Showing posts with label Chicken Coop. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chicken Coop. Show all posts
The Lemons:
Sadly, we are not going to be able to have the chickens that we were so looking forward to. The City of Tacoma allows them, but our Home Owner's Association does not.Rules are rules.
So as disappointed as we are, the chickens will have to wait.
So let's make some lemonade!
We still have a 4 foot by 4 foot framed house that we're going to have to do something with.Yes, it was intended for chickens, but that didn't stop the kids from dragging their pillows and blankets out to the driveway to sit in it while dad was working on building it.
Looks to me like they just got themselves the perfect, little playhouse!
Ahhh, this lemonade tastes good!Because despite the big let down, the kids are happy and have something to look forward to!
You see, kids are resilient. We know this. They can bounce back from bad news in a moment. When we told them yesterday that we were not going to be able to have chickens here, I at least expected one of them to shed a tear. All they asked was "why?" with big eyes and looks of disappointment on their little faces. But all on their own, they came to the conclusion that it was going to be ok because when we move, then we can have our chickens. Along with a dog for our canine-lover, Owen. And the orange and white cat with green eyes for our very specific seven year old, William. They don't get caught up in the disappointment of today. All they see is the promise of tomorrow.
Too bad it's not that easy for us big kids to see things that way!
The circumstances in which we found out about the Home Owner's Rules were...let's just say, less than ideal. The news came in the form of a letter from the Home Owner's Association stating the rules, demanding an end to construction of the project and a written response letter from us within two weeks, along with the threat of fining us $500.00 and a lien against the property.
Sheesh!
Harsh, right?
We were blown away.
Someone decided to take this all the way to the top without the slightest mention of it to us. It didn't take much digging to find out exactly what chain of events occurred. I had my suspicions of who the culprits may be and it was confirmed. What saddens me is that these people are our neighbors. Not the friendliest of neighbors, but neighbors none the less. All they had to do was come and let us know their concerns and what the rules are. We are not unfriendly or inaccessible people. We are here most of the time. And if my husband is here it is almost a guarantee that the garage will be open and he will be in there building something for someone. We are approachable and we will gladly chat with passerby's who inquire about what we are building now. Had these neighbors come to us, we would have realized our mistake and it would have been done. No need to alert the authorities!
Last night we asked ourselves, what we are supposed to be learning from this. Here is what we know:
1. When living in a neighborhood with an HOA, make sure to do all of your homework before-hand!
2. The goals we have for our family do not include being governed by an HOA.
3. We want land and animals.
(Re: #2 and #3...I have known this for years. This event solidified the decision for my husband.)
4. We design great chicken coops! This could be lucrative for us.
5. Trust the neighbors we know. Be leery of those we don't.
I do want to add that I know HOA's can be great! They prevent things from occurring that can de-value a neighborhood. And for that, they are needed. It all comes down to what your goals are, and the environment that you want to create for your family. What Will and I know now is that we are too creative to be stifled by an HOA. We love to design and build and make things beautiful with the goal of making our surroundings better than they were when we arrived. We don't want to ask for approval every time that we want to make an improvement to our home or yard. And we don't want to be governed by an antiquated set of rules.
This neighborhood has a lot of the original owners still living in it. As that changes and younger families start moving in, I wouldn't be surprised if some of these rules become worth fighting for by many. Backyard chickens are already becoming more common place. The idea of growing your own food, reducing your footprint to help the environment, and providing for yourself instead of relying on retailers is something that we see everywhere these days. It's in print media, radio, television...everywhere you look. More and more people are catching on and realizing that it just might be as easy as it looks. It wouldn't surprise me if people started challenging the rules set in place by home builders.
For now, we are content in knowing that our coop, which we put so much time and energy into designing and constructing, will be converted into a playhouse and used by the kids. But, I guarantee this, its future still remains as a chicken coop!
We'll just look at it as delayed gratification!
As for our next project, expect to see a playhouse coming soon along with a few very happy kiddos!
Will and I, we're going to follow the kids' lead
and look forward to the promise of tomorrow!
photos courtesy of CountryLiving.com
We got quite a bit accomplished yesterday and the coop is looking good!
We ended up making a couple of modifications to our final plan once the 2x4's were in place.Since we designed this little house ourselves, it is much easier to see how it will work when we're dealing with the actual structure, versus a drawing.
We've decided to use one of my old windows. It was most recently hanging in Ellison's room, but I love the rustic charm that it adds to the coop, so here it will stay!
And there's the carpenter himself...
He's going to hate it that I included this pic!But, I'm the blogger, so I choose the pics, right?
Today is all about putting up the OSB on the inside, exterior siding on the outside, and stabilizing the roof. We'll see how far he gets. We've still got quite a ways to go before it's finished, but I'm thrilled with how it looks so far!
Yesterday was beautiful so he was able to set up in the driveway, but today is rainy and grey which creates a less-than-ideal situation. A buddy of his is coming over to help and I'm hoping they will be able to achieve all of the above and then some!
Unfortunately, I won't be here. I am off to paint my parents master bedroom and bath.
Can't wait to see what the coop looks like when I get back!
Have a great day, everyone!
Step #1. Build
image courtesy of GrowBetterVeggies.comThat's right!
Chickens!!
I wish I was there right now to see the faces of those that know us that are reading this. The reactions we get make us laugh! We've had mixed reviews on whether this is a good idea or not. Living in the middle of suburbia we get lots of "WHY???" questions. Only two people have been all for it from the start - my best friend, who thinks it's a fantastic idea (of course, she raises goats, so maybe that should have been expected) and my mother-in-law who seems genuinely excited about the whole thing! Maybe she's anticipating the fresh blue and green eggs just as much as I am! And I'm pretty sure that my dad has come around to the idea because he sent me a great link to lots of backyard chicken info!
We spent the past three days designing and re-designing the plans for our chicken coop. You'd think we were attempting to recreate the Taj Mahal with how much effort has gone into this! There is so much information out there about what a chicken coop should be like that it can make you dizzy! And we're not one's to do something half-way...if we're going to do this, then we're going to do it right! Hopefully our plan is good enough for the chickens!
All of the wood, hinges, roof tiles and wire is sitting in the garage waiting to be turned into something great! We're keeping our fingers crossed that our vision will come to life without much headache and stress!
Once the coop and run are built we will buy our chicks! Can't wait for this part! We already have names picked out, but I'll wait to share those when we introduce them to you! We want to find three Araucana chicks - also known as Easter Egg Chickens because of the gorgeous green and blue eggs that they lay.
Once the chickens are here and are old enough, we can start collecting our eggs! Can't wait for this part either!
Can you tell I'm just a little bit excited?
Wish us luck!
More importantly, wish my carpenter luck...the building part is all on him.
We'll take lots of progress pictures - that seemed to be the one thing that was lacking online. A really great and detailed "how to" would have been nice.
Oh! And if any of you have any advice to give on raising backyard chickens, we're all eggs....er, I mean ears!
Off to get started...
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