Hunter goes in the chicken egg business

After waiting patiently for several weeks, we finally found time this week to finish Hunter's new chicken coop. We put it into place behind the barn and he is officially in the chicken egg business! His goal is to make the best eggs in the world and sell them for a little profit. The coop represents our investment into his new venture, but he is responsible for the feed, care, and management of the birds. Soon his first set of chicks will be old enough to join their parents in the new coop.

This coop is based on our original Little Sprouts design, with a few added amenities. The double door with latches open able from either side is a great help when working inside. He also has the first chicken nipple waterer installed. Add a couple of fluorescent lights, a timer, a home built nesting box, a couple of roosts, and this is a pretty nice little coop!

The tarp is tied across the top with UV protected nylon ties, with the sides rolled around a 2x4 that stretches front to back. This allows the sides to be opened or closed just like a window shade. it is tied at whatever level desired with small lengths of wire.

Here is the front view of the finished coop. Notice the double doors with latches!

The first three residents sitting happily on the roost.

Closeup of the door and latches. The string allows them to be opened from the inside, which of course allows one to close the doors and latch them from the inside. A HUGE improvement on my previous design.

The nesting box we built as father and son.

The feeder is just sitting on the grass for now. This will need to be hung soon.

YES! they are comfortable enough to lay an egg!

Closeup of the happy threesome.

Here is a bad picture of the nipple waterer. We mounted 3 nipples under this 5 gallon bucket. When the chickens hit it with their beak, a few drops of water flow out.

Top view of the waterer hanging from the side.