Coop Moving Day

Today we are moving the coop along with a couple good friends. If only it would be as easy as it sounds.

Here’s the thing you see. We built this coop to be, well, massive. I wanted to be able to walk into it for cleaning purposes and that has been great… while the coop is in one location. However, now that it is time to move it to another house there are a few logistical issues and kinks to work out. Fortunately they shouldn’t be too much, but still, they are kinks nonetheless.

So our plan is to screw onto the four outside corners of the coop lifting bars so we can (in theory) easily lift the coop into and out of the trailer we’re renting from U-Haul. I’m going to be doing this, along with shoveling out around the outside and inside of the coop to ensure a smooth transition, as well as scuttling the chickens into Lucy’s old dog kennel from when she was a puppy and trying to remember to bring their food, a hose and their feeder and waterer. To top it all off we’ll be doing this with the boys, so perhaps I’ll have them help me with some of the tasks.

However, before I can even go over to the old house to get the coop ready for moving, I have to prepare the are the coop is going to go. This wouldn’t be such an issue if my husband and I could agree on a location. While I think it should go in facing West along our side fence, he thinks it should be facing South along the back “fence” area. We don’t really have a fence here, only the remnants of where some metal hog fencing used to be. My main concern is that our backyard gets full sun all day, something I can’t wait to test on vegetables that desperately need to be planted, but not so great for chickens. We’ll see. More than likely it’ll end up facing South not because I’ll give in but because he’ll probably be right about the aesthetics.

Honestly I can’t wait to have the girls here as I’m tired of worrying about them, not that I really have much to worry about as all of our old neighbors love the chickens. The new ones behind where we used to live have kids who chicken watch throughout the day, prompting them to decide to get chickens of their own soon. I’m pretty sure they’re just going to convert the old shed into a henhouse and attach a run to it since it is practically ready for it as the previous tenants cut a small hole in the side for their guard Chihuahuas. I wish I was joking about this.

So wish us luck! Hopefully by the end of the day the girls will be safely in their new home surrounded by yet another threat to their existence… coyotes. I wonder if throwing some of Lucy’s poop around the fence line will stop any of them from encroaching too close to the coop? I suppose time will only tell. And a little internet research.