Operation Backyard Chickens

We are very close to embarking on the adventure of owning our own backyard chickens. I've spent portions of the past few weekends converting Zeke's doghouse (which he never used) into a coop and fencing off a portion of my yard into a chicken run. By this time next week we'll be the proud owners of four Rhode Island Reds. Why are we doing this you ask?

- We already spend nearly $4 on a dozen free-range, organic eggs each time we grocery shop. Why not just produce the eggs ourselves in an environment where we know that the chickens are being fed and raised naturally?
- It will be a good experience for the kids to help raise the chickens
- I've always wanted to give it a try

Now, all that being said, there is a chance that our dog will use his Houdini-like abilities to break into the Fort Knox-like structure I've created and help himself to our flock. Our dog is about the gentlest thing ever, but he is by nature a hunter, and he has killed mice and birds before. If that happens and he manages to serve himself up a chicken dinner, I'll just chalk this up to a fairly expensive and time consuming failed experiment. Certainly wouldn't be the first time it happened (and definitely wouldn't be the last!).

Here are a few pictures of the coop and run.