Meet our Chickens

Our baby chicks! Molly on the left and Lola to the right.

The girls are all grown up!

Molly (on the far left) is a Silver Laced Wyandotte... she will lay tan or brown colored eggs.

Lola (on the left) is an Ameracauna. They have signature "fluffy cheeks" and typically lay blue eggs.

Betty is a Dutch Brown Leghorn she lays brown eggs.

Lola on the far left, Betty in the middle and Molly is the speckled white and black one on the left.

Matt's Eco-Friendly Chicken Coop featured on Barley & Pfeiffer Architects

Check out my Husbear Matt Hart's chicken Coop Design featured on Barley & Pfeiffer Architects Blog. Way to go Matt! It's a DIY chicken coop that Matt designed and built for our three chicken's Betty, Lola and Molly. 

The chicken “Coop” reflects the design of the art studio I built in the backyard for my wife Taylor, which has a similar sloped roofand is composed of the  same materials. Lucky for me, the left over material or “construction waste” (which wasinconveniently molding under the brand shiny new studio) could be happily repurposed to build the  entire structure for free, that includes the paint and stain.

                  Some of the amenities our chickens Betty, Lola and Molly enjoy are:

·         A radiant barrier Galvalume” D” panel roof at  the nesting box.

·         Radiant barrier insulation with an air gap at the Southwest corner walls.

·         Roll applied rubber membrane flashing under the nesting box roof and the green roof over the roost,  providing them with a very water tight covering (Dry chickens make happy chickens!).

·         Venting at the back wall for good air flow through the roost from the ramp entry.

·         A removable sliding floor tray  in the roost box for easy cleaning.

·         A hinged top at the nest box for easy egg retrieval.

·         A light for heat generation when temperatures dip below freezing.

·         A pop door at the side of the run for chicken access to the yard.

·         A large door at the top of the screened run for easy human access.

·         Mixture of native species and succulents for the top green roof plants (for their viewing pleasure).

·         A 2’-0” below grade ½” X ½ “ galvanized hardware clothe enclosure to keep them safe from marauding raccoons, foxes and cats.

Description, photos, and design courtesy of Matt Hart at Barley & Pfeiffer Architects.

For more ideas or information on how to build a eco-friendly Chicken Coop contact us today.

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Letting go and saying goodbye.......

This weekend was one of the best and the worst weekends I've had in quite sometime. The best and the worst you say? Let me explain..... I'll give you the bad news first. It's always best just to get it over with. Just rip it off like a band aid. Our dearest baby chicken Penelope lost her life this Sunday September, 22nd. It happened so fast.... it was unreal. She wasn't "just a chicken" to us, she was more than that. We raised her from a little chick and watched her grow and change into a little adult chicken and even had the joy of receiving a few eggs from her before she passed. She was a good chicken, with TONS of personality. Even my husband Matt agreed that she was the kookiest chicken he'd come in contact with and that's saying a lot considering Matt was raised on a farm full of chickens. We think that she got caught on some loose wire that we had stored under our shed in the backyard. Matt heard her thrashing around and ran out to the backyard and dragged her out from underneath the deck. She died in my arms very fast. Confused and bewildered we checked her body for signs of snake bites...wounds of any sort but couldn't find anything except a drop of blood on her crest. We are pretty sure she panicked and broke her own neck. Matt buried her body in the backyard near some cacti. Poor Betty (our other chicken) has been crying ever since. I'm pretty sure I'm going to come home from work today to find a bunch of baby chicks in our house. 

It's very sad for me because they were my joy. I would wake up in the morning and grab my coffee and take the pups outside to play. I would sit on the deck and watch the doggy's roam around and let the chickens out of their coop. I loved to watch them run around and be silly.... especially Penelope. She was the "wild one".... always chasing after Lucy and pecking at our toes. If you follow me on Instagram you'd know how I'd love to photograph them @nothingbutapigeon. These images were actually taken the morning right before her passing. Matt even bought me this necklace above because he said it reminded him of Penelope and Betty when they were chicks. How sweet is that?

On a lighter note....it was the best weekend as well because it's the first time I've been clear headed in quite awhile. When I say "clear headed" I pretty much mean sober. I've finally made the decision to stop drinking completely and am slowly finding a little bit of peace in my life. More on that later......

Penelope is the black and white speckled hen....Betty is all brown. Penelope is a Mottled Java and Betty is a Dutch Brown Leghorn. We bought them together and they grew up together and were inseparable. This is the awesome chicken coop that Matt designed for them. It's a green coop with live plants growing on the roof to provide them shade and to naturally cool down the temperature of the coop itself. Isn't it neat? It's almost a tiny replica of our house!

Penelope on the prowl scouting out for bugs.

This dress I bought from Target along with the hat. I wanted a new fall hat and couldn't wait to break it out on the first real Fall feeling day. The weather was awesome this weekend but I'm sure it will slowly crawl back up to the high 90's here soon. We will miss Penelope....she lived a great life with us. 

A much better life than most chickens get to have and that I am grateful for.

We will miss you dearly sweet Penelope.

xoxo