2011 featured coops
These are the coops that were on the 2011 tour
View the 2014 coops
From Crow's nest to Chicken nest.
Reduce...reuse....RECYCLE!
This coop is built almost entirely from reused materials.��The house is the crow's nest from the kids' outgrown tree house, enclosed with materials from a farmer friend's scrap pile.��A taxi hood (reclaimed from the Raleigh Beltline) keeps the food dry and offers shelter on rainy days.��
My husband designed and built the coop�last spring after we finished building our house.�� We used leftover materials to build the coop- the only thing we had to buy was�chicken wire.� The coop's slate roof was salvaged from�the old Thompson�orphanage in Charlotte.� We have 3 one year old chickens that we raised since chicks.��
Situated in a family-friendly organic garden, this coop and the surrounding runs are home to 3 adult hens and 6 pullets. The friendly hens love to be held and the yard is designed to encourage interaction between the chickens and the children.
We have a large Palace of a coop with a lovely steel roof that was custom built. We have 7 nesting boxes, and a cute pink hen house inside for our 8 Plymouth Barred Rocks nestled between our koi pond and backyard bike shed.
We have a variety of 14 lovely ladies that roam our yard with our pet micro pot belly pig and our two dogs and one cat.� Our nine year old son is our chicken expert, but we will also have a poultry science grad from NCSU here who specializes in selling chicks to�urban�folk.� Last year he even brought chicks you could buy right there and then.� Hope to see you there.
We have 6 girls, about 2 � years old. two Buff Orpingtons, two Barred Rocks, One Rhode Island Red and one Wyandotte. They are very friendly, at times free range in the back yard, and we often have neighbors dropping by to say hi to the girls. The coop was built with three sheets of plywood, has 2 nest boxes and is an extension of the shed.
We have four semi-retired beauties (six years old) and two teens that thankfully keep the egg numbers up! Our chickens are a vital part of our permaculture based garden - providing eggs and manure, and eating kitchen wastes and bugs. The 0.3 A garden has over 50 fruit cultivars, vegetables, an herb spiral, mushroom logs, water catchment, frog ponds, zip line, solar water panels and clay pizza oven. Will teaches permaculture at NCSU, Jeana is a soil scientist at NCDA, and Eli is a dancer.
With a spacious fenced in run, lovely perennial gardens and well-kept hens, this coop is not to be missed.
We have four brahma bantam ladies in our coop that is attached to an old community well house. We feed our chickens our kitchen scraps and the compost is used in our garden. After losing some chickens to predators 3 years ago, we added extra security to our coop and have not lost a chicken since.
This backyard chicken heaven, nestled in an edible landscape, features a greenhouse-chicken yard connection, easy egg access, beautiful birds and natural perches. Our seven year old chicken whisperer will be available for consultation, along with a square foot gardening expert, members of the Triangle Area Gardeners and Homesteaders, Extension Master Gardener Volunteers, and a Permaculture Designer from Branches: �Ecological Landscapes. We also keep bees for honey and pollination. Visiting kids who are well supervised by accompanying adults will have lots of fun.
Built by Fred Crouch in early 2010.� The chicken house looks like a children's playhouse and was built with some recycled windows and doors.� The outdoor area is large and completely enclosed with chicken wire.� Our chickens roost in the coop.
Schoolhouse Flock - Our little red coop resembles a classic schoolhouse and makes the perfect playground for our four girls who are almost one year old. There is Cutlet, a beautiful Americauna, Nugget, a�Black Star�with a shiny coat. Little Drumstick, a�Rhode Island Red, and fluffy�Biscuit, a golden Buff�Orpington. The nest boxes have a special hinged door on top that also makes egg collection quite convenient.
My coop is an Amish design with 6�nest boxes�which are accessed from outside the coop with a hinged lid.� It is painted brightly in egg yolk yellow trimmed in white.� I plan to have an organic garden nearby with many different lettuces and squash which the girls love!� I also plan to grow sesame seeds for them.� The cats love to watch the girls and Pachacuti Inka Alexander will climb on top of the fencing to get the best view!
The Elks Lodge for Wayward Hens
The name of our coop will be obvious, once you come to visit. The Matriarch, Loretta Hen, is a feather-footed�Bantam�and having traveled with us to/from Colorado in a small car with 2 dogs, one cat, and all our belongings needed for�6 months, she's deserved the right. The 2 smaller, but�only in stature, are Belgian D'anvers and were actually once show chickens. Our 2 youngest, Buff Orpingtons, are our steady egg layers. The�largest but also sweetest of the bunch�- they�are our�gentle giants. All of the flock love the company of others, as much as�oatmeal and banana treats, so please come visit.
We have some fun new additions to our coop this year.� Big Bluey and Little Bluey are beautiful and unusual Blue Sumatran Hens that look more like some odd long tailed game birds who gallop when they run.� Moony is a young Hamburg hen with dalmation spots.� We also have Kathy the Barred Rock, and Midge the little dear�bantam, and Buffy the Buff Orpington. Come on by and say hi to our lovely flock!
My chickens comprise two flocks of ten or so birds each, with separate houses and runs.� A total of five breeds are represented.� Although the original house and coop are plenty big for 20-plus hens, more room means less stress, mess, and more eggs. Keeping chickens�requires a commitment� to chores every day at daylight and dusk--brief but essential activities.� Water, food, and housing can last for days untended, but the girls must be let out in the morning and tucked in at night to thrive--and even to survive.� These are my favorite times of the day.
Nestled alongside garden paths, woodland hideaways and a creek, this bright red coop boasts a pergola design and a cedar shake roof. With a tree inside for perching, this predator proof paradise is not to be missed.
After going on the tour in 2009 and taking the Chicken Keeping 101 class, we got our own coop and four Brahma bantam chicks. Our Carolina blue coop was built by Carolina Coops and is designed for easy access to collect eggs and clean out the run and henhouse. We also have a�chicken tractor�to let our hens do their work in various places in our yard and garden. Currently, we have 3 one-year old hens and one chick that hatched on May 15.
On the day of the tour, Matt DuBoise, owner of Carolina Coops, will be on hand to discuss�chicken coop construction�and will have an additional coop on display.
At FreeByrd Farm, meander through the winding paths of one of Raleigh's favorite gardens to a private bamboo glade to discover our coops. Along the way, enjoy fountains, fishponds, welcoming decks and a garden house. More than 25 heirloom hens, representing 11 breeds, and their henpecked rooster enjoy two airy coops built with reclaimed doors, windows, architectural elements, antique chandeliers and a columned canopy.
As a representative for Carolina Farm Stewardship, the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, the Animal Welfare Approved program, and the Java Recovery Project, Deborah Brown of Highground Farm, will be on hand to enlighten guests on current small farming and raising heirloom chickens issues.
