the coop

After the slight hiccup in which the coop was supposed to have been sent but wasn't, the coop arrived from Ohio on (amended) schedule Wednesday. Actually, Hank had to make a pilgrimage through Bellefontaine Cemetery to the shipping depot on the north side of the city to pick it up. Thanks to some mad fork-lifting skills on the part of the warehouseman (a Teamster, no doubt), the two boxes landed safely in the Subaru and from there, home.

I was very sad to see the "Made in China" designation on the box. I suppose I really should have known that a coop so reasonably-priced was not being made by Ohio Amish craftsmen. As expected, it went together with only the expected amount of confusion that results from relying on pictographs for assembly instructions. 

easy-clean metal coop floor pulls out like a drawer; nesting boxes and perches

human door, perches, vents

rear view, with nesting box and escape ramp

The Chicken Yard

It's fairly lovely to look at but it seems a little lightweight and I certainly can't imagine the girls being snug in it through the winter. As we put it together and I expressed my skepticism Hank, ever the voice of reason, pointed out that it was likely to be just fine for a few months and encouraged me to think of it as a "starter coop." He was right. And that gives me most of the summer to contemplate the design and materials of our "dream coop." I knew I saved those old windows for a reason...