Tour de Coop: MaryAnn in Mashpee

 

Peering through this honeysuckle covered garden gate and trellis you would never expect to find nestled into the backyard a beautiful chicken coop with four lovely Buff Orpingtons; Little Bit, Red, Pretty Girl and Guy (pronounced Gee). 

MaryAnn has been an avid gardener for many years.  A few years ago, she started researching keeping backyard chickens.  With the help of her extremely handy husband, her dreams became a reality two years ago.

As we meandered through the garden on beautifully laid brick pathways, the girls soon took notice of me.  MaryAnn lead the way and all of her girls were anxious to meet me and have their pictures taken.

Once MaryAnn had settled on a design, she ordered her beautiful handcrafted coop from the Amish.  It was delivered on a large flatbed truck.  Once in place, her husband got to work crafting the beautiful run.  Safety was a number one priority.  Painstakingly, they even covered the bottom of the run with deeply buried hardware cloth.  The run is filled with sand, perches and her hencam.  MaryAnn chronicles the girls' adventures and during daylight hours you can always "tune in" and watch the latest happenings.  MaryAnn is also working on adding a hencam inside of the coop as well.  I hope she does, as this would be a real gem for us fellow chicken watchers.  You can tune in and meet MaryAnn's girls here.

Inside the coop, there are three nesting boxes.  MaryAnn prefers to use hay and pine shavings within the coop.  She keeps fresh water both inside and out.  During cold New England Winters, she keeps a waterer perched upon a heater.  She also tidies up the coop daily.  Her girls are nicely spoiled!

 Initially, I had met three of the four ladies.  The fourth, we found in the nesting box.  Her name is Guy.  MaryAnn pointed out that Guy has a floppy comb.  However, it was only a matter of time before she came out to join the rest. 

You see, MaryAnn has a beautiful gardens surrounding the coop.  Within her lovely fruit, herb and vegetable gardens, she grows wonderful chicken friendly foods.  She has planted nasturtium around the coop and even has a lovely grapevine creeping up the one of the run's supports onto the roof.  Her attention to details is what makes this garden incredibly beautiful.  Much thought has gone into her wonderful backyard retreat.

Guy ventured out when she heard MaryAnn go into the garden and pull some beet greens.  The chickens went crazy for these!  As she crouched on the ground, her girls' beaks were busily pecking away at this fresh garden treat.

 

My visit with MaryAnn and the girls seemed to pass quickly. Our planned hour together seemed to be up in no time though we wasted no time in catching up.  We exchanged tips and suggestions with one another.  We talked about the girls' personalities and about expanding flocks.  I was even able to hold one of her girls!

Grapevine reaching for the sky

The coopcam

I had an incredibly lovely morning today.  Now that the weather has finally warmed up, I am hoping to continue sharing chicken coops on and around Cape Cod with you.  Thank you MaryAnn for allowing me to meet your feathered family today.  I had a wonderful time. 

If you would like to see my first Tour De Coop click here.

Photo Credits:  Tilly's Nest