The previous owner of our farm left us a nice chicken coop. It consisted of a small night coop, made of concrete blocks, and a run, fenced off with chicken wire on top and along the sides. We were enthusiastic about getting chickens in our backyard, but it was not necessarily high on the list of priorities. Until a super handy family member came to stay with us for a while and offered to refurbish the run for us into a chicken palace. Then it suddenly went very fast!

Renovation

Some adjustments were needed before we were ready for new residents. First of all, you couldn’t stand up straight in the run as it was left for us, so we had to make it higher. We also wanted to give the chickens a little more space, since we certainly don’t have a lack of land. The idea arose to build a high, wooden structure, including a little roof for shelter against rain and sun.

Pressure

While the renovation of the chicken coop was going on, our neighbour told us that the best chickens were for sale at the monthly market. He wanted to buy new ones himself, so he suggested we go to the market together the week before Christmas to help us choose. This suddenly created a bit of time pressure. If we were going to buy chickens that soon, the run had to be finished. Plus we had to have some idea on how to take good care of them.

Choosing chickens

At the market, the choice of poultry was huge, but the neighbour directed us directly to the cages with brown laying hens. They would give us the most eggs. We were not really looking for huge amounts of eggs, but above all nice company, so we asked if we could not choose different breeds. The saleswoman pointed out which ones we could mix, but she couldn’t tell us the names of the different breeds. In the end, we chose seven chickens, three of which were still young chicks, of three different breeds.

Rooster

We also wanted a rooster to accompany the chickens, of which the lady only had one with her. The neighbour was not impressed, because he thought the rooster was much too heavy. But we were very charmed by that huge, gray animal, which was crammed into a cage with many smaller brown chickens. We found him very suitable to protect our girls and it was moved to a new cardboard box, in which we could transport it. And so we went back home with eight new residents!

Foxes and mongooses

The first meeting with the chickens was a lot of fun. They didn’t seem afraid of us at all, but they came to us all curious. They were happy with all the grass that was still growing in the run at that time and were not intimidated by Irma, who barked murderously at them from outside the run. Everything seemed to be going smoothly, until the neighbour came to see how things were going at the end of the afternoon.
“They will be eaten by the fox,” he concluded.
“No, he doesn’t have a chance at all,” we answered, because we had dug in all the chicken wire and then poured cement on it, so digging it out was impossible. Then the neighbour explained that the fox just bites through the wire. And if it wouldn’t be the fox, than it would be the Egyptian mongoose coming in to kill the chickens. The Egyptian what? We had never even heard of that animal.

Door

The neighbour said that the best solution was to put a large dog on a chain next to the chicken coop. Otherwise, our chickens would end up just as dead as the beautiful birds of the previous owner.  We didn’t have to think long about this. No way we were locking up a dog there.  So there was only one option left: make a door for the night coop and open and close the door every day. Fortunately, the chickens survived the first night without a door, but the next day the night coop was immediately converted into a safe, enclosed place. Obstacle one in the chicken saga overcome! Little did we know more difficulties were about to appear…