SIMPLE CHICKEN HOME

So...when I first got my new ADORABLE baby chicks, everything was fine and dandy! Except... where can I keep them safe? Sure, they can stay in the house, if you're willing to clean up the poop. (Even if you put a diaper on your chicken, you'll get their butt feathers messy!)
And, if you keep them outside without any protection, they'll get snatched up by a Peregrine Falcon, or any other kind of predatory bird. Not to mention stupid blood thirsty dogs that have no ambitions other than killing other helpless animals, will definitely kill your chicks. Also, cats will take an interest in small chickens for their dinner.
As far as shelter from weather goes...I don't like seeing chickens walk around in slop. They need to be in grass, with shelter from the rain. Wild chickens would hide in a tree or under a bush to get away from rain. And, wild chickens forage through the grass for bugs.
So....
We need to build a cage for our adorable new additions to the flock! I built mine fast, and at a relatively low cost.

This is what your new Simple Chicken Home will look like!

Easy, simple, safe, comfortable, and affordable!

Supplies you will need:

4x4 sheet of plywood (for the roof)

Four 2ft boards (for the corners)

Eight 4ft boards (for the structure)

2 rolls of chicken wire (for the obvious reason--to keep them in and away from danger!)

Nuts and bolts, and nails (to hold everything together!)

Staple gun (to staple the chicken wire on....don't worry it holds perfect!)

One large stick. Could be an old broom stick or an old stalk from a yucca plant. Whatever works. Just make sure there's no sharp parts. (the stick is for them to stand on, to play on, and for them to sleep)

Cage construction:

You will build the framework first.

You'll make two 4x4 frames first. Then, on the insides, you will attach the two frames together with your four 2ft boards. (Nuts and bolts are needed here to make it un-flimsy.)

Extra nails holding in places are good, for extra stability.

Now, you can staple the chicken wire on to your Simple Chicken Home framework.

Make sure to use plenty of staples to hold the chicken wire in place--you don't want any gaps where cats can claw at your babies!

Now, after the chicken wire is in place, you can put the roof on for your chicks.

The roof is just a 4x4 sheet of plywood.

You can nail the sheet of plywood on top of your completed frame now.

And, finally, the stick can be added through the chicken wire. (Don't worry, it holds just fine!)

Now, your New Simple Chicken Home is complete!

Goldie and Reddie LOVE the new SIMPLE CHICKEN HOME!

So, now you have a nice area for your chickens to roam around in!

This is a cage for two.. three can fit and still have plenty of elbow room but you'll be pushing it with three or more chickens. If you have more than two or three perhaps you can build the same cage, just with bigger dimensions!  Or, you can build two, like I did!
Now, the chickens can walk around in the grass (that's providing your yard has grass!) since the bottom of the cage is open. If the grass starts to wear down after a while, you can move the cage, so the chickens won't be drowning in mud when it rains.
Note: You will probably want to rotate the cage around your yard anyway.
 Reasons being:

1. The chicken's poop accumulates, and it's not good parenting if you leave them stepping in their own poop before long.

2. New areas for bugs! Try and be clever... place your new chicken's new home on an ant mound.

NOTE: If they're tiny don't do this. The ants could eat them alive! (Although tiny chickens definitely need to be kept inside with others, so they'll be warm and survive! Don't ever leave a little baby chick outside!...that is, unless it's mother takes care of it!)

Some chickens like looking close and digging up the ant mound and feasting on the ants.

3. You'll get bald spots in your yard before too long. Rotations should be every week or whenever necessary.

4. Feathers accumulate in a cage, and your chickens could eat their feathers. This doesn't kill them or anything, but it's my opinion that they shouldn't eat their own feathers. It'd be like a little girl eating her pigtails.

5. Yard health! Chicken poop is rich in fertilizer. But, just like fertilizer, if too much of it is used it can be harmful to plants. Rotating your chicken's home will give your yard fertilizer, yet not too much.

Here's what the NEW SIMPLE CHICKEN HOME will look like:

Isn't that gorgeous!?

The chickens love the New Simple Chicken Home!

Thanks for looking!

Stay tuned for new chicken pictures and posts!

Oh, and, please...no picture may be used without my consent.