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1.4K
Old World Garden Farms
Old World Garden Farms Blogger Newark, OH on Aug 20, 2012
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The Chicken Coop - Made From Shipping Crates

Our Chicken Coop - built from shipping crates and reclaimed lumber. Home to our nine proud hens :) www.oldworldgardenfarms.com

We don’t live on ‘The Farm’ just yet. We actually live in a typical residential neighborhood with neighbors within a throwing distance from us. We have frequent walkers that pass by the house and always give a friendly wave hello. So when we decided to build what we now call “The Coop” - we did so in our driveway where we had the modern convenience of electricity. We wanted to reuse some materials that we had obtained in years past, so we decided to build the chicken coop primarily out of old shipping crates. After week one, we not only had a frame to our structure, but a pretty significant start to the future home of the chickens. Spring was in full force at this time, and after the harsh winter we had, several individuals had decided to take up walking as a form of exercise. Each day we would hear general comments from the neighborhood such as, ”looking good”, and “keep up the good work”. It wasn’t until the actual outside structure was built that we started getting more curious looks and the occasional question, “Ok, you have to settle a bet, are you building a ...»

playhouse or a dog house?”. To much of their surprise, we would laugh and tell them that it was actually a chicken coop….always followed by a quick clarification of “Don’t worry, it’s not staying in the driveway, we are moving it out to the farm”. Now, we live in a small community, where the head football coach of our small high school lives just up the street. Without hesitation, one day at school he approached one of our boys and commented, “Son, you are going to have the most elaborate dog house on the block”. To the horror of our son, he shyly admitted to Coach that it wasn’t a doghouse at all, but a chicken coop in progress. Life has never been the same at school.....

You can find more about our coop and meet our nine hens here : http://oldworldgardenfarms.com/news-from-th...

  • Like Clip
    "The Coop" as it stood after taking it our to the farm. Originally - we painted the shipping crate wood white - we later painted it brown to match the...
  • Like Clip
    Usually the first place visitor now go is to visit the "girls" at the Chicken Coop
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    Inside the coop - three little nesting boxes made from scrap plywood - The girls don't seem to mind the recycled materials :)
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    The Coop - after painting to match the barn.
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    We used some of the left over flooring to make a 9' farm fresh egg sign for the barn - we cut the letters from the 3/4" oak. We figured seeing the sign from time...
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    From time to time - they will fly up on the attached run to get a better view of the farm.

To see more: http://oldworldgardenfarms.com/news-from-the-coop/

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16 Comments
  • Becky Blair, NE
    What lucky girls to have such a nice home!
    on Aug 20, 2012 · Like 1
  • Old World Garden Farms Newark, OH
    Becky - They certainly seem to enjoy it - and I don't think I could ever have "store" bought eggs again...they are so much better!
    on Aug 21, 2012 · Like 1
  • Angela L Harlem, GA
    Very nice! The kids seem to enjoy watching the "girls" as well! Love the sign as well!
    on Aug 21, 2012 · Like 0
  • Lori J Broken Bow, NE
    You are the neighborhood memory builder. My dear grandparents left their small town and moved to the city, so enthralled were they with being my grandparents. Oh, the joys of being the first grandchild. But I have isolated memories of their house and one very distinct one is that the neighbors had a chicken coop right along the the sidewalk. My grandmother would walk me there, with her 'slop bucket' of peelings and rings and we push them through the fence to the chickens. I was not even three yet this is crystaline in my memory base. ;-)

    on Aug 21, 2012 · Like 1
  • Becky Blair, NE
    I have heard that about eggs Mary (or Jim). I'm sure I've had farm fresh eggs since my Dad's family mostly lived on farms. I loved visiting them and eating those wonderful family meals three times a day. Not that my Mom wasn't an awesome cook or that we didn't sit down together to eat. There was just five of us so it wasn't as big of a deal at sitting down at my Aunt Hazels huge dining table.

    Lori, what sweet memories.

    on Aug 21, 2012 · Like 0
  • Old World Garden Farms Newark, OH
    Angela - The kids loved it - those are a friends three children over when we had a barn party -and they were in love with the chickens!
    on Aug 21, 2012 · Like 1
  • Old World Garden Farms Newark, OH
    Lori J - Isn't it funny how those memories stay crystal clear...my Aunt and Uncle had chickens and I can remember going there and seeing all of the eggs and hens.
    on Aug 21, 2012 · Like 0
  • Old World Garden Farms Newark, OH
    Becky - There is such a difference and I can honestly say I never knew that much about chickens before we started. Mostly just that when you crack one to make eggs they are so much thicker and I have yet to break a yolk on a farm egg! - Jim
    on Aug 21, 2012 · Like 0
  • Vicki Smyrna, GA
    U lucky. Unfortunately, my next door neighbor reported to code of enforcement and the agency from code of enforcement explained nice to me that I can not have any farm animals as pets less than 2 acres. Boo hoo. Naturally, I gave one chicken and one rooster to my friends that had farm. We really enjoyed watching the rooster dancing and crowed. And, of course, yummy fresh eggs much better than store brought.
    on Aug 21, 2012 · Like 0
  • Old World Garden Farms Newark, OH
    That's so sad Vicki! I know around here there are actually a lot of communities that are starting to allow for at least two to four chickens in a backyard - which is great. Hopefully someday maybe yours will too.
    on Aug 21, 2012 · Like 1
  • Becky Blair, NE
    Jim, there are so many foods that are better farm fresh. What "they" do to food now is a down right shameful.

    A few years back we started eating organic when we can get it. The first time I took a bite of an organic potato I literally had a flash back of sitting at my families kitchen table eating dinner as a child.

    on Aug 21, 2012 · Like 1
  • Old World Garden Farms Newark, OH
    You are so right - Nothing beats the freshness of your own food grown in the garden!
    on Aug 22, 2012 · Like 0
  • Kathleen Bell Versailles, KY
    What a lovely coop. I grew up with chickens and would love to have them again. Husband was not thrilled when I said "Hey let's build a coop and get some chickens." :(
    on Aug 22, 2012 · Like 0
  • Old World Garden Farms Newark, OH
    Kathleen : Thank you for the compliment. They really are so very easy to take care of...and honestly - with just hens - they make no noise at all. I'm sure you will talk him into it - especially if he ever tastes how great the eggs are!
    on Aug 22, 2012 · Like 1
  • Sheryll S Jacksonville, FL
    I am so jealous. I want two hens. But like Vicki, my neighbors would turn me in. It is a wonderful hen house. Oh I must go look and read the full details now.
    on Sep 13, 2012 · Like 0
  • Old World Garden Farms Newark, OH
    Sheryll - They are really easy to keep - and if you have a few - you really do not need a lot of space - just a good coop. There are several designs that have the coop on top and a space for the chickens to run around underneath on the side. We built ours from pallets and shipping crates -so it can be done on the cheap!
    on Sep 13, 2012 · Like 0

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