Garman - 50 do-it-yourself projects for keeping chickens: chicken coops, brooders, runs, swings, dust baths, and more!

Copyright 2018 by Janet Garman

Illustrations throughout by Jacqui Shreve

Photography on pages by Julie Smith at Siddalee

Photography

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Abigail Gehring

Cover image courtesy of istockphoto.com

Print ISBN: 978-1-51073-175-2

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-51073-176-9

Printed in the United States of America

This book is dedicated to my husband, Gary, my family, and my mom. In the 1970s, my mom went back to work so I could attend the University of Maryland and earn my degree in Animal Science. Since then Ive had many jobs. It wasnt until recent years that I have found a way to make a career writing about farm animal care, and have it mesh with our farm and family business lifestyle. Mom mentioned that I was finally doing what I set out to do. Thanks for making the sacrifice, Mom. To my husband, the steady one in our marriage. Thanks for always letting me chase my dreams, start more projects, and bring home more animals. You truly are a life partner in this journey. To my grown-up kids and baby grandchildren, I love you more than I will ever be able to say. I hope you will all follow your dreams, too.

Contents

Terms and Materials

Tools

Preface

by Pam Freeman

Having kept chickens for over a decade, I can tell you the coop and accessories I started out with are no longer around. Over the years, a huge flaw in the placement of my original coop became evident as walking up and down the hill where it was located became tedious, hard to traverse while carrying heavy loads, and downright treacherous in wet or icy weather. An accidental rooster led to a broody hen that hatched more accidental roosters who needed a bachelor pad. A fallen tree left us with no shade and necessitated a porch and trellis to keep my flock cool in summers heat. Honestly, my chicken coop has completely changed and will continue to change as new needs dictate.

Is this a bad thing? No. Janet is right when she points out that her coops are always evolving. Its a natural part of chicken keeping, and frankly, of life. The key is how you handle this evolution.

No matter whether you build your coop or buy your coop, Ive found that everyones chicken keeping routine and backyard is a little different.

My chickens roam freely for large parts of the day. Some folks keep their chickens confined. My backyard is a hillside, and that needs to be considered when planning improvements. No mobile chicken coops for me! I have a friend that just bought a house and discovered her backyard turns into a river when it rains. Drainage is top of mind for her. Essentially, what works in one backyard may not work in another.

Thats where this book comes in handy. Janet details DIY projects for your entire chicken keeping journey, from baby chicks to adult birds. These are useful projects that can be adapted to most any situation and need. If youre looking for a cleaner coop, you can learn how to make a dropping board. If your chickens cant get out to roam, learn how to keep them occupied by making some in-the-coop fun for them. If youd like to add some healthy treats to your chickens diet, learn how to make an herb garden out of a pallet.

What I like most about this book is the depth of the projects covered. Some of the projects are flat out fun, but otherslike predator prevention and cooling a coop in summerare crucial to keeping your birds alive and healthy. This is a no-fuss, no-muss book that allows chicken keepers to better the lives of their birds without breaking the bank. This is a book that helps ordinary folks take their chicken keeping to something extraordinary without pretense or unnecessary glamour. Its a book Im going to keep on my shelf and consult often. I hope you do too!

Pam Freeman
Author, Backyard Chickens: Beyond the Basics
Editor, Backyard Poultry magazine
Editor, Countryside & Small Stock Journal

Foreword

by Joel Salatin

If I believed in reincarnation as an animal, I would definitely ask to come back as one of Janet Garmans chickens. I always thought that our pastured chickens here at Polyface Farm had the best life in the world, but I think Ive found a more pamperedalbeit much smallerflock in Janets backyard.

Life contains numerous gateway elements. Dr. Seuss is a gateway phonetic and reading introduction to children. Bacon is the gateway meat product for reconstructed vegans. On our farm, we call eggs our gateway product for the many restaurants we serve. If we have eggs, the chefs want chicken, beef, and pork; if we dont have enough eggs, the chef client may skip all the other stuff. A debilitating illness is often the gateway to diet changes and non-chemical, local food sourcing.

For sure, chickens are the gateway to domestic livestock. Whether youre in the country or the city, the day you decide to step beyond the garden and grow your own animal protein, chances are chickens will be the team player of choice.

Reasons are many:

Chickens are small and conducive to small spaces, simple shelters, and lightweight control.

Chickens are child-friendly; they may scratch or peck a bit, but you wont have to worry about your ten-year-old being trampled by a goat or cow.

Chickens are cheapa low investment risk, easy to start, easy to stop.

Chickens are common; you can get chickens almost anywhere.

Chickens are quietat least if you dont have a roostercompared to barking dogs, baaing sheep, or mooing cows.

Chickens have a fast turnover: they become productive quicker than any other barnyard animal besides mice... but most of us dont eat mice.

Chickens are by far and away the superior backyard sanitizer, relishing all sorts of pests, from ticks to slugs.

Chickens eat kitchen scraps and lay eggs, offering a pathogen barrier between what humans eat (eggs) and what the chicken eats (scraps).