Last summer I ventured into the wild world of backyard chicken raising.
One of my cube neighbors here at the PETCO National Support Center, Jerry, mentioned that we had recently added a domestic fowl (i.e. chickens) shop to petco.com since “backyard chickens” (as they’re popularly referred to) were starting to become very popular both as pets and as a source of fresh eggs.
I had recently moved from an apartment to a house with a real backyard and mused to Jerry that chickens sounded like cool pets. 5 minutes later he was on the phone with Ware Manufacturing. They said they would be happy to send me a chicken coop to review on The PETCO Scoop.
Uh oh.
I didn’t think it would actually happen. Time to call my better half.
The Chicken Conversation
- Me: Hey honey, do you um, want to get chickens for our new house?
- Wife: Get what?
- Me: CHICKENS. You know, feathers, eggs, KFC.
- Wife: Like as pets?
- Me: Ya.
- Wife: (pause) Let’s do it.
- Me: Rock and roll!
Let the research begin.
I found out that chickens are allowed in many cities but the regulations can definitely vary. After a bit of searching in my city’s municipal code I discovered that I can legally house up to 6 chickens in my backyard. Score!
I gave Jerry the go ahead and within a week I had a WARE Premium + Chick-N-Lodge Chicken Coop sitting on my doorstep.
Here are a few pictures of the building process. It was surprisingly easy to put together but it did take two people to move the coop in place.
- Me and the coop, pre-assembly. The box was HEAVY. They packed it tight.
- All the pieces laid out. I also got a nesting box shipped separarely.
- The only tool required is a screwdriver but if you have a power drill it makes the job go faster. Just be careful because the wood is soft.
The completed coop. From start to finish it took less than an hour.
Next in the series: Raising Chicks