You’ve made it your New Year’s resolution to finally get chickens. Good for you. Chickens are low-maintenance pets that give so much in return. On top of the amazing compost, free entertainment, and fresh eggs right from your backyard, you’ll also gain the skills and confidence to tackle more projects down the line.
Here are 10 steps to help you stay focused so that your chicken keeping resolution becomes chicken keeping reality: (more…)
Here’s a quick video tour of a special Garden Coop that will be featured in Austin’s upcoming Funky Chicken Coop Tour, April 7, 2012.
This extra-spacious chicken coop was built by a volunteer from the Becker school community using plans from TheGardenCoop.com and materials purchased with a grant. He modified the design to about double the size, allowing plenty of room for the school’s current flock of thirteen.
According to Cheris, a Becker parent (and chicken keeper herself), the chickens have enhanced just about every part of the curriculum. “We also work in conjunction with The Green Classroom across the street,” Cheris says, “so the kids go to the garden, pick weeds, and bring them over here to feed the chickens. It has been a great experience.”
Kudos to everyone who got this project up and has kept it running. What do you think of the idea of raising chickens and vegetables at school? Share your thoughts with a comment below.
Dan in Austin produced this beautiful video of his backyard coop, built using The Garden Coop chicken coop plans. His coop is one of several to be featured in Austin’s upcoming Funky Chicken Coop Tour (April 7, 2012).
So check out the video, then read Dan’s review of our plans below. And if you’re in Austin in early April, stop by and see his coop on the tour!
Sometimes you just want the basics, some notes that can help you get from dreaming to doing. I put together this one-page handout for a chicken keeping presentation I gave last year, and I wanted to share it here as well.
It covers many of the most common questions about chickens and coop design like:
But mainly it gives you a bunch of little tips and reminders to help you get started with backyard chickens and with designing and building your own chicken coop. It’s perfect as a checklist to make sure you’re not forgetting anything important.
So if you’re keeping chickens for the first time, getting ready to build your own chicken coop, giving a presentation on chickens, hosting a coop tour, or trying to educate your neighbors about chickens — download our free sheet of chicken tips (8.5 x 11″, PDF), print it out, refer to it, and share it with others!
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You’ve read the books. You’ve chosen your breeds. You’ve even cleared a spot in the yard for the chicken coop. And yet, something’s still missing.
Something feathery.
It’s okay. Look, you’ve already made it from the idea stage to the planning stage, and that’s quite a big leap. Now you just have to get from planning to doing.
Here are some tips for actually making it happen: (more…)
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