Countdown to C Day

The exciting news is that the chicken coop has arrived after much deliberation and internet research.  We looked at all sorts of chicken houses; plastic (eglus and eco houses) and wooden.  Plastic was the early front runner because of the cheerful colours (yes aesthetics over substance every time if you are going to ask me to make the decision) and the easy cleaning factor.  However we couldn't find an eglu with a separate nesting box and one of the jobs that we envisage for the youngest and the Salad Queen is egg collection. A nest box with a separate lid seemed to be the most child friendly solution.  The eco hen houses were great but all appeared to have the nest box in the wrong position for where we wanted the house to go.

So then we went to middle farm and had a good look around the wooden coops on offer.  Eventually we decided the chicken shack was for us.

The girls have a nice bedroom with perch and the nesting boxes are at the back with a a separate lid.  They also have a run for to keep them safe when we are not around and cannot let them into the garden.  Youngest is fascinated with the ramp which I am sure she envisages as some sort of chicken slide.  On the floor we (that's the royal we you understand) have dug down and placed some wire (to stop foxes digging under) and a liner covered with wood chip. 

All we need now (apart from actual chickens) is names.  So far Simon has suggested Kiev and Nugget.  Against our better instincts we have decided to hand the chicken naming over to the offspring (on the basis that they were banned from naming the dogs and the cat due to our reluctance to yell Fluffykins in the park or back garden).  Watch this space for breaking news on chicken names...