Raising Chickens in Southpark

“Mom, I promise I’ll take care of them.” Insisted Gil, this time with even more conviction. Margaret weighed pros and cons of keeping chickens in the suburbs while the three baby chicks peeped up at her from a box in the garage. What began as a school science project - hatching baby chicks safely in the confines of the classroom – was about to turn into something more involved.

“But do we need three chickens?” reasoned Margaret. “How about just one.”

“Mom, chickens don’t like to be alone,” informed her oldest son. “Besides, they already all have names.”

That day the Carpenters' added three new, feathered family members – Daisy, Annie and Moe. The chicks settled into their cozy nest box in the garage, and grew.

And grew.

And grew some more until they looked more like chickens and less like baby chicks.

“It seems like they outgrew their temporary coop overnight, and we were scrambling to find them a permanent home,” explains Margaret. “I’m glad we found you!”

Annie, Moe, and Daisy needed a home, but one that would be as well received by the neighbors as it would be with the chickens. Elegant homes and landscapes are the norm in The Carpenters’ Southpark neighborhood, and the coop design had to fit in.

The 4’x8’ Playhouse Coop design was the answer, which gave Daisy, More and Annie a covered run area and roost box big enough to comfortably house up to five chickens. The framing and walls are made using 5/4” Western Red Cedar lumber and 3/8” Rough Cedar Plywood. ½” galvanized hardware cloth secures the sides and bottom of the coop from the long list of predators that would love to join the three chickens for dinner.  The roof is made using pre-cut standing seam metal roof panels, which are available in a variety of colors.

The coop was delivered unpainted, as Margaret wanted to make painting the coop a fun event for the whole family. “We love our new Playhouse Coop, and we’re going to have a blast painting it!” laughs Margaret.

“Annie, Moe and Daisy love it too”, adds Gil.