We are moving to Tennessee in June, so we just gave our flock away to some friends. We expect to start a new flock from chicks once we are settled in to our new home.
Max and Ruby
We have a small backyard flock of 2 Dominique hens. I chose this breed because of its beauty and its personality. I just love the barred look on these hens. They are quite docile and are relatively quiet, which is exactly what I was looking for considering I live in a subdivision. I don’t think my neighbors even know that I have chickens in my backyard. My girls free range most of the day and have yet to attempt an escape. They are quite content with the confines of our backyard.
Free Ranging
I got my pullets when they were 2 months old. Both were shy, but did warm up to me and my family. Now you can definitely see their little distinct chicken personalities. My 4 year old says that Ruby is the “feisty” one, while Max appears to be more laid back. Whenever I open up the back door and call my girls, they will come running from anywhere in the yard. Both Ruby and Max will jump up on my shoulders and hang out, which I find to be pretty cool. There really isn’t a head hen in our flock being there are only two of them. ”Partners in crime” better describes the pair.
My girls have decided to sleep in the nesting boxes instead of roosting on one of several roosting polls. They started off sharing a box, but now they are too big for that and occupy separate boxes. From what I have read, some people let their chickens sleep in the nest boxes and some don’t. I have 2 hens and 4 nesting boxes, so it really doesn’t bother me that they use some as a bed. I just make sure to clean out the poop at least every other day.
Our backyard coop
Our coop is very open, which is well suited for the Arizona climate.
They have a side roosting pole as well as one up in the house. They could also roost on the lip of the house area.
The lip has hinges on it so that I can more easily access the floor of the house for cleaning.
The back of the house has a flap that lifts up in order to collect the eggs.
Winterizing the coop and making it look good were really not within our budget this year, so we searched through the garage for whatever we could find and settled on some old tarps and bricks.
The tarps were just spread over the top, sides, and back to keep out any winter drafts. At night we covered the front with a blanket. When the temperatures began to drop, an old comforter was also placed over the coop for some additional insulation. It’s not pretty and may not cut it in colder parts of the country, but our bang up job at winterizing the coop has kept the girls reasonably comfortable here in Phoenix.
So lovely! I think that is fantastic how open the coop is. I also love the expression on your girls’ faces. My heart melted! Thank you so much for joining the hop! I am glad you are a part of it!
We are in Arizona as well! Love your Dominique pictures. We have a Dominique named Sasha and while, you know, your not SUPPOSED to play favorites, her personality definitely has made her a favorite. Since we are so close, please stop by and say hello; if you want to meet our flock, just click the “French Hen” page at the top. Blessings to you and aren’t you just loving this amazing weather which has finally arrived?
Thanks for the visit! I will definitely stop by and say hi. Yes, I am loving this amazing weather and not too sad to see the heat go.
I just did some winterizing on my coop this weekend, including making some polycarbonate windows out of ceiling tile light panels and velcro. See the pictures here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150354000937734.350767.502772733&type=1&l=b50487b28d
Thanks for the idea! I love the ease of using velcro to attach the panels. I ended up using tarps for a quick cheap fix, but want to do something more like your coop in the future.