The inside of the coop is done!

I am very happy to report that the inside of our coop is done!  We only finished off one side because that was more than enough space for our hens.  It is in old coop, there's no doubt about that, but it is a cool kind of old in my opinion (if you like that kind of stuff).  Even though the other side is not finished, it is sanitized and structurally sound.  It is also predator proof (as best we can tell).  It is really is quite nice to have all the extra space on the one side.  Before we avoided that coop like the plague, now is very functional and clean! 

We were able to clean up and use the old nesting boxes. There were two sets, but for now we only need one.  We are just storing the other one in case we need it at some point. You can kind of see the nesting boxes in one of the pics.  They are kind of cool looking.  The front of the boxes face the inside of the chicken area of the coop  The back of the boxes face the coop door where you walk in.  Those old boxes flip open in the back, so when we collect eggs, we don't actually have to go in the coop. Just walk in, flip down the hatch and collect the eggs  (this was Leah's beautiful idea).  We sectioned off the coop with the nesting boxes, a wall frame, a door and wire mesh.  The kids helped me build the roosts in one of the pics.

So last night we actually moved the hens into their new home.  It was fun and all 5 kids were excited!  I think for myself and the older 2 it was just very fulfilling to put all that work into something and to finally see the fruits of our labor.  Ryan and I have pretty much spent every spare minute over the last 5 to 7 weeks on that coop.  The big kids were very helpful also.  If they weren't actually helping with the coop, they were watching the 3 little ones so we could get some work done.  It really was a family project.  

Anyways, the 3 little ones were able to hold a chicken by themselves for the first time.  It was sooooo cute and funny.  Olivia (our family buddy) took these great pics of the kids!  Madeline and Anna took right to the chickens.  They both did exactly as I said and held them perfectly. Gideon wanted to hold one also, but as soon as the chicken got close to him he didn't want to hold it anymore.  After a while though, he saw how much Anna and Madeline liked it and then he wanted to try.  He did great and I was very proud if him.  He is such a funny little guy.  In some ways he will try anything.  Flying high on the swing, jumping off the top of the couch, crazy stuff (remember that at 14 months he loved riding the big horsies up the volcano in Guatemala).  But sometimes he just "wigs out" and doesn't want to do the easiest things.

Anna was cracking me up!  She LOVES animals.  Even if they scare her, she loves them and will just sit and watch them.  I have caught her on more than one occasion, just watching the chickens while the other two are playing.  She had no hesitations though when it came to holding the chicks.  What was funny though was that I had her put the chick down and a minute later I looked over at her and she had caught a different one and was holding it just like I told her.  Madeline tried to catch one and they just ran and squawked!  I know they were not easy to catch because the kids and I even had trouble getting them. 

Now I have to focus on the outside of the coop.  It needs painted and I think I am going to take the gutter off (it is half rusted out).  The roof also needs a little attention (a few nails have come out).  I don't think that will take long though and I have already bought the paint.

Check out the cute pic of the kids looking through the window!