Chickens....oh yes!

A new journey has begun at Elm Tree, that of chicken farming.  Our first step in the chicken direction was purchasing this adorable little chicken coop!

Here is the empty spot in the backyard where we have determined chickens might be able to make their home:

It will involve giving them some of our backyard playground space and a little corner of our herb bed as well, but then we think of the eggs and the entertainment and the education about where our food comes from and about caring for animals and we think it's a small price to pay!

Here are some supplies we need to finish the project:

1. Chicken wire (have some, but need more!)
2. Chain link fencing
3. 2x4 boards
4. 4x4 posts
5. Straw
6. Organic Chicken Food
7. Something to store the chicken food in (rodent/moisture proof barrel?)
8. Chickens!  This one seems obvious, but we will need to obtain some friendly, mellow, high egg-producing hens, hardy and long-living would be great too!

Also we would love input from anyone with know-how about the kind of chickens to get, the kind of food to feed them, other care tips like what to watch out for in the local area and how to keep predators from getting in, what tricks work best?

We'll keep this post updated as we complete the project!

Update:  For our family work day, we got the coop brought into place in the backyard!  Go parents go!