Yep, in Aussieland we call them chooks. We've re-designed, re-built, and re-cycled our chooks - but we're having an awful time FINDING chickens, so if you have any leads, please give us a squawk! We're pretty happy with the end result, which is far better than the sorry affair we had for our last coop.

The old coop was an A-Frame affair made out of scrap wood, but it was totally imperfect. There was no floor to speak of - just bare dirt, and the nesting boxes were plastic tubs that the chooks never seemed to really love. Even where we had the chook house was a nightmare - you never want to walk through long wet grass on winter mornings, I tell you.

We wanted something fox proof during the day when we were at work but that still gave them room to roam, and cosy for them at night - basic chicken house building 101 methinks.

First step was to make the boxes with old sheets of ply. We were recycling screws from old projects and contemplating just how many screws we have used in our DIY life together! Each box was 12" x 12" x 12", leaving room at the end which is storage for treats, worming and flea stuff, and other things we might need for chickens - saves going to the shed!

We then lined the base of the coop with lino - we had bought a discount roll some time ago to put on the floor of our van and keep finding great uses for it. We overlapped it over the edges and put a door on the other side of the coop, so when it comes to cleaning it, all I have to do is sweep it out and maybe disinfect it once in a while with tea tree oil. As you can see the sides are built of scrap - corrugated iron, old ply and some old shiplap.

We also lined the nesting boxes with lino so we can pull those out and rinse/disinfect and sun dry them when we clean out the boxes.

The coop is snug under the elderberry trees which is the coolest place for the summer. We have a winter coop on a trailer for them to give this area a rest, but for now, this is perfect. It's nice and close to my mini gardening shed and compost area, so I can chat to the chooks as I work, which is the plan - I find them very good for my mental health, which is how I talked J. into getting more chickens in the first place.

---

The poem below explains a lot about why J. acquiesced to me getting chickens again, and labouring all day at this coop.

Last night I dreamed of chickens,
there were chickens everywhere,
they were standing on my stomach,
they were nesting in my hair,
they were pecking at my pillow,
they were hopping on my head,
they were ruffling up their feathers
as they raced about my bed.

They were on the chairs and tables,
they were on the chandeliers,
they were roosting in the corners,
they were clucking in my ears,
there were chickens, chickens, chickens
for as far as I could see...
when I woke today, I noticed
there were eggs on top of me.

Jack Prelutsky, 1940

This post is dedicated to the unstoppable @senorcoconut, who I really want to get chickens and to try his hand at building a coop, and @nateonsteemit whose daily chickens brighten the days of those of us on Steemit who love our chooks. Plus, they're both supernice dudes who are always enthusiastic about a project, and I love interacting with them here.

Do you have chooks?

What's your set up - do you have a photo for me?

If you're a supporter of all things natural healing, you might like to read our introductory post here. We'd also love to welcome you on Discord here!!