The day is finally here! The girls’ new home has arrived. To say I was excited is an understatement. Thank goodness they didn’t capture the part of me running down the driveway to welcome the delivery man. He probably doesn’t get too many grown women running to meet him over the excitement of a shed!
The first part of the delivery was easy. I stood there and took pictures and squealed with excitement over my new chicken coop. After it was set and leveled, our work began. But, first, I had to check it all out.
Coop Setup: Where to Start
Food and Water:
The first thing we did was set up the waterer and feed system. We opted for the nipple watering system, which is budget-friendly and keeps the water fresh and clean.
Here’s how we did it:
We drilled holes into the bottom of a 5-gallon bucket.
Then, we screwed in poultry nipples, which we picked up from our local farm supply store.
We hung the waterer about 6-8 inches off the ground to keep it clean from dirt and pine shavings. Chickens are messy, and this setup prevents them from kicking debris into their water!
We used a similar approach for the feeder, hanging it just a couple of inches off the ground. As your chickens grow, you can adjust the height of both the waterer and feeder for easy access.
Electrical Setup:
Our goal is to eventually have our coop wired for electricity, but for now we attached an electrical cord to the wall and out of the chickens way (safety first!). We used this for our timed lighting, possibly needing a heat source and also for a water heater that would prevent the water from freezing up in the winter. Our winters get brutal here, so we needed to prepared on all fronts!
Roosting Poles and Bedding:
Our daughter drilled our roosting poles into the wall and the girls loved them! We also decided to use the deep litter method for our bedding. We lined our pine shavings about an 1-2 inches deep throughout the coop and sprinkled on Coop Recuperate by Strong Animals Chicken Essentials.
Heat Source for Winter
I mentioned needing a possible heat source. For the most part, chickens do better in the cooler temps. However, our winters can easily see 30 degrees below zero, so we knew that going from a heated shed to a cold coop wasn’t going to be easy for the girls. We set up a heat lamp and monitored it very closely. Heat lamps are not my favorite thing, but if kept clean and well maintained will definitely do the trick in keeping your flocks a bit warmer.
Introducing the Flock to Their New Home
It was so fun to introduce all the girls to their new home, but I brought Happy in first. Happy is the reason I love my chickens so much. She would always be the first to welcome me when I’d get out to their brooder. She’d jump up on the ledge and get as close to me as she could and want me to hold her. We then brought all the girls in and they were so excited about all of their new space.
Final Thoughts on Setting Up the Coop
Setting up your chicken coop is such an exciting time! I know I’ll be spending countless hours out here with the flock. As for the coop delivery guy? He’ll probably never forget the day the crazy Wing Lady ran down the driveway to meet him!
Until next time,
-The Wing Lady
Coop Recuperate - Freshen Up Your Chicken Coop
Coop Recuperate is a safe and natural way to care for your coop. This coop refresher contains organic eucalyptus and lemongrass essential oil, along with diatomaceous earth to reduce odor and moisture and help improve the quality of your compost.