mine this week & love finding other chicken lovers! xoox, tracie

kate at brighton park said...

What a fabulous coop and I love all the photos with this post. Stopping by from the hop. I love the rustic red color of this coop!

Unknown said...

Oh, wow! LOVE your coop! It's beautiful! I'm gathering ideas for our little coop!

Kathleen at Providence Farms said...

I love your adorable coop! My husband is going to be building a large coop this spring to replace our 3 little ones, and I would LOVE to make it like yours. How many birds can fit in it?

HIBISCUS HOUSE said...

I do love everything about this post! I'll bet you are excited to get your new baby chicks. I love that Lady Banks Rose, is that what it is? Beautiful and your Chicken houses and pens are sooooo cute.
Dolly

Beth in NC said...

Oh how cute! LOL ... I thought I was the only one with a picture in my coop. I ordered an vintage looking "tin" (you will see on the 17th). Love your coop and lovely hens. :o)

Sherry said...

I love your Henhouse............................. :) Thank you for visiting mine :)

Doreen Frost said...

Your Hen house is WONDERFUL!!!! You are an inspiration!

Doreen

A Daughter of the King said...

Lovely coop, chickens and post. Thank you for hosting the Hen House Hop. It is so much fun to share and see what other peeps are up to.

Jamie Lott said...

Your hens are very luck! I would totally live there!!

Jamie Lott said...

P.S. Found you via The Chicken Chick's blog hop!

Designs By Kelin said...

Great post. I'm here from The Chicken Chick's blog hop. I've saved your blog to help me along in my new life on our little farm.

Unknown said...

Thank you and welcome!

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