Grandma's Chicken Coop Build

     My Grandma has always been someone that I greatly admire and cherish. I grew up spending my summers on her's and my Paw-paw's farm and helping them with every aspect of it that I was allowed to. I loved to go feed cows, pick the garden and mostly help my Grandma pick up eggs and feed the chickens scraps. Admittedly though, I was terrified of chickens as a child! Ha! Despite being afraid of the birds, I grew to love the evenings that my Mom would pick me up late (after all the other kids that she baby sat had gone home) because I got to go out to help Grandma in the chicken house. As an adult, I know without a doubt where I got my love and passion for chickens from...my Grandma!
     As many of you know my Grandma has had chickens for the large majority of her life. Even now, her chickens are something that she takes great pleasure in. I feel honored to have been able to aid her in improving her ability to keep chickens.
    One of the coops she was keeping her chickens in, she admitted to me, was brought to Snook from Houston back in the day (around the 50's or 60's). Her present coops were in a dilapidated state and even worse she was having to duck down and walk into the back of one to get eggs everyday. The other coop was newer and still in great condition but on the small side and lacked a run. Within these two coops she kept 9 hens, 4 Production Reds and 5 White Leghorns.

This was her previous set up

     Building her new coop involved converting an old pole barn that used to house a tractor. My husband, Clayton, decided that pre-making panels to place on the barn was the best plan of action and I added a little touch of paint to spruce it up. First, we put down some play sand to keep the ground from getting muddy. Then, we put wire and tin on the panels and in places we deemed necessary and it all came together quite nicely. This part was to make the run part of the set up.

    After getting all the panels and wire put up we attached the newest of her old coops to act as the coop part of the set-up. This part houses the roosting bars and nesting boxes (these could be accessed from the outside of the coop).

     And viola! The chickens were added and the coop was done! We hung some feeders and then set up the waterers and made sure all the final touches had been completed. Now it was time to clean up.....Well anyone who knows my Grandma, knows that she will help whenever and wherever she can. We all look away for 5 seconds and she had managed to get in the back of our truck to sweep out sand!!!

    My final task was to pick up her new rooster that a friend of mine needed to get rid of. Grandma had been saying that she wanted another rooster for her hens and was elated to get him. Her comment was that, "Keeping chickens just isn't the same without a rooster!" and I'd have to say that I agree!

Grandma's new rooster 

The girls checking out their new crib!

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