Urban Chicken Coop: A Review

I know many of you noticed that Sam's Club was carrying chicken coops in many of their stores. When my mom called me excitedly to tell me they had one set up in the store and it was really cute - Eric and I had to check it out.

I've always been a bit skeptical of buying pre made coops. I've heard a lot about how they aren't safe, are flimsy, just cheaply made but with a hefty price tag. We're also spoiled because we inherited our three coops, meticulously built by Uncle Ed. I know ours are safe, since they've been in use since the 60s. Obviously durable since they are about 50 years old. And definitely not cheap - they have extremely high quality cedar shakes nice enough to put on a house! But we were planning to build a small coop this spring for our sweet but horribly clumsy rooster Slippers. Coincidentally, the coop at Sam's Club was almost an exact replica of what we planned to build.

That got us thinking - maybe we could buy one, put it together in one afternoon and save ourselves so much time. Especially this year when we have so many things planned. The downside of this idea is obviously that the coop was most likely more expensive than we would have had to spend ourselves to build something similar. The coop was priced at $300 for those of you that didn't see it for yourselves at Sam's. It is also listed here.

So here's some info about the coop. It's made by a company called Urban Chicken. You can find their website here and their facebook here. The finished coop and run are about 7.5 ft long by 3.5 ft wide and 4.5 ft tall. The total coop size is about 3 ft long by 2.5 ft wide and 3.5 ft tall. So the coop is roughly 7.5 square feet inside. The run is roughly 26 square feet. Keep in mind that the run is underneath the coop for maximum run space. They recommend 4-6 standard size chickens or up to 8 bantams. Please do not pack that many birds into this size coop. I like to recommend 5 sq ft inside the coop per chicken, and 10sq ft in the run per chicken. The coop is made in America of yellow pine and comes already stained. There are two nest boxes with a convenient egg gathering door above them. There is a pull out tray for cleaning the bedding inside of the coop as well as two "roosts".

We had a lot of "help" putting it together!

Overall we give this coop a "B" rating and would recommend it. It's a good option for someone who is not handy and wants a couple of chickens. We do not recommend this coop for anyone who is not willing to make some minor modifications. And if you are planning on keeping more than two chickens, please consider a different coop. Read why we have rated it as such below. 

Holes were off slightly.

The construction of the coop was easy. The instructions are easy to follow and you do not need to be extremely handy to be able to build it. Just make sure the correct side is out, since they look so similar. We did run into a few problems though. Nothing severe, just annoying. In order to put all the sides together, there are small wood dowels that fit into corresponding holes on the next piece. Once in place, they hold the sides together snugly so you can fully screw them together. Some areas were missing these dowels all together, which was annoying to line it up properly, it certainly wasn't difficult. Also, a few of the holes did not match up to the proper location and we had to drill new holes before assembling those pieces. Again, not overly difficult just a bit annoying. Even with these minor issues with assembly, it was definitely something most people could accomplish without difficulty.

This can give you an idea of the size!

So what do we think about the coop overall? It's definitely cute. But it needs modifications. One of the most simple issues is the latches on the doors. These are just not adequate if you live in an area with raccoons. In some areas, the tongue and groove siding was warped leaving very obvious gaps. These areas need reinforcement. Additional gaps were in some areas of the roof, which besides being unsafe which would be obvious leaky areas during rain. Another issue was that most of the screws that were provided were too long. They did include smaller screws for the outside areas of the coop where you can possibly snag a finger, but the screws inside of the coop should also be replaced. I could picture our rooster gouging out an eye on one, and knowing him he would definitely do it. The floor of the nest box area was a big weak point in our opinion and should be more securely attached. But just a few screws will fix that issue. 

Digging to add wire.

A couple of other changes that we made was making the ramp easily removable. If you need access to the inside of the run, the ramp is in your way. By just using two finish nails rather than screws, you can slide the ramp in and out easily. We also buried wire underneath the coop to prevent predators from digging in. But that really depends on what type of predators you have in your area. The roosts are located about two inches off of the floor. Once shavings or straw is added they are pretty much level with the floor. The roosts should always be higher than the nest boxes since chickens instinctively seek out a higher roosting place. Inadequate roosts often leads to chickens sleeping in the nest boxes, which is no fun. There is plenty of room to place the roosts higher. I would also recommend using a wider piece of wood so they can roost more comfortably. None of the modifications are difficult, but we definitely think they are worth doing. 

Positives:

- Easy to assemble. 

- A good choice for people that are not handy. 

- Most of the work is already done for you. 

- Perfect for two chickens. 

- Very cute coop. 

- It comes pre-stained. 

- Uses hardwire cloth instead of chicken wire. 

- Overall construction is solid and sound.
- Great for someone who is just getting started with chickens.

Negatives:

- Needs some modifications. 

- Not recommended for more than two chickens. 

- Although the stain is beautiful, it's uneven in some places. 

- The box is very heavy (150lbs) so be prepared to move it. But it does contain a full chicken coop so this is to be expected!

Liebster Award Nomination

I have been nominated for the Liebster Award. What is that? It is a shout out/meet and greet for bloggers. It is a great way to find new blogs and learn a little more about some of your favorites. This was a lot of fun for both of us to fill out! Since this blog is run by both of us, both of us will answer the questions. Please make sure to check out all of the blogs we have nominated!

Thank you so very much to Such a Lively Life for nominating us!! Please be sure to visit their blog as well!

The Liebster Award is simple:
- Acknowledge the blogger who nominated you and display the award.
- Answer eleven questions that the blogger gives you.
- Give eleven random facts about yourself.
- Nominate eleven blogs that you think are deserving of the award (that have less than 200 followers.. although I follow so few blogs I nominated without even looking at the numbers!)
- Let the bloggers know you nominated them.
- Give them eleven questions to answer.

My Liebster Award Nominees

Here are some of the blogs that I follow, in no particular order. Please go check them out.. they are all amazing!

Little Big Harvest

Life From Scratch

The Adventures of Noodleville 

3Beeze Homestead

The Microfarm Chick

Cheese Acres Farm

The Jahner Farmstead

Timber Creek Farm

Country City Me

Jonquil Junction

Country Road Abode

Questions For My Nominees:

1. Where are you from?

2. What is your favorite food or recipe?

3. Do you prefer summer or winter?

4. Why did you start blogging?

5. Is there anything you'd like to change in your life?

6. What is your favorite holiday?

7. What is your favorite thing to do with your free time?

8. Do you have a daily routine?

9. Do you have any pets and if so what are their names?

10. What is one of your favorite books?
11. What would you do if you suddenly won the lottery?

11 Questions that were given to me

Megan:

1. Coffee, tea or other in the morning? Neither! I prefer just water. Although I do really enjoy green tea and ginger tea when I want to relax.

2. Who inspires you? My biggest inspirations are my parents. My mom is so loving and has taught me so much. My dad is so smart and is such a hard worker. I feel so lucky to have had such great parents!

3. What is your favorite part of the day? Usually dinner time :)

4. What do you look for in a friend? Someone who is kind, generous, and open minded. 

5. What did you eat for breakfast? I had a delicious egg sandwich on some of our homemade bread!

6. What was the last book you read? Root Cellaring, by Mike & Nancy Bubel

7. Least favorite chore? Vacuuming! Bleh. 

8. Why did you start blogging? I started this blog right after Uncle Ed passed away. I wanted to continue the farm in his memory and I got the idea to have a blog. 

9. My passion in one word is... Love

10. What is one thing you cannot live without? My family. 

11. Did you tell someone you love them today? Yes! I always make sure to say so. 

Eric:

1. Coffee, tea or other in the morning? I almost never drink coffee. Tea occasionally in the morning, but most likely just water, juice or local milk.

2. Who inspires you? My mom, who always lived her life to the fullest with such positivity and was always smiling and laughing. 

3. What is your favorite part of the day? The weekend! 

4. What do you look for in a friend? I look for honesty, reliability, and good natured. 

5. What did you eat for breakfast? Fresh egg salad. 

6. What was the last book you read? Game of Thrones. 

7. Least favorite chore? Washing dishes. 

8. Why did you start blogging? Megan actually started the blog a few years ago and I got more involved as time went on. 

9. My passion in one word is... Family

10. What is one thing you cannot live without? My jeep! Just kidding. My lovely wife, Megan. 

11. Did you tell someone you love them today? Yes. 

11 Random Facts About Me

Megan:

1. I love all foods that contain potaoes, except potato salad. I won't touch that!

2. I have read the Harry Potter series an insane number of times. 

3. I have never travelled outside of the US. 

4. My favorite color is green. 

5. I'm always cold! I actually have primary Raynaud's disease. Which isn't serious, just uncomfortable. 

6. I love line dried clothes!

7. My favorite vacation spot is New Hampshire, staying on Lake Winnisquam.

8. I have a younger brother, Matthew. 

9. My middle name is Linn, which was Uncle Ed's last name, as well as my maternal grandparents. 

10. I really liked school growing up and I still love learning. 

11. I really miss my grandma who passed away in 2006. She was my best friend.  

Eric:

1. I named our silly Black Australorp Itty. If you've been to visit you know who I'm talking about!

2. I'm a mechanical engineer. 

3. I love jeeps. 

4. I went to UCONN. Go Huskies!

5. I like to fish. 

6. My favorite food is homemade pizza. 

7. My favorite season is summer. 

8. I like dirt biking. 

9. I love getting lots of snow in the winter. 

10. I have never gone skydiving but want to. 

11. Super Troopers is one of my favorite movies. 

Reusing Plastic Containers for Plants

Recycling containers is a great way to save money as well as have plenty of room for all of your plants. But all plastic containers are not safe to reuse! In the US, all plastics are labeled by number.

Plastics labeled 1, 2, 4, & 5 can be reused for planting. Any plastic containers labeled 3, 6, & 7 should be avoided. This seems simple enough, but another thing to keep in mind is what was originally stored in the plastic container? If there is any chance it was used to store chemicals or pesticides or anything else unsavory, it is best avoided, even if it has a safe number. This is one reason to be wary of simply salvaging plastic containers from rubbish piles or yard sales - it's impossible to know what it was used for.

Want more information on plastic containers? Here are some great links that have what each plastic is made of, why certain plastics are not safe, and things to consider when using plastic for food. Check them out below:

EMR Labs: Detailed information on each type of container, by recycling number.
The Micro Gardener: Choosing safe containers for growing food.
Green Roof Growers: Plants in Plastic
Healthy Child, Healthy World: Know your plastics.

Split Pea Soup

Split pea soup is an easy recipe that makes a very hearty meal! I really enjoy starting this soup early in the day and letting it simmer all day. I included the "shorter" recipe below, but feel free to cook it slowly for longer! It also works well in a crock pot.

- 1 Ham Bone
- 8 Cups Chicken Broth
- 16 oz Split Peas (About 2 1/4 Cups)
- 2 Small Onions, Chopped or Sliced (your preference)
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1 Clove of Garlic, Chopped
- 3 Celery Stalks, Chopped
- 3 Carrots, Chopped
- 1 Potato, Diced
- Salt & Pepper to Taste
- A dash chilli powder & paprika, or your favorite seasonings.



1. If you'd like, you can soak your peas overnight, but feel free to omit that step. I never soak mine!
2. Add your ham bone, chicken broth, peas, onions, and bay leaf to your pot. Cover your pot, bring it to a boil & let it simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
3. Remove the ham bone, and cut off the remaining meat. Dice it and return it to the soup. It's much easier to do this step now, than wait until the beans all turn to liquid. I like to return the ham bone to the pot as well to get every last bit of goodness out of it. But you can also leave it out for the remainder of the cooking time if you prefer.
4. Add your garlic, celery, carrots, & potato. Simmer for an hour, or until veggies are tender.
5. Remember to remove the bone before serving, if you haven't already! Serve with fresh, homemade bread & enjoy!

Which Pallets Are Safe to Use?

There are so many amazing things that you can do with pallets! Since they are available free at many places, they have become very popular for DIY projects. But it is very important to know which pallets are safe for use. Thankfully, most pallets are labeled with a stamp. As long as you know what to look for, you can make sure you are getting safe pallets.

You may be wondering why would certain pallets be dangerous? In order to stop the spread of invasive pests, pallets are treated. They can be treated in two ways, with dangerous toxic chemicals or with heat. You do not want to use any pallets treated with a dangerous substance, but pallets only treated with heat are perfectly safe to use.

There are a few labels that may be on pallets:

HT: This stands for "Heat Treatment". Depending on the type of wood, they are heated to a certain temperature in a kiln for thirty minutes. These pallets were not treated with chemicals and are safe to use!

DB: This stands for "Debarked", which is self explanatory.

MB: This stands for "Methyl Bromide". This is a broad spectrum pesticide that is very dangerous to both human & animal health, as well as the environment. You can read more about it's effect on the environment here, and about the health dangers here. Pallets marked with MB are not safe for any use, including burning.

Unmarked: Pallets that have no stamp on them should be considered unsafe. Although it is standard to stamp all pallets now, you have no idea how old the unlabeled pallet is. Considering how dangerous Methyl Bromide is, it is not worth the risk.

Additionally, you should also not use any pallets that are dirty and appear to have things spilled on it. There is no way of knowing whether chemicals were spilled directly onto the pallet, even if it is labeled as safe to use. The best way to recycle pallets is to find a place where you can find out what the pallets are used for. We are able to get pallets from Eric's workplace, so he knows how they were used prior to us collecting them.


So now that you know which pallets you can use.. there are so many possibilites! If you need some ideas, check out our pinterest board: Pallet Projects!

Basic Quiche Recipe

Quiche is one of those easy, go-to meals that everyone should know how to make. And especially those of us that have lots of eggs around! It's a great meal to use up extra vegetables and meat as well! You really can't go wrong with quiche.

Here's what you need:

1 Pie Crust (homemade or pre-made, your choice)

3 TBS Butter

1 Medium Onion, chopped

1 Garlic Clove, minced

1 Cup Veggies (spinach, peppers.. whatever you have, frozen or fresh)

4 Slices Crumbled Bacon (or sausage or ham, etc)

6 Eggs

1 Cup Milk

2 Cups Shredded Cheese (it really tastes better if you freshly shred it yourself!)

Salt & Pepper & Your Favorite Seasonings

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. 

2. Press your pie crust into your pie dish. Once your oven is heated, pre-bake your pie crust for ten minutes, then remove and set aside. 

3. Saute your onions, garlic and vegetables of your choice in butter, until onions are soft. If you're using greens you may just want to add them at the end to wilt them, so they do not get over cooked. Season the vegetables according to your tastes. 

4. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the milk and eggs. 

5. Spread the cheese evenly onto the bottom of the pie crust, pressing it down to flatten it.

6. Spread your vegetable mixture evening across the cheese layer. Top this with the crumbled bacon or other meat of your choice. You can also totally skip this part if you don't have anything on hand!

7. Pour the egg and milk mixture over the vegetable layer. 

8. Bake at 375 degrees for 35-45 minutes. The time will vary depending on your fillings. Watch the crust to make sure it does not get to brown. If it browns too quickly, simply cover it with tin foil.

Enjoy!

Cheesy Eggs & Potatoes

This is such an easy meal! But it is so delicious too. We always have lots of eggs on hand from our chickens, so we're always looking for more ways to cook them. This is one of our favorites!

Ingredients:
5-6 Medium Potatoes (or enough to fill your skillet)
4 Eggs
Salt & Pepper to taste

For the Topping it's very versatile, but we use:
2 Garlic Cloves, Minced
3 Green Onions, Sliced
4 Slices of Bacon, Crumbled
1/4 Cup Parsley, Chopped
1/4 Cup Fresh Shredded Cheese

Start off cooking your potatoes in the skillet. I know everyone has their own favorite way of cooking and seasoning their potatoes so just do your favorite way. Once the potatoes are done and nice and crispy, make four depressions around the pan for the eggs. Crack one egg into each depression. Place your skillet into a preheated 400 degree oven and bake the eggs until the whites are set, about 9-12 minutes. Then sprinkle your toppings on top and return to the oven for one additional minute or until the cheese is melted. Then remove from oven & enjoy!

This recipe works best with a cast iron skillet!