Chickens and backyard chicken coops have got to be one of the hottest trends happening today in the garden, right up there with growing your own vegetables. In case you missed it this week, there was an interesting article in the New York Times about backyard chickens, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/04/business/04chickens.html? emc=eta1.

Last month, the fab daily e-newsletter out of Southern California, "dirt du jour", spoke about the upcoming trend of chicken coop tours alongside garden tours in various parts of the country, http://www.dirtdujour.com/item/tour_de_coop/

Recently, dear friend, Debra Prinzing, author of Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways wrote on her blog, Shedstyle, "Chicken Coop Sightings" and how utterly charming, beautiful, and creative chicken coops can be. Thank you for including "Coop de Manion" in your sightings.

Check out the latest scoop.

Originally, I found an advertisement for French Wheaten Marans chicks at my local feed store's bulletin board, and decided to order some chicks from the breeder. I was unfamiliar with this chicken breed, but was captivated by them. What makes this breed so unique is their dark chocolate colored eggs. By unusual circumstances, and many twists and turns, I was actually given the breeder's two "1-year old" hens last week. I promptly and appropriately named our new two French Wheaten Marans hens, Fanny and CoCo.

The Marans chicken breed originates from western France, around the actual town of Marans, and near La Rochelle. The Marans rooster is very striking, multi-colored, and is often depicted in French paintings and farm scenes. The hens look totally different from the rooster. Within this Marans breed there are actually eight or more colors or varieties. Our Wheaten Marans hens are one of the varieties, being light buff in body, with darker buff feathers around their neck, shoulder, and tail feathers. For a little drama, their tail feathers have a striking black tip on the ends. The most well known varieties within the Marans breed are the Cuckoo and Black Copper.

Marans chickens are generally characterized as a large attractive hardy breed. They are very active chickens, and do well in a homestead setting. They have a friendly docile temperament. They have a single red comb. and can come in feathered or clean-leg varieties. They were originally bred for their very dark brown egg production, and meat value.

It is the dark chocolate colored laid egg, which attracts most people to the bred, and which sets them apart from all other chicken breeds. The Marans egg receives its deep brown color right before laying. A deep chocolate brown pigment is deposited and tinted over the finished egg by way of mucus glands within the last 10 centimeters of the hen's oviduct before laying. Immediately after laying, this layer of tint dries quickly and the shell retains its beautiful dark chocolate color. Remember, the egg's flavor is determined by what the hen eats, therefore these eggs will not taste like chocolate. It is all about the "wow factor" in the visual appeal of the egg.

This differs from your usual farm-fresh brown eggs, most generally laid by heavy-weight chicken breeds, where the tan pigment is built into the shell calcium as the egg travels down the hen's oviduct, and not tinted in the last moments of being laid. Similarly, the popular blue-green egg laid by the Ameraucana breed is tinted throughout the thickness of the shell. With your normal brown eggs, and blue-green eggs, the color cannot be removed. However, the deep chocolate brown color on a Marans egg can be washed off with water, if you attempt it.

All of you who have been following this blog by now know we have our other beloved chickens, our "Hollywood Girls". With the introduction of Fanny and CoCo, there is an adjustment period, a "get to know you" period, and a creation of a new pecking order. While I'm watching this all unfold, I'd love to hear from you. Especially if you are familiar with the Marans chicken breed. What do you like most about the breed? What do you like most about the eggs? Do you have a Maran rooster, too? What variety do you have?

If you have chickens, do yourself a favor as well as your chickens, by keeping their coop and outside pen clean. In a clean environment, your chickens will be healthy, happy, and flourish for many years. On the flip side, if your chicken coop and outside pen is always dirty, you are courting disease, stress, flies, rancid food, rodents, dirty eggs, and more. Your flock will not be able to live an optimum healthy happy life.

We all live in different parts of the country and the world with different climates, and most likely have some sort of unique chicken coop set up. So the formula is, what ever works for you, as long as your chickens are in a clean environment. Do you have tips for keeping your chicken coop clean, that you would like to share?

I have mentioned previously in the post, "Backyard Chicken Coop", Roosting Bar & Manure Box, I clean my manure box under my hen roosting bar every morning, skimming it and putting it into the compost. I rotate my chicken coop bedding on a regular basis, starting with fresh bedding in the nesting boxes, rotating the bedding to the chicken coop floor and then to the manure box, and finally to the compost bin. This method of cleaning has worked quite well for me.

My hens always have plenty of fresh water and quality laying mash. I supplement with greens, fruits, and vegetables every day for treats. Any uneaten treats also go into the compost bin. Chickens love their protein, as much as their grain. Do not be alarmed if your chickens eat a mouse, small lizard, grasshopper, snail, worm...these are also perfectly natural foods for chickens.

Every month, or more frequently if needed, I thoroughly clean my chicken waterers by soaking them in a tub of "food safe dish soap" and and a few tablespoons of bleach for a half an hour or so. The bleach acts as a sterilizing agent. There are "environmentally safe" bleaches available on the market now. Never mix any soaps or cleaners with your chicken waterers that may be toxic, and leave a residue. With a toothbrush, I scrub the chicken waterer lip and basin. Here in Southern California, in the summer heat, sometimes I get a green scum build up, so I clean my chicken waterers more frequently. Make sure to rinse your waterers well before filling with water and returning them to your chickens. When cleaning your waterers, make sure your chickens have an alternative source of water to drink from.

Protect your feed from rodents, mice, squirrels, moths, moisture, etc. by keeping it in a dry, air-tight container like a new plastic or metal garbage can with a tight lid on it. Ideally, you should have a special place to keep your feed safe in a shed, garage, or enclosed area protected from weather elements. Rodents can transfer mites, and diseases to your chickens if left unchecked. Please note that rodents are pretty determined, and can chew through plastic garbage cans and wood feed bins, too. If you have rodent evidence, take steps to eradicate them.

Incorporating a daily maintenance routine for your chickens will keep your chicken coop, and outside pen clean on a daily basis. Once a quarter, or about every three months, I also do a thorough chicken coop and outside pen cleaning. First, I move my chickens to another area, or let them out in our yard with a watchful eye. I open up all the doors and windows, remove all of the bedding and check for dry rot, termites, rodent holes, etc. With a broom, I brush off my protective wire screens for dust and any cobwebs. I take my manure box out of the chicken coop, empty, hose down, and brush the wire top clean. I then let it dry in the sun throughly. I level the soil in my outside pen with a rake, and add a layer of fresh new sand or soil. I add new walking mulch around my chicken coop. I do a thorough "tending to" of my plants, vines, roses, and vegetation I have planted around my chicken coop. I never let weeds grow or trash of any kind, linger near my chicken coop.

In other words, I do a thorough quarterly cleaning of my chicken coop, and outside pen. I have a small flock of hens, if you have a large flock you might have to do extensive cleaning more often. When it comes to chickens, I can not stress enough that preventive cleaning and daily maintenance is your best philosophy to follow.

My dear friend, fellow gardener, and incredible ceramic and mosaic artist, Kathy LaFleur, would only have a chicken coop as befitting as the one in the above photo for her lucky chickens.

Kathy has transformed this aviary into a "palais de poulet" for her hens. On the top of her roof she added roof tiles, and planted beautiful thriving blooming succulents. On the front of her chicken coop she has painstakingly created two unique mosaics. There are more colorful mosaics and mirrors adorning the inside. Notice the two rows of vintage hen nesting boxes in the chicken coop background, and that she uses hay as her preferred bedding material. Hats off to you, Kathy, your creative chicken coop is so inspiring and amazing!

Here are a few FAQ questions from the previous "Backyard Chicken Coop" Series:

What are the best chicken breeds for a backyard chicken coop? It really is your preference, and what your purpose is for having chickens.

My preference for backyard "homesteaders" is the heavy-breed chickens that generally lay brown eggs. Some of my favorites are the Buff Orpingtons, Rhode Island Reds, Barred Rocks, Silver-Laced Wyndottes, and the Black Australorps. The heavy-breed chickens are more docile, friendly, approachable, and are great layers. Ameraucanas lay a pretty blue-green egg, and are a nice choice, too.

If you are pinched for space overall, you might consider the Bantam chicken varieties. They are a smaller chicken that lay large eggs relative to their size. Their space requirements are 1 sq ft/bird inside coop and 4 sq ft/bird outside chicken coop, quite a bit less than the heavy breed chickens at 1.5-2 sq ft/bird inside chicken coop, and 8-10 sq ft/bird for outside pen. Silkies, with their head plumes, and Cochins with their heavily feathered legs are Bantams. I call them designer chickens, pretty and showy, but can be skittish and a bit aloof. You might want to get an assortment of breeds for your backyard flock for variety and fun, but preferably all about the same age.

What is the best floor for chicken coops? Chickens require dry, draft free housing with good ventilation. Ideally you want your chicken coop, raised off of the ground, with sunlight able to access underneath. However, this is not always possible, especially if you have a modified structure or building.

A concrete floor is acceptable, but you must provide ample bedding and make sure it is not damp. A dry, wood floor is acceptable, again with ample bedding. If you are using plywood or wood in general, make sure it is untreated, no chemicals used in manufacturing it. My preference for bedding is pine litter, available at feed stores, because it is manageable and easy to compost with. Hay is another nice choice of bedding. Sometimes your chicken coop design lends itself better to one kind of bedding over another.

An entire wire floor is not ideal, because it can be hard on hen's legs and feet, and manure is dropping where? Wire mesh over the top of your chicken manure box is fine, but not for an entire floor. It also leaves your hen house rather exposed to rodents and varmints.

Where do I position my chicken coop in my backyard? Ideally, you want a quiet corner or spot on your property that is away from your house. It needs to be preferably on a high, well-drained area. You want ample air movement without a draft. Fresh air means fresh oxygen and movement to remove excess moisture, ammonia, and carbon dioxide which hens naturally give off.

It should be an area where the south sun reaches the chicken coop, and the outside pen for a large portion of the day. We have our chicken coop nestled by our orchard, and generally close to our storage shed, and composting area. It is an area slightly removed, but accessible. Fun with landscaping helps muffle sounds from your chickens, and integrates your chicken coop with the rest of your garden.

Chickens are active, and can be remain in their outside pen all day. Remember, if they are laying hens, they will need access to their chicken coop and nesting boxes during the daytime, too. At night time, it is best to tuck your chickens in, by bringing their feed bucket inside the chicken coop, and closing up their outside pen, doors, and windows till morning. Make sure your chickens have adequate ventilation with their chicken coop closed for the night.

When I let my chickens out in my yard, they like to wallow in the dirt. What are they doing? I call it a "dirt bath". They enjoy creating a little basin and laying down in the dirt, flinging dirt over themselves and their feathers. It is a way of cleaning themselves, cooling themselves, and relaxing.

I have a hen who insists on sitting on a "clutch" of eggs for long periods of time. What is she doing? She is brooding, or sitting on her eggs to hatch them. If you have a rooster in your flock, most likely you want fertilized eggs and/or chicks. If your hens sit on fertilized eggs for 21 days, embryos will develop and eventually hatch as chicks.

Even if you don't have a rooster in your flock, some hens will naturally sit or "brood" on their eggs, usually in the spring time. You have a choice to let your hen brood, or collect your eggs as usual. I usually collect my eggs so I know they have recently been laid, and because a hen can actually become emaciated by not moving, eating, or following her regular routine for days and sometimes weeks. Just because you remove all the eggs a hen is sitting on, does not necessarily mean she will stop brooding, too.

I have a neighbor or friend who wants to give me one of her hens that is being picked on in her own flock. Is that okay to do? I have generally had good experience in adopting hens into my flock. I would encourage you to adopt a hen, if the circumstance is right for you, and the hen is generally healthy and in good condition. There is a difference in a hen being pecked at, and a hen that is sick. Introducing an older hen into a younger hen flock usually works well. The adopted hen, can become the "mother hen", and show the others "the ropes".

Why are certain hens being picked on in my flock, and how can I prevent it, stop it? Hens naturally have a pecking order they establish within a flock. Sometimes a hen is perceived as weak, or picked on for no reason at all. If you introduce younger hens into your flock this can be a problem because they are smaller and younger, and unable to defend themselves. Generally speaking, if your flock of hens are the same age, you will have less of a "pecking order" problem. This can be hard as your flock size shifts and you might want to add new hens. Hens like routine, and when new hens are frequently introduced, it shifts the flock dynamics. Also, make sure you are not overcrowding your hens, check your sq ft/bird to chicken coop and sq ft/bird to outdoor pen ratio.

Sometimes it takes just a few days for all of the hens to settle in, and adjust. Sometimes they never adjust, and you might have to separate them in another pen or coop, or isolate them for a period of time, or ask a friend about adopting your hen.

Do you have more questions, comments, stories to share about your chickens and chicken coop?

"Hollywood Girls" Just Wanna Have Fun.

Chickens can be very sociable, and often want to be around all of the activity. In the photo, taken last summer, we are showing friends how to read a refractometer, an instrument grape growers use to test the level of sugar (or brix) in their grapes as harvest time approaches. J.Lo, one of our beloved chickens or "Hollywood Girls", just had to see what all the excitement was about. As I mentioned earlier in the week, chickens require little, but soon become a part of your life.

This past week, maybe I should have called it "Chicken Week", but instead I named this series an anatomy of the "Backyard Chicken Coop". This is by no means my last word on chickens, simply basic components of a chicken coop, and what is required to keep happy healthy chickens.

Once again, commons sense and good management will go a long way in properly caring for chickens. Get into a routine with your chickens. Keep their environment clean. Keep them protected.

In summary, this past week I wrote about the requirements for you and your potential chickens to co-exist in harmony. I outlined space guidelines for building a new chicken coop or modifying an existing structure. I wrote about hen nesting boxes, so important to laying hens and egg production. I covered the necessity of a roosting bar, and manure box in the chicken coop. I shared with you my method of keeping my chicken coop clean. I described the integral "outside pen" and how to keep predators out. I gave you some ideas on how you can customize your chicken coop with decorative details. I also hope that I give you some insight into the "joy" and "fun" of having chickens in your world.

Please feel free to share your chicken stories, creative coops, and chicken experience.

Once you have your backyard chicken coop in place, you must not forget decor details. It does not matter what kind of chicken coop you have built or modified, you must add a little fun with details. Chicken coops are usually a small charming structure, which lend themselves to fanciful decorative touches in any style you prefer.

Elements like paint color, flea market finds, pots, signs, tools, barrels, repurposed treasures can all reinforce the style and look you seek for your chicken coop. Just take a moment to reflect that anything you do, add, or expose your chickens to will be safe for them. I do not decorate inside my chicken coop, only the outside.

Our chicken coop is a rustic style, in a country setting. Some of the decorative touches I used early on, and some have evolved over the years. Here are a few of our chicken coop embellishments that add to its charm.

Planted a showy climbing vine, on one side of the chicken coop. This vine is very happy, and has climbed up and over to the front side of the chicken coop. Planting vines and greenery soften your chicken coop, and add to its appeal.

Planted narcissus bulbs which bloom in winter, along side of the outside chicken pen. One year I planted foxgloves which were gorgeous, but eventually realized they were poisonous and not the best near our chickens, or in our garden. I like to have something colorful blooming in that spot for each season.

Mounted a working "Chicken Weathervane" on top of the roof. You can purchase on the internet weathervanes in wonderful designs, which are scaled down in size for small buildings.

Pair of blooming tree roses greet you, in front of the chicken coop front door. One year, one tree rose was a gopher casualty, but I was able to find another one and replace it.

Whimsical "Farm Fresh Eggs" sign, a gift from my brother and his family.

Vintage hen statuary and potted chicken feeder mimic the real life of our chickens behind them.

If you have other decor ideas for chicken coops, please share in comments.

The "Outside Pen" is an integral part of keeping happy chickens. Our outside pen adjoins seamlessly to the chicken coop, providing our chickens with room to be active. There is an outside door that closes for night time, or if there is stormy weather and you want to keep your chickens in their coop.

The outside pen is fairly basic. It is an outside area which allows hens to be active, enjoy outdoors, and relax in a totally protective area. A rule of thumb for outside pens is 8'-10' square feet/hen in your design. Hens will gladly use a ramp or ladder to transition from outside pen to chicken coop. Hanging feeders and waters keep feed and water clean.

Our outside pen is made up of 4" by 4" boards anchoring the corners and middle of the pen, and 2" by 4" boards in between, and on top for strength. Posts were buried and set in cement. A "human-size" door was made at the back side corner of pen. The entire sides, back, and top are covered and secured with durable half-inch wire mesh. All wire meshing should be left smooth, and without any sharp points to keep your hens safe. You want to protect your hens from hawks and owls above, and the possibility of raccoons, coyotes, and other predators at ground level.

Durable wire mesh should also be buried at least 12" deep, and toed outward 6" along the perimeter of your entire outside pen. This is done by making a trench first, and then securing wiring. This will help protect your hens and their feed bucket from squirrels, gophers, rats, mice, and snakes, possibly below the ground. For another solution, see my post on "Narcissus Bulbs Naturally Deter Gophers", under Green Tips.

Our outside pen has a wonderful sandy soil floor. Daily manure droppings generally permeate the sandy soil, and daily cleaning is not necessary. If you have a very large flock of chickens, routine clean-up may be necessary. Once a quarter, I re-level the outside pen floor and replenish with fresh sandy topsoil. Sandy soil is agreeable to hens, easy on their feet and to play in. A simple secured shade cloth covering half of the outside top pen, gives our hens an optional shady area.

You will find that your hens spend most of their day in their outside pen. For happy hens, make sure your outside pen is safe for them, and a pleasant environment for them to be in.

Two more important components of your chicken coop are the "Roosting Bar" and "Manure Box". Housed chickens do not sleep in nesting boxes, or on the floor of their chicken coop, they sleep shoulder to shoulder on an elevated roosting bar at night. This bar actually assimilates a tree limb. Chickens that roam free, such as in Key West, Florida, instinctively know they can better protect themselves from predators up in a tree on a limb at night. The same concept holds true for your backyard flock utilizing their night roosting bar inside their chicken coop.

The roosting bar is a simple solid dowel, about 1.5" in diameter, that is secured in place, usually opposite the side of the nesting boxes. Allow 6"-10" width of roosting bar space per hen. Our roosting bar is positioned 2'8" high from the chicken coop floor. Depending on your chicken coop design, you might want to vary the height up or down a bit. You want it to be comfortable for your hens to perch on. Underneath the roosting bar is the manure box.

The manure box is a beautiful thing. It is situated directly below the roosting bar, filled with bedding, and a moveable screen lid. This screen lid should be made of durable half-inch wire mesh.

Most of your chicken manure droppings will fall to the manure screen lid and box during the night. It is almost like a "cat litter box", but an equivalent concept for chickens. I skim the screen and bedding with manure from the box, and take it to my nearby compost pile, along with my kitchen vegetable scraps. The chicken coop is clean for the day. You can let the manure pile up, but I find it best overall to get it out of the coop and into the compost pile. Every month or so, I take the manure box top screen outside, and really hose it off, brush it down with soap and water and then let it dry throughly before returning it to the chicken coop.

I have seen chicken coop designs that allow you to access the manure box from the outside, with a closable shutter. My preference with manure boxes is to make sure they can be moved and are not stationary. You want to have access to this area, to throughly deep clean it from time to time.

I find that our chickens don't leave many manure droppings in their nesting boxes, or even the floor of their chicken coop. Manure droppings are mainly deposited in the manure box at night, and the outside pen during the day. I rotate my bedding to keep the chicken coop clean. Fresh clean bedding goes to the nesting boxes first, then the chicken coop floor second, and last to the manure box, before I take it out to the compost. By using this method, my bedding is optimized, and I only need to clean the entire chicken coop once a quarter or so.

One last word on the roosting bar. You might have noticed that many of my photos of our "Hollywood Girls" are taken in our gardens or outside of their chicken coop, after I have been preaching about protecting and containing your chickens. First of all, you have to know your chicken flock, and what they will do. Our chickens love to explore our property, and are quite well-behaved. I only let our chickens out, when I am home, and in the garden to keep one eye on them. I never let them out and then run to the grocery store. I always leave the front door of their chicken coop open, so they can come back for water or a little laying mash. With that said, if you let your chickens out in your yard or property, at dusk they will come back to their chicken coop faithfully, and head straight to their roosting bar for the night. Once they are in, make sure to secure them in, by locking their door and windows for the night.