In the midst of spring, with 8 new chicks to raise, and a broody hen re-introduced to the flock, I decided I needed more space to house my chickens. I wanted to build them a summer home, so the chickens could spend more time in the fresh air and sunshine, and I wouldn't have to supply a heat source when the weather is warm enough for my hens to live comfortably. More space also gives time for my chicks to grow up separate from my adult hens, and I can slowly introduce them to each other.
I had a make shift wood shed in the corner of my chicken yard, and decided it would be a good place to start. It had a roof that seemed to keep the area somewhat dry and the fence supplied me with two already built walls to work with. So I took to task building them a big feeder, laying boxes, and roosts for sleeping. I used common wood and some burlap to construct some superior laying boxes, made some roosts from alder limbs, and made a giant feeder that only requires filling about once a month. This summer coop is also tall enough for a person to walk in there and tend to watering, feeding and egg gathering.
I went to my local fish & tackle shop here and found some black nylon netting you could buy in bulk. Its used to replace the netting on large crab pots and comes in 20 foot widths and is cut to size. I purchased a 25ft x 20ft section of the stuff for about $50 and its really great to work with. You could save some money and get a hold of used seine nets from a local fisherman as well. It will keep out flying predators like ravens and eagles, but will not do much for anything else. This netting may detour a dog a little bit, but if the dog wants in, it can probably chew threw this stuff. I just needed a barrier to keep wild birds away from the feeder, as well as something to separate the chickens from each other. During the winter months the summer home will be abandoned and the surviving laying hens will move into the original coop, as it has the regulated heat source. So far the hens seem to like it, and I like having more chicken space.
I created a chicken cone out of a gallon milk jug, by cutting out the entire bottom and making a larger opening on the top, and hung it upside down from my wood shed. Chicken cones are used so that a chicken itself doesn't damage it's meat during slaughter. Everything else was pretty simple, a garbage can, a bucket, a sharp knife, a rag and I hung some string over the garbage can so I could hang the carcass for skinning and gutting. There are plenty of instructional videos and web sites online that take you through what it takes to slaughter a chicken as you see fit. There is no one way to do it, there are great tricks to make your slaughter go smoothly and humanely. Just do some research and see if you are up to the task, and pick a method that works for you.
After performing the slaughter, I decided I wanted to skin my chickens, as I really don't want to go through the hassles of plucking the bird. Pinky was roasted in the oven with lemon pepper and garlic salt. The meat was very tasty, but was a bit tough, but it did not stop us from eating our young bird. At eight weeks old, it was more like an appetizer, but it made for a great late night BBQ sandwich. I think our next meat bird will go into the crock pot for a slower cooking time. This should make the meat more tender. I will be sure to post something about it as soon as the rooster crows. Until next time.
