Last week I visited my good friend, Lauren Scheuer. You might know her through her blog, or her

. She is creative, funny and artistic. All of these traits can be seen in her coop.

 

Lauren is also handy with power tools. Actually, handy is a mild word for it. She’s a whiz, and she’s told me that the most romantic present her husband ever gave her was early in their courtship, when he presented her with a power saw. Lauren has had chickens for years, and they were due for a new coop. She had grand images, but like most artists, didn’t have the funds to have them built for her. So, she purchased a prefab shed from Home Depot and went to work.

These buildings don’t have enough windows, so that power saw was plugged in. In the winter, plexiglas covers the screens.

 

The inside has both storage and a cozy roosting area. It’s designed for easy of cleaning.

 

The flock is Lauren’s muse. She built a seat so she could hang out with them in comfort and sketch.

 

Being an artist, Lauren had IDEAS about what the coop should look like. Big iron hinges. Fancy moldings. Being an artist, Lauren couldn’t afford them. Being creative and a doer, Lauren came up with a solution. Trompe l’oeil!

 

Doesn’t her hen look grand framed in the window?

 

Lauren has two dogs, Marky and Angel.

 

In his youth, Marky could keep the predators at bay, but these days, he’s more into finding shade. Red Tail Hawks nest in the woods, but Lauren didn’t want to keep her hens enclosed because of them. So, Lauren built this chicken tractor to shelter her girls while out on the lawn. Note – this is NOT a coop. It’s for daytime use only. (Read my FAQ on Coop Criteria to learn why this is not suitable housing.)

 

The hawks are also why Lauren has a covered run, and also a play area with plants that the hens can run under for protection.

These doted on hens are happy, indeed.

 

Like Lauren’s art? Take a look at her book,

.

I thought that you might like to see what Scooter does all day.

Steve and I get up at 6:30 am, at which time we get Scooter to go outside to do his business. After that, the little dog jumps onto the warm bed. He stays there awhile.

 

Eventually he joins Lily and I in my office. He claims the softest place and goes back to sleep.

 

Sometimes he helps Lily with her work.

 

But, that’s so exhausting that he goes onto the couch in the living room where his nap isn’t interrupted.

 

Then it’s time to follow the sun. From here:

 

To here:

 

Of course, there are potty breaks, kibble to eat, a walk on a leash up the street with Lily, and now that it’s warm out, there might be another nap outside. All of that leads to the best part of the day – bedtime! – on his very own chair, with his very own blanket, in the bedroom. Sweet dreams, Scooter.

 

PS Scooter does play. See this video of him having the zoomies with Lily. The video is already four years old, but the dynamic and enthusiasm hasn’t changed at all. Maybe it’s all of that napping that keeps him young?

The danger of freezing pipes has finally passed. That means I now have running water that comes out of spigots by the barns. (After last winter, this basic convenience still makes me smile!) It also means that the chickens get one of their favorite things – outside waterers.

 

The chickens have been drinking just fine all winter from the dispenser inside of their coop. But now, in the morning, they wait until their pop-doors are opened, when they rush out and make a bee-line for the outside waterer. They do this whether the dispensers are

 or . The water is the same, but to the hens, it is not.

I have no idea why my hens prefer drinking water outside, but I know that they do. I have a few theories. In the summer, the hens don’t like to cross the hot pen to go inside. They’d rather have their water in the shade where they are. But that doesn’t explain their preference now. Perhaps,even in my coops with big windows, there’s something about seeing water in unfiltered sunshine that makes it more appealing. Who knows? I’m happy to accommodate their quirks. Each hen needs to drink at least a cup of water a day, more when it is hot. Providing access to water where and how they like it is essential to their well-being.

Each time the waterer is filled, it is also scrubbed. If you have problems with algae bloom, put a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in the water.

 

Despite the girls’ preference for water outside, I still keep the dispenser inside freshly filled. They’ll appreciate it on bad-weather days, and, once in awhile, a hen will remember it is there and take a sip.

A sure sign that winter is over, and that the threat of frost is on the way out, is that Lily has morning work to do.

 

Great Blue Herons are returning from their winter feeding grounds. They are looking for ponds, abundant with fish to eat, and wetlands with tall trees to nest in. My yard has the fish.

 

Lily can’t be outside every minute, and the herons are persistent. We’ve lost some fish to herons, but The Beast has survived a dozen years. She’s wily and wary. She knows what the shadow of a heron looks like. She doesn’t let her guard down when a new “twig” appears in the water. The Beast is now too big for a heron to eat, but a heron will stab a large fish with her beak, mortally wounding the prey – The Beast has to remain on guard.

The center of the Beast’s pond is three feet deep, and the rock provides a cave for her to hide in.

 

The Beast could probably take care of herself, but I think that she appreciates that Lily doesn’t let the herons stay around.

 

This will be a sight repeated all summer.

 

The Beast  thanks you, Lily.

You might have heard about this – companies are renting laying hens to people. I’ve wanted to avoid commenting on it, but it’s in the news enough that I have to. The Boston Globe ran an article yesterday. It’s a typical fluff piece – a supposedly feel-good column, but it made my heart sink.

For a fee, the chicken rental company brings two or four pullets, housing, and feed to your home. You keep the hens for the spring through fall laying season. Then they take them back. If you get attached to your chickens, you can “adopt” them.

Recently, a woman who does chicken keeping workshops in a nearby city said enthusiastically to me let’s get chickens in every backyard! There wasn’t time to discuss this with her, but my response would have been a firm NO. Not everyone should have animals. Not everyone should have hens. If the purpose of having a backyard flock is just have a source of good eggs, then support a farmer that raises hens on pasture. Only get chickens if you actually want to have animals in your life. Get hens if you want to know the bird that lays your eggs. Chickens require care, and care requires time and observation, and that requires a connection to your flock. Not everyone has or wants that. The argument is that this rent-a-chicken program will allow people to figure it out. Maybe they’ll go on to get a larger flock. Perhaps. But I have further issues with this business.

The idea of renting a farm animal perpetuates the idea that you have no responsibility for that creature beyond the short period of time that it is productive. In the case of a chicken, that’s her first year of lay. A real farmer has crucial moral end-of-life issues to deal with. Are the unproductive stock harvested for meat? Discarded? What happens when an animal is sick? When there are predators? In the rent-a-chicken model, the hens are replaced. The customer remains removed from these dilemmas. If you rent a chicken to experience raising your own food, then you are missing out on the real picture.

Along with my qualms about the overall business, I have major issues with the housing and care of the hens once they are dropped off in the customers’ backyards. The coops are little more than boxes (this is the sort of “

” that is supplied. The runs are small and easily accessible by predators. The food and water is exposed to the elements.

Chicken keeping isn’t as easy as so many of its proponents would like you to believe. No animal is easy – if it is, you’re likely doing something wrong. For example, a rabbit in a wire hutch in the backyard is no trouble to take care of – simply give it food and water daily – but you’re not providing what the rabbit needs to live a decent life. Same thing with chickens. Can you keep two in a small coop for a few months? Yes. Is it what those chickens need to thrive? No. Is it being a responsible animal steward? Definitely not.