Backyard Chickens & Garden

As promised, here are some pictures of our backyard chicken coop. I was waiting for the coop to be painted and spiffed up a bit, but it doesn't look like that is going to happen any time soon, so here it is:

There is a hatch on the left side that is hinged on the top. Right inside this hatch are four laying boxes, two on top of two. This hatch is raised to collect the eggs. If you look closely on the left side just under the hatch is the front of a "drawer" that is the floor of the coop. It can be pulled out to be cleaned. The door on the side (facing in the picture) is identical to another one on the other side and is used as access to the coop to refill the food and water. At the bottom, just out of the picture, are wheels . . .

The two posts that run through the coop and out of the "run" work similarly to a wheelbarrow. By lifting these and pulling or pushing, the coop can be moved around the yard so that the chickens can "free range," but still be confined so they do not destroy my garden. You can see toward the right of the coop the small door that can be latched if necessary. The door itself is open and cannot be seen clearly in the picture. This is where the chickens enter and exit their coop. There's also a door in the run (left in the picture) that we use for access to the run and to let the chickens out.

And speaking of the garden . . .

Here is Micah on the edge of his portion of the garden. He has planted zinnias (behind him), watermelon (to the left) and marigolds behind the watermelon. To the left are his sunflowers (below).